Arts

Dramatic Arts

On the Stage & Behind the Scenes

Drama
Our dramatic arts program offers a fully developed and robust range of opportunities to explore and express creativity — at any level — on the stage and behind the scenes. Our program develops the creative potential of every student. We encourage them to take risks, step outside of their comfort zones, and stretch the limits of their imaginations.

Examining the World through Performance

The dramatic arts allow our students to develop and explore their own personalities while learning how to express themselves and communicate with others. They develop a strong sense of empathy as they view the world through each character's perspective. They  build friendships through the shared thrill of staging performances for the world to see. Our enthusiastic faculty, most of whom are active, practicing performers, teach both introductory and advanced classes. There are many opportunities for students to perform throughout the school year.

List of 3 items.

  • Lower School Dramatic Arts

    Through our Renaissance Drama program, our 4th and 5th grade performers produce a full theatre production from start to finish. In addition to life skills such as project management, collaboration, public speaking, and teamwork, students learn theatre terms and history, basic stagecraft, movement, script and character analysis, costume, and set and prop management. 
  • Middle School Dramatic Arts

    Eighth graders thrill audiences each year with an amazing spring semester musical. For sixth and seventh grade students, we have a drama club that produces one play in the fall. 
  • Upper School Dramatic Arts

    Our Upper School drama enthusiasts pursue acting, writing, directing, and production, and may participate in main-stage and black box productions ranging from modern comedies and classical work. The Water Street Players, our Upper School troupe, stage two major productions each year: a fall play and a winter musical. 

    Academic course offerings include:
    • Introduction to Theater
    • Acting I
    • Acting II
    • Technical Theater

In this Section



Mayo Mabifa '26

My favorite part is that you get to know everyone. I just started at Severn School this year so I wasn’t as confident at first, I was kind of nervous. But after working on the play, I learned that everyone is really nice and welcoming...so I can be myself here.

FALL 2023: The Water Street Players Perform THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG

US Fall 23 Production The Play That Goes Wrong

Past Performances

List of 9 items.

  • 23-24 US: The Play That Goes Wrong

    Premiering in 2012, THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG quickly became a staple of West End London’s theatre scene.  Now widely produced in theaters large and small all across the United States as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, and beyond, the play’s success is a great tribute to the writing, characters, and the world of The Cornley Drama Society as its members attempt to deliver their performance of the mid-century-style murder mystery, “The Murder At Haversham Manor.”
  • 23-24 MS: Eerie Echoes

  • 22-23 MS: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Jr.

    The famous high-flying car is ready to land on your stage and save the day in this Broadway Junior adaptation of the blockbuster musical and beloved classic film.
  • 22-23 US: Little Shop of Horrors

    Like the alley cats who might inhabit Skid Row, it seems like LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS also has nine lives. The story of Audrey, Seymour, and the carnivorous vegetable Audrey II began in 1960 as a B-movie directed by the legendary Roger Corman. Corman’s horror comedy film was quickly adapted into an off-Broadway musical for the stage just two years later with book and lyrics by Howard Ashman and music by Alan Menken which enjoyed a five-year run at the Orpheum. Then, in 1986, LITTLE SHOP returned again to the silver screen in a production by Frank Oz which turned up the volume even more on the camp, comic-book style of the stage musical. Finally, in 2003 Ashman and Menken released the most recent adaptation of the stage musical, and it is that LITTLE SHOP that you’re about to see on stage tonight. Over the years, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS has become a beloved staple for professional, community, and educational theaters in every corner of the country, including right here at Severn School.
  • 22-23 US: Almost, Maine

    In 2004, John Cariani’s award-winning play ALMOST, MAINE premiered at Portland Stage Company in Portland, Maine. Since then, this tender-hearted comedy has soared as high as the Northern Lights in popularity and in critical acclaim, and has been ranked by the national Educational Theatre Association (EdTA.org) in the top 5 most widely produced plays in American high schools for the last half dozen years running. And that success is for very, very good reason. ALMOST, MAINE uses a vignette structure to tell the stories of ten different couples on one particular night in a fictional town in northern Maine called Almost.
  • 22-23 LS: Humpty-Dumpty is Missing!

    Humpty-Dumpty Is Missing! is an affectionate spoof of the private-eye thrillers of the 1940s and '50s and an exciting, funfilled way to introduce young audiences to this classic genre. Sammy Scoop is a private investigator in the tradition of his grandfather, Samuel Shovel and his father, Sam Spade. Sammy faces the biggest challenge of his illustrious career with the sudden fall and disappearance of the jolly Humpty-Dumpty who apparently had no enemies. But Sammy and his sidekick, Alice from Dallas, soon come up with a list of suspects who had motive and, perhaps, opportunity.
  • 21-22 US: Anastasia

    Inspired by the beloved films, ANASTASIA transports us from the twilight of the Russian Empire to the euphoria of Paris in the 1920s, as a brave young woman sets out to discover the mystery of her past. Pursued by a ruthless Soviet officer determined to silence her, Anya enlists the aid of a dashing conman and a lovable ex-aristocrat. Together, they embark on an epic adventure to help her find home, love, and family.
  • 21-22 US: Murder in the Heir

    Turn the game Clue into a play and you have the masterfully entertaining Murder’s in the Heir!’ Almost every character in this hilarious mystery has the weapon, opportunity, and motive to commit the unseen murder.  And it’s up to your audience to decide who actually did it!
  • 21-22 LS: The Headless Horseman

    Ichabod Crane, an awkward but likeable schoolmaster, has packed up his meager belongings and moved to Sleepy Hollow in a quest to become a kept man.  The quaint community, however, comes with a host of superstitious townsfolk believing they have a graveyard beset with ghastly ghouls, including the venerable Headless Horseman.  Upon Ichabod’s arrival in Sleepy Hollow, he is blindsided by the beauty of the stunning Katrina Van Tassel and is sure that his dreams have been realized.  But as luck would have it, her possessive suitor, Brom Bones, aims to keep Ichabod at bay.  When Crane proposes marriage to Katrina, Brom throws him out into the elements and he must make his way through the imposing darkness.

Dramatic Arts Faculty

List of 5 members.

  • Photo of Kathleen Donovan

    Kathleen Donovan 

    MS Dean of Students; Performing Arts; Head Coach, MS Girls Track
  • Photo of Catherine Carper

    Catherine Carper 

    Chair, MS Arts; MS Geography; MS Dance; MS Performing Arts
  • Photo of Elizabeth Patterson

    Elizabeth Patterson 

    US Theater Director; US English; Improv Club
  • Photo of Kaitlyn Peacock

    Kaitlyn Peacock 

    LS Drama Director; LS Music Teacher (PS-PK)
  • Photo of Mary Gaylord

    Mary Gaylord 

    LS Music Teacher (K-5); Renaissance Musical Director

Lower School

Upper School