On Sunday, May 15, Middle and Upper School Thespians, arts faculty and parents gathered at the Upper Campus to celebrate the completion of a successful performing arts season, honor Mount Vernon’s Thespians and Jr. Thespians, and bid farewell to its seniors. This year’s theme was Red Carpet/Met Gala, and the students dressed to impress!
The afternoon began with Thespian Honor Society induction ceremonies for new members to Mount Vernon’s Middle School Jr. Thespian Troupe 89327 and Upper School Thespian Troupe 7702. Inductees for the Jr. Thespian Troupe were Malaina Allen, Smith Andres, Chase Betz, Olivia Boissymaty, Madison Dunn, Cameron Flotta, Max Franklin, Rhilynn Franklin, Jalen Hagans, Lauren Hoath, Julia Houseal, Morgan Huggins, Stella Love, Oliver Membrillo, Elle O’Neal, Kadin Tomlinson, and Emma Laura Woodall. Inductees for the Upper School Thespian Troupe were Alyssa Gershon-Palma, Dennis Norman, Natalie Fiacco, and Holly Vogt.
The induction was followed by a luncheon and awards ceremony in the Upper Campus Gymnasium. The awards ceremony began with a recap video of the year, and, oh, what a year it was! So many events and productions were planned, directed and staged in just nine months – Drama Bootcamp, The Three Day Play, The One Act Play that Goes Wrong, Little Women, Puffs, the Mustang Musical Sketch Comedy Show, and SpongeBob the Musical – it was an ambitious and successful year! A link for the recap video follows below.
The banquet continued with distribution of honors and awards [https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1g-1eH6oEHvnE-5YrN9a-Sx2CynEp0RlrtUNdwHuK7_g/edit#slide=id.g12905f9ce16_0_148] by Mr. Clark Taylor, Mr. Spencer Stephens, and Mrs. Amanda Lower. And in keeping with tradition, Mount Vernon’s four graduating Seniors, Michael Barwood, Rose Dodder, Warren Neel, and Win Scott, were honored with a touching speech and tribute video. A link for the Senior Tribute Video follows below.
To close, Matthew Neylon announced the arrival of Kalen Curtis to take the role of Upper Campus Director of Arts, as he prepares to take a new role focused on faculty support and retention. And finally, the shows for next season were announced: including a Senior Showcase, Sense & Sensibility and Little Shop of Horrors for the Upper School, and The Great Middle School Poe-athon, Peter and the Starcatcher, and Newsies Jr. for the Middle School.
Find all of the photos of the event here. https://mountvernonschool.smugmug.com/2021-2022/Theatre-Banquet/