By Eden S., Sixth Grade, Krieger Schechter Day School of Chizuk Amuno Congregation
Performed for 26 years, the eighth grade play at Krieger Schechter Day School provides an impactful experience that sends every student off to high school and life with a better understanding of the spoken Hebrew language. Throughout the years, musicals such as “Oliver,” “Annie,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Wizard of Oz”and countless others have been performed entirely in Hebrew by the graduating classes of KSDS. This year’s eighth-grade students performed “Mulan.”
The play helps students and teachers work together as a team to create a piece of art from scratch. Says Dr. Robyn Blum, head of school: “It also gives the teachers a chance to work with the students in a different, non-classroom kind of way that helps us get to know the students as well, as individual people.”
According to Blum, each year, “the play process helps the students discover talents about themselves and helps them see talents in each other.”
Starting early in the school year, the students begin to study the story of their play, including its characters and text. Following auditions, the students learn their lines and ultimately give up countless hours to embrace their characters, learn the songs and rehearse. As the big day nears, the students start dress rehearsals to be fully prepared for the performance. When the students finally perform, their hard work and talents are truly showcased to the entire community.
One such talent is performing onstage and singing in Hebrew without a script. Students who have the confidence to perform like this are bound to do well in high school, college and beyond. This experience serves as a chance for students to practice something new and out of their comfort zones, while growing more familiar and comfortable with performing in Hebrew.
Ellie B, an eighth-grader at KSDS who played the role of Shifu, the play’ssecondary antagonist, explained the grade’s goal was “to create our own interpretation of the story, while at the same time paying homage to the original movie.”
One of the main focuses of the play is the characters and how they are played. Each student has a character with a personality they have to capture; they need to put “their all into their character and really make them their own,” Ellie concluded.
Another main part of this musical adventure is the music. Erika Schon, the play’s musical director and KSDS choir teacher, emphasizes the scope of this project and the growth the students display upon its completion. “The final project brings tremendous joy to all of us who have seen where they were and how far they’ve come, and they’re not the same class by the end,” she said.
During this project, the students must memorize their lines and perform them onstage. Schon admits that the music for “Mulan”was challenging to learn, but in the end, “the music was the best galvanizing factor to get them all together, to bring them together as a team.”
Like every year, the KSDS eighth grade playwas a huge success. After the curtain falls for the final time, the students remember the fun times they had and the bonds they created.
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