News & Updates
News & Updates
At The School in Rose Valley, the annual Oldest Group play is a cherished tradition, but what unfolds on stage in March at Hedgerow theater is just one small piece of the months-long, student-led process. Behind the scenes, this fifth and sixth grade production is an immersive, collaborative experience that brings together creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and emotional growth. It all begins, not with a script or a role or an audition, but with a conversation.
The process starts in the fall with the entire class sitting down together to establish what Nora, our theater teacher, calls the “givens,” the parameters that frame the work ahead:
Once those boundaries are set, the kids begin to dream. What do they want for this year’s play? Some years, the group may request a musical or a play with songs. Other years, the theme of the play is influenced by what they’re studying, like when they wanted to connect the show to the all-school-theme of Oceans. This year, they knew they wanted a comedy and a show without musical numbers. After a dive into Hamilton and a unit on world theater history, the group also leaned toward mythology and history.
Based on the students’ requests, Nora gathers plays to bring back after Thanksgiving Break to propose to the group. They gather to read the options aloud, what theater professionals call “table work.” They analyze character choices, explore humor, and dig into what works in the show and what doesn’t. They ask questions like: Why did that character make that choice? Is this actually funny, or not really? They flag lines that feel off, outdated, or culturally inappropriate, and suggest edits, analyzing the text with awareness and care.
Once the readings are complete, they rate the scripts across different categories and vote as a group. The final show is determined by democratic process – majority decides. Before the decision is finalized, they discuss how it feels to get, or not get, the outcome you wanted. Together, they name the emotions that might come up and talk about how to work as an ensemble. This kind of reflection is core to the OG curriculum, where collaboration isn’t just a value, it’s a practiced skill.
By January, the play has been chosen. Every student then submits three on-stage roles and three off-stage roles (like designers, assistant directors, stage managers, dramaturgs, marketers) they’d like to take on. Nora starts the casting process, emphasizing the development of the student over the “polish” of the final product. The performance is important, of course, but it’s always part of the larger learning journey and this informs every decision she, and the students, make along the way.
Once roles are assigned, the group dives into rehearsals! Because the play is performed at Hedgerow, students must design the SRV set to work on whatever set is on stage at Hedgerow at the time and discuss how the standing structures inform their design process. Students learn to use a scale ruler to convert measurements from quarter-inch to full scale. Together, they tape out a to-scale version of the stage in Grace for rehearsals. This tactile work helps them visualize blocking, understand spatial relationships, and they start learning blocking shorthand, a special code used to track stage movement in theater.
This integration of math and theater is powerful. Students aren’t just rehearsing lines; they’re measuring, converting, estimating, and applying mathematical reasoning to real-world challenges.
Design work begins in tandem with rehearsals. With guidance from Courtney, SRV Art Teacher, students first use spreadsheets to track every scenic, costume, and prop element: what’s needed, wanted, and what supports the story. From there, they break into small teams and take ownership of individual design elements. They do visual research, consult books on Greece and mythology, and generate their own ideas and images. Everything, from the look of the back walls to costume details, is imagined, built, and refined by students.
This year, for example, the team designing Medusa’s table had to figure out how to design it, divide it into sections, build it, transport it, and reassemble it for performance. They asked, How do we get from here to there? Can actors use this set piece safely? How do sight lines affect our design? They have to create solutions that not only look good, fit the scene of the show they are producing, but function on stage.
This year marked a new addition in design: sound. For the first time, we had a dedicated sound design team, Eli, Seb, and Lucas. They learned computer programming, selected and composed original sound effects, and created transition sounds for the show. As with all things in OG, it emerged from student interest: Eli is a talented editor with a passion for audio and video production, and that personal strength helped shape the scope of what was possible for the class. Their contribution expanded our understanding of what design can be and how sound shapes storytelling.
Throughout the rehearsal process, the students learn the norms of professional rehearsal culture. For example, only those in a scene, or their designated assistant director and director, give feedback on a performance. They’re taught not to “direct” their peers, to respect roles, and to trust the structure of the process. They also take ownership in new ways. This year, the students requested extra rehearsals outside of class to help them prepare for performance day. Nora agreed, but since this is outside of the norm of our commitment to limiting work outside of the classroom, they agreed to one condition: the students would plan and lead it themselves, with Nora as a sort of chaperone/support after school. The students created daily agendas, coordinated logistics, and worked with their assistant stage managers and directors to run rehearsals, helping them build confidence, spend time on a project, and explore their executive functioning and leadership skills along the way. This year, our student Assistant Director, Avett, took the lead in blocking and directing the final three scenes of the show. After experiencing this role last year, he stepped into the position with confidence and skill, guiding the process with remarkable independence and supported the addition of Olivia, co-Assistant-Director/Stage Manager as she learned the process alongside him.
Marketing and program design
Nora describes the playbill as “a way to synthesize everything important that the audience should see, hear, and understand about the students’ work and the play itself.” It also gives students the chance to reflect on their process, practice personal narrative writing, and express gratitude. They write a thank-you section, considering: Who helped me along the way? What did I need from others to accomplish this? This act of recognition deepens their sense of community and interconnectedness. The students write their bios to introduce themselves to the audience, of course, but also as a reflection exercise. Who am I in this process? What did I work on? What did I learn? What do I want others to know about the role I played, not just on stage, but as part of the whole production?
The marketing team helps shape the design and layout of the program and flyers. They ask questions like: What tools do I need to share the story of our play with the world? What details matter most? How do I make this inviting and informative? In the end, the program isn’t just a keepsake. It’s evidence of the students’ thinking, their voice, their learning. And just like the set pieces, costumes, and performance, it’s theirs, from concept to completion.
The performance is one of the most exciting parts of the process! Sharing the story and their hard work with the school and larger community is always a wonderful experience. It’s not the end of the process, though! After the performance, learning continues. The Oldest Group gets together to watch a video of the show to discuss what worked, what surprised them, and what they’d do differently next time. They learn that feedback should be kind, specific, and actionable. They use sentence-stems like, “I noticed…” “I felt…” “I wonder…” They replace the word but with and, as in: “That was really strong, and I wonder how it would feel if you paused a little longer.” They reflect on what it’s like to watch themselves perform and how seeing the whole show changes their perspective. They name their growth, draw connections to previous years’ experiences, and discuss what they learned throughout the months of work. And then, they talk about self-care.
Nora walks them through the “post-show blues,” the emotional dip that can come after creating something meaningful together and its ending. They acknowledge that experience, sit with it, and talk about how to move forward. This entire process is a kind of rehearsal for what comes next for these students. The final years at SRV are a bridge between childhood and what lies ahead, new schools, new expectations, new communities. The process of building something meaningful together, letting it go, and stepping forward into something new is not just a creative journey. They are experiencing what it means to be part of a community, to contribute something lasting, and to move forward carrying the lessons and confidence they’ve earned.
In the end, it’s not just a play
The Oldest Group play is a living, breathing example of what progressive education looks like in practice. The students are actors, directors, designers, mathematicians, researchers, marketers, teammates, and problem-solvers. The grow through collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking, what Nora and the students calls the Four C’s. While the audience might only see the final production, the real magic happens every day leading up to it: in the decisions, the questions, the risks, the rewrites, the taped-out floor, the group votes, the conflict resolution, the compromise, the laughter, and the learning.
The story isn’t over, even though the play has wrapped. This work prepares our students for what lies ahead: middle school, new communities, bigger questions. They leave this experience not just with memories, but with skills, confidence, and a deeper understanding of who they are and how they can contribute. They’re ready to write new scripts, take new stages, and keep becoming – boldly, thoughtfully – the people they are meant to be.
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