Fine Arts Archives

January 9, 2014

From Winter Show director Melinda Moore: This is tough material, but still relevant 120 years later. If you are not familiar with the play, it takes place in Germany in the late 1800’s. The story revolves around a group of teenagers, their parents and the repressive school and political system surrounding them. These 13-15 year old children are “coming of age” and starting to question things like their own sexuality and where babies come from. However, they are met with blank stares, tight lips and answers like “babies are delivered from the stork.” You can probably imagine what might happen when these “uneducated” children are then placed in adult situations…we start to see anger, confusion, a misunderstanding of what it means to be “in love” and finally, a tragic suicide by a young man. At the same time, students are being bombarded with extremely challenging schoolwork and a demand for high-level academic achievement. Failure is not an option and could result in being “sent away” for poor grades.

While depressing and serious, this stuff is still happening today. Our class has talked about the role of social media in teen suicide, the role of the parent in sex education, peer relationships and bullying, teacher support in student life, etc. There are also funny and heart-warming moments in the play – scenes where kids are outside playing, just being kids.

The show is set in the round, which is another huge acting challenge for students, but so cool! You could sit in four different areas of the theatre and see four completely different shows. To see MPA students tackling this material with professionalism, grace and talent is remarkable. They would love your support! I also really think our students will enjoy the show. The language is challenging and there are lots of words, but this show speaks to teenagers. The musical based on this play won 8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and it has a huge teen ‘cult’ following.

We hope you will join us for an evening of drama!

November Choir Honors

November 18, 2013

Congratulations to Nicholas Guiang, Annika Ide, and Kelly Myers who auditioned and were selected to sing in the 7-8 Boy’s Choir and 7-8 Girl’s Choir, respectively. A day of rehearsal will culminate with a 5:30 p.m. concert on Saturday, November 23 at St. Andrew’s Church in Mahtomedi.

In addition, Abigail Croonquist, Shailagh Lannon, and Isabel McKeown were nominated to sing in the Grade 12 Select Women’s Choir which meets the morning of Saturday, November 23 with a 1:30 p.m. concert at St. Andrew’s entitled: A Celebration of Women’s Voices: Empowering the Spirit. These honor choir experiences are made possible by the American Choral Director’s Association of Minnesota and are held in conjunction with their fall conference.

Student Work Selected for Shattuck-St. Mary’s Art Invitational

October 24, 2013

Flaherty Haugen

Congratulations to the following visual artists who had work selected to be part of the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Ninth Annual Art Invitational!

Flaherty Haugen, Drawing, Award Winner
Casey Jahn, Painting
Abbie Judge, Painting, Mixed Media
Jennifer Portis, Drawing
Jan-Phillip Scholz, Drawing

Their artwork will be included in an exhibit that was selected by juror, Brian Frink, drawing and painting instructor at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He is also editor-in-chief of Rural America Contemporary Art, as well as the recipient of two McKnight fellowships, three Minnesota State Arts board grants, and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.
The exhibit will be in the Morgan Art Gallery at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault, MN. The show opens with a reception at 6:30pm on Thursday, October 24th. The exhibit runs through Nov. 8th.

Netteberg Selected for St. Thomas High School Honor Band

October 24, 2013

Congratulations to Sofie Netteberg, sophomore bassoon player, who was selected to participate in the St. Thomas High School Honor Band festival on Tuesday, October 22nd. Sofie was selected to be a member of the Honor Symphonic Band and spent the day rehearsing with other talented high school musicians under the direction of internationally acclaimed British conductor, Keith Allen and St. Thomas’ Director of Bands, Matthew George. The Honor Symphonic and Honor Concert Bands then performed that evening at the James B. Woulfe Alumni Hall on St. Thomas’ campus.

MMEA All-State Men’s Choir Honor

August 22, 2013

Congratulations to Kethan Dahlberg (Class of 2014) who participated in the Minnesota Music Educator’s Association (MMEA) All-State Men’s Choir. Kethan, who auditioned and was selected to sing baritone, attended the All-State Choir camp at St. John’s University in early August. He worked with some of the best high school musicians from across the state and sang under the direction of Lee Nelson from Wartburg College. A Saturday morning concert showcased the spirited choir on such pieces as Rosephayne Powell’s The Word Was God, Stacey Gibbs’ arrangement of Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho, and a rousing rendition of the folksong Cindy. Kethan will rejoin the All-State Choirs during the MMEA Mid-Winter Conference in February and perform at Orchestra Hall.

Fringe Festival Show Features MPA Alumni Playwriting, Acting, Producing & Directing

July 25, 2013

MPA Class of 2013 alumna Kimberly Rolfs is producing and directing a show, Stardust, in the Minnesota Fringe Festival this August 1-11. The play was originally written for the one-act assignment in MPA’s Creative Writing class last fall. Starring in the play are Class of 2013 alumni Chrissy Saul, Sam Arsenault, and Jackson Beck. Callan Schackor (’13) is the stage manager.

Stardust is a story that picks up after the suicide of an enigmatic girl. The two boys she loved and left behind attempt to decipher who she was, what they meant to her and how they should feel now that she’s gone.

Please consider attending and supporting these MPA recent graduates! For more information on the show click here. Please note that the show deals with adult themes and language.

MPA 4th Grader Participates in Pianos on Parade Program

June 6, 2013

MPA fourth grader, Ellen Vergin, was selected as one of the student artists to participate at a recent Keys 4/4 Kids event! She is pictured here with her artist partner, Carol Sue O’Malley. Together, they spent the weekend at the Mall of America, designing and painting their magnificent piano as part of Keys 4/4 Kids Paint A Piano program. Fifteen pianos were artistically transformed as part of the event. The pianos went on to be part of the Grand Old Days Parade, and will end up in various locations on the streets of the Twin Cities this summer!

Theatre Department Recognizes Students, Celebrates Barb Bradley

May 23, 2013

At a ceremony on May 18, Mounds Park Academy theatre students celebrated the work of this year’s graduating seniors, welcomed new initiates into the International Thespian Society, and paid tribute to founding faculty member Barb Bradley, who will retire at the end of this school year.

Barb Bradley was honored for her 32 years of service to the Mounds Park Academy Theatre Department, which she built from the school’s first day in 1982. Countless productions later, Mrs. Bradley was recognized by her colleagues and the current and outgoing theatre students for her outstanding teaching and directing talents.

Mrs. Bradley was honored with tributes from current and former students, families, and colleagues and presented with a Travel Gift of $2,800, amassed from donations from the MPA community.

The International Thespian Society (ITS) has been honoring excellence in the work of theatre students since 1929. Thespian troupes serve students in grades 9 through 12. As a reward for their hours of work within and around the theatre, initiates and members are given points towards an Honor Thespian ranking.

This year’s ITS initiates from MPA are:

Logan Erickson
Andrew Grant
Angela Gerdts
Ali Herold
Jack Holter
Izzy Istephanous
Allison Leopold
Jenny Portis
Emily Rhodes
Emma Stacy
Michael Wilke

The Class of 2013 members who were recognized for their contributions to the MPA Theatre Department are:

Liza Amaral
Sarah Anderson
Sam Arsenault
Jackson Beck
Kip Hathaway
Rachael Kozen
Drew Maione
Malone Mischke
Rebecca Millberg
Emily Moses-Thomsen
Lucas Murphy
Benjamin Neumann-Chun
Connor Olsen
Kim Rolfs
Chrissy Saul
Callan Schackor
Sean Springer
Shain Trommler
Henna Vadher

Upper School Pops Concert

May 9, 2013

Please join us for the final Upper School Band Concert of the year on Wednesday, May 15th. The annual spring Pops Concert is a favorite for both students and audience members. The US Jazz Band will be opening the program with a great swing piece titled Out of the Dog House. The closing selections for their part of the program are familiar to all and not to be missed!

The US Concert Band will be performing two medleys from the popular musicals Chicago and Les Miserables, as well as featuring the percussion section on two fun popular tunes.

The concert starts at 7:30pm in the Nicholson Center. As always, there is no cost for admission.

What is Urinetown? A letter from the Broadway Producers.

May 2, 2013

This Friday and Saturday the cast and crew of Urinetown: The Musical will take the stage and we hope you will join us. For those of you looking at the title saying, “Yuck! Why would I go to see THAT?”, read on. The original Broadway producers give an exceptional answer to this question. I hope it entices you to come see our talented students this weekend!
-Melinda Moore, Spring Musical Director

The following letter was originally published in StageNOTESTM, an educational resource for theatre students.

“Urinetown?! They’re kidding, right?”
“Why would I want to go to a show with a title like that?” “Why would I bring my students to see it?”

Okay-the title. Let’s talk about the title.

Social satire has a long tradition of startling readers and audiences and shaking them loose from their traditional ways of thinking. From Aristophanes’ Lysistrata to Saturday Night Live, satire has always broken the boundaries of public taste in order to make a point. Think of Jonathan Swift, who in his classic essay “A Modest Proposal,” suggested that the children of the poor be eaten, neatly solving the problems of famine and population control.

Urinetown: The Musical draws on that tradition. If you don’t know anything about it,you might not know what to expect. But unlike so many other pieces of entertainment one encounters these days – movies, television, even some books and plays – Urinetown has something to say about the world we live in. Not only that, it’s both entertaining and educational.

Urinetown challenges your expectations. It has a self-awareness that makes you think about what you’re watching. It draws on historical tradition – Brecht, Weill, Blitztein – and yet it pushes forward into new territory.

But most important (for any audience of students): it’s funny, really funny!

Urinetown: The Musical has wit, it has intelligence – and it also has an enjoy- able surplus of vaudeville gags, physical comedy and low-brow humor. Want to get students doing more than sitting passively in their seats? Get them laughing, get them groaning, get them thinking. Take them to Urinetown.