Arts
Theatre
TNS Plays & Musicals
The purpose of The New School drama program is to encourage young people to play and create through cooperation and collaboration. Our classroom curriculum and productions on stage help students experience empathy, self-discovery, expression, communication, problem solving and confidence.
The New School’s drama program was started in 1972 by Andrea Romine, and her original musicals (co-written with Betty Butcher) continue to play on our stage every year. Pre-K and kindergartners bring “Farnahan’s Circus” to life every spring, while the first and second graders celebrate “The Magical Forest” in December. Our third and fourth graders do a big musical every March - this year was “Finding Nemo” - while the older students rehearse their one-act plays during drama class and perform at different times throughout the school year.
Middle & Upper School Drama with Jonny Schremmer & Rachel Bland
Adolescents can find it difficult to express their emotions, and drama provides a great outlet for young people to explore a wide range of feelings including delight, anger and unhappiness. We hope to create a fun and safe space for our middle school students to collaborate with their peers, gain confidence in who they are, and develop empathy for others through games, exercises, writing and performance. Fifth and sixth graders each take a year long drama class and explore basic acting techniques through drama games and exercises before rehearsing and performing their class plays.
Two year long classes are offered to all upper school students. One is Drama, which culminates in a class play, and the other is Stagecraft, which is responsible for designing and creating costumes, props, and set pieces for all TNS productions.
Northwest Arkansas' Premier Independent Day School
Empowering students age one through grade 12
Empowering students age one through grade 12
