The Tradition of St. B’s Class Play
Theater has been highly valued at St. Bernard’s since the school was founded in 1904. In addition to the annual Shakespeare play, which is performed by Grade VIII, each class in Grades I through VII performs a class play in an all-school assembly each school year.
Class plays have been an ongoing tradition for many decades at St. Bernard’s. As early as 1917, The Budget describes the preparations for the School Play, which were temporarily put on hold owing to a measles outbreak. Over the years St. B’s boys have participated in Junior School plays, Middle School plays, and pageants depicting King Arthur and the Holy Grail or the story of King Wenceslas.
Former faculty members, Mr. Strange, and Mr. Bazarini, fondly known as Baz, were famous for their homeroom assemblies. Baz had earned graduate degrees in playwriting from Yale and Stanford, and he infused his class plays with this talent. Mr. Caslon was also a playwright who staged the annual spelling bee. Much to the delight of the audience, he included an episode of a soap opera called As the Stomach Churns with commercials. Mr. Strange “is remembered, too, as actor, director, lyricist, and creator of the original sketches for his incomparable Pierrot Shows. (In his younger days he had toured England with a pierrot troupe, later recording some of his experiences in White in the Moon, a novel.)” (Saint Bernard’s School, The First Century, p. 106). The first St. B’s Pierrot Show debuted in 1927.
In recent decades, class plays have transformed into full-scale, feature-length productions, which are truly a collaborative effort. Homeroom teachers write scripts and work together with the music department and art department to fulfill their visions. Parent volunteers help the homeroom teachers prepare costumes for the play, and the boys practice with their homeroom teachers for weeks and learn how to work together as an ensemble on stage.
Our current faculty members continue to contribute their specific talents to enhance the class plays. Teachers who are musically trained teach their students songs and choreograph dances to include in their plays. Mr. Sechrist creates whimsical theatrical sets for almost every class play. For example, he has depicted jungle scenes, Independence Hall, and the Temple of Dendur at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. He enjoys collaborating with homeroom teachers and providing visual entertainment for all of the boys.
Faculty members believe it is good for the boys to see all of the class plays, which include fairy tales, ancient Greek classics, and popular children’s stories. This year class play topics have ranged from Mr. Poppins Penguins and Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory to The Reformation. Class plays are part of strong program encouraging students to practice different forms public speaking. Beginning in Junior School, boys recite poetry in front of their peers. In Middle School boys present book reports and current events to their classmates. In Upper School boys recite poetry, present current events, and participate in a debating society as well as the Upper School Speech contest. The class plays provide another way for boys to perform and add elements of fun, humor, and working together as a class.
Mr. Schwartz, the school librarian, takes particular pleasure watching the class plays each week because he knows all of the boys at St. B’s. Boys often surprise him with their spontaneity and their talents. With the help of Mr. Hagon, he teaches the after-school drama club, where boys are encouraged to get up in front of each other to perform. They are pleased by how comfortable their students are performing for one another.
