Seabury Academy-Visual and Performing Arts

Visual and Performing Arts

At Bishop Seabury Academy, the fine arts program seeks to empower all students and to help them achieve success professionally and personally. We base our arts program on the principle that the greater our means of expression and communication, the more diverse and profound our experiences may be. Through the arts, we authorize students to explore the world passionately and to give sharper meaning to their most vital experiences.

Bishop Seabury Academy offers a graduated and flexible curriculum, introducing young students to a breadth of artistic study and accommodating the more sophisticated and career-oriented interests of older students. Lower schools students take two years of chorus and two years of alternating units in visual arts and drama. In 9th-12th grade, students are required to take four semesters of arts, though almost all of them choose to pursue their artistic interests for the entire four years, many choosing to study all three art forms.

The visual arts curriculum is a discipline-based approach to learning that introduces students to the vocabulary, techniques and concepts necessary to problem solve, with creativity, design challenges. The lower school classes are taught using a number of teaching methodologies including lecture, slide presentations, discussion, demonstrations, practical application, and class critiques. Every class project emphasizes specific elements and principles of design and students will demonstrate understanding and significant growth upon completion. The upper school visual arts curriculum continues to expand on previously learned information by increasing the level of expertise and sophistication required to complete assignments. Students are exposed to more historical and contemporary perspectives, artists, and art movements as they relate to given projects. Students who wish to build a portfolio for college purposes are guided individually. Seabury art students are regularly given the opportunity to showcase their artistic abilities by participating in various art contests and exhibits throughout the year, including, for example, the Lions Club Peace Poster Contest, the Trinity Episcopal Charity Art Show and Sale, and a Lawrence Public Library Exhibit. Students are also responsible for creating the annual Seabury Christmas card, designing theatre programs, sets and t-shirts, and, this year, submitting a Festival of Tree entry. Instructor Laura Torres Porter earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Kansas majoring in graphics/illustration and visual communications; then received a Bachelor of Arts Education, becoming certified to teach K-12. She has taught for 21 years, and does freelance artwork specializing in portraiture.

The choral music program at Bishop Seabury Academy is integral to the school's liberal arts mission and all students participate. The lower school students learn basic sight-reading skills and two-part singing, and they enjoy multiple performances throughout the year. Students have the opportunity to be part of the prestigious upper school choir where students study and perform a wide range of music, from classical chamber music to modern jazz, Broadway musical to traditional opera. Headed by Choral Director Richard Walker, the flexible and eclectic group performs in the greater community as well as at convocation, graduation, Lessons & Carols, and seasonal concerts. Bishop Seabury Academy also offers students of instrumental music a variety of performance opportunities, including theatrical and choral events throughout the year.

The expansive theatre program at Bishop Seabury Academy accommodates student interest at all levels. In lower school classes, students are introduced to narrative dynamics, story-telling, public speaking, improvisation, theatre games, monologues, and basic theatre language. In upper school, students embark on a four-year study of the craft of acting with Arts Director Mr. Doug Weaver. Students first learn the fundamentals of vocal and physical performance, script-analysis, practical scene work, and guided critiques. Afterwards, students study more sophisticated acting and directing theories (Constantin Stanislavski, Michael Chekhov, Francis Hodges, and others) and Classical Greek, Shakespearean, Modern, and Post-Modern scripts and performance methods. Students also have practical guidance in playwriting, directing, and scenic design. The school produces five shows throughout the year, and recent productions include The Real Inspector Hound, House of Blue Leaves, Jake’s Women, All in the Timing, Antigone, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Bishop Seabury Academy is also home to a highly successful forensics program.

Jorge-Louis Borges writes that “Art is a mixture of algebra and fire.” At Bishop Seabury Academy, effective and tested curriculum, passionate teachers, and committed students are the perfect synthesis for an exceptional arts program. Here, the arts are not simply an “elective”—they are a cornerstone to a fully-realized education in the liberal arts. We authorize students to achieve beyond the limits they would otherwise set for themselves, and we see the fruits of their success.