Faculty members Nick Benson and Jennifer Wojcik, accompanied by other faculty chaperones, took their students to the Metropolitan Opera, Yale Repertory Theater, and Connecticut Repertory Theater to experience a number of theatrical and operatic performances from classical opera to commedia del arte. 

The Arts and Letters Luncheon is a relatively new rite of spring and the kick –off to the awards season as The Gunnery’s commencement date approaches. It is a celebration of artistic endeavors performing, visual and written.

Students in the visual arts department have seen a renaissance in painting, sculpture, and other mixed media projects in the last few weeks. 

The Cornell University Department of Fiber Science and Apparel Design has awarded Yea Weon Kim ’12 second place in its annual High School Student Fashion Design Competition.

The winter musical, Once on this Island, was a tremendous success if the reaction of the audience is any indicator.

It was an unforgettable day in the ceramics room. The students of The Gunnery’s Visual Arts Department sat spell bound as master potter Guy Wolff of Litchfield created historic pots during a daylong master class.

With three very different musical performances in December, The Gunnery Performing Arts Department spread celebratory and inspirational holiday spirit to all. 

The Gunnery Music Department closed out its season with a spring concert featuring the jazz band, rock band, Troubadours, world drumming, and private music lesson students. The musical offerings were contemporary, light, and fun which was a deep contrast to the secular and traditional pieces offered at other concerts throughout the year. “We picked pieces that suited the kids,” said Jesse Perkins, Music Department faculty member. “We had a strong group of kids whose skills permitted us to do a wide variety of music.”

Student artwork from spring 2009.

Seniors, Ian Engelberger and Kurt Bailey spent the winter months working on independent studies (ISPs) in the arts. Ian, known on campus for his creative writing, pursued a study in photography while Kurt followed his film making aspirations by making a short film.

A disciplined cast, under the inspired direction of Thomas Gruenewald, delivered an outstanding performance of Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor. Set in 19th century Russia, the play is written in the style of Chekhovian comedy. “Mr. Simon based this show on the short stories of Anton Chekhov,” said Mr. Gruenewald. “The argument has gone on for over one hundred years as to whether Chekhov’s later plays are comedies or tragedies.” The Gunnery Drama Society certainly filled this show with several comedic peaks and valleys, giving the audience a night of funny and bittersweet moments.

Eleven Gunnery students entered works in the Kent Art Association‘s Fourteenth Annual Student Art Show. Both local high schools and independent schools participated in the exhibition which runs until March 8th. Several students attended the gala reception and opening on February 28th with art teacher Andy Richards where Edward Pequignot ’09 was awarded the top prize in sculpture which included a $25 prize.

Pictures from The Gunnery's December holiday performances - Christmas in The Depot, the Holiday Concert in the Emerson Performing Arts Center and the Holiday Reflections in The Church on The Green.

Under the tutelage of directors Tom Gruenewald and Chris Waldmann, an ambitious cast undertook the production of David Ives’ All in the Timing, a series of six one act plays exploring language, communication, and, yes, timing. The segments, ranging in time from the ancient era of Babylon in the “Babel’s in Arms” to the modern Manhattan cocktail party in “English Made Simple”, each had a premise which enticed the imagination. “Mere Mortals” displayed three construction workers who believed they were famous historical personages as they ate their lunch fifty stories above the ground. In “The Philadelphia” nothing the protagonist said produced the desired outcome, but, rather, its opposite. “Sure Thing” is an intellectual tilt at the premise of the film, Groundhog’s Day. In “Foreplay or the Art of the Fugue”, the audience experiences three first dates with the same man on the same miniature-golf course.

”The hills were alive with the sound of music” this spring as the Troubadours, the Chorale, World Drumming, and the Jazz Ensemble performed in concerts, solo recitals and music festivals. Music Director Jennifer Wojcik and private music teachers Edward Aureli, Barbara Geary, Joe Bouchard, John Marshall, Oksana Protenic, and others prepared the students for the events. Former Gunnery Music Director, Kristin Richards returned to help out when Mrs. Wojcik was out on maternity leave.

Luck was a lady in The Gunnery Drama Society’s winter musical, Guys & Dolls. An all-student cast, crew, and orchestra pit delivered one of the most memorable performances in recent history. The cast members shone in the multiple musical numbers and witty scenes long associated with this Frank Loesser classic.

The Gunnery’s thespians received a special gift when Broadway legend (and Gunnery current parent) Patti LuPone gave a master class for members of The Gunnery Drama Society. During the three hour session, the performers, sang, danced, and spoke their prepared pieces which were critiqued by Ms. LuPone during and after each presentation. The Tony award-winner instructed the students in some core principles of acting relating the critiques to her own experiences on stage and in the movies. Then she applied those principles to each student’s style and presentation. After her evaluation of each performance, the students were asked to perform their respective pieces again, this time under her direction. The audience and the actors themselves were dazzled by what Ms. LuPone managed to pull out of them. In a few short minutes, she managed to bring them to the top of their game.