Students at Grymes are given many opportunities to shine on the stage developing both their public speaking skills and their flair for the dramatic arts.
We focus on memorizing lines, enunciating clearly and learning how to speak and move in character. Students learn to take risks and the importance of cooperation and team work. This develops a comfort level for speaking in front of an audience and raises self confidence. Class plays have been part of the curriculum from the very early days. Because classes are small, every class does a production, from the twenty minute play in junior kindergarten, to hour long Shakespeare productions in the eighth grade. In recent years some classes have produced short movies to share with the Grymes community as their presentation.
Drama is part of the English curriculum through the sixth grade. In seventh and eighth, students have a drama class for one semester as they prepare for their class performance. The seventh grade play is traditionally a classic from literature such as Wind in the Willows or Peter Pan whereas the eighth grade play is a Shakespeare classic. Eighth graders perform their Shakespeake play for the entire school community. Then they take their show on the road to Washington where they compete in the Shakespeare Festival at the Folger Theater. In February the students are engaged in reading and writing poetry. Each student in grades K-7 commits a poem to memory and shares it with the school in an assembly. In March the excitement builds as students prepare for the annual Variety Show showcasing their personal talents. Whether it’s acting out a vocabulary word in class, delivering an oral report, or being in the cast of a full fledged production, Grymes’ students love their time in the limelight and their confidence shows.