I could tell you my adventures—beginning from this morning,’ said Alice a little timidly: ‘but it’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then
Wow! I hope you were one of the lucky people who filled the Doris Duke Theatre at the Honolulu Museum of Art last week for two sold out shows of our school production of Alice@Wonderland. If not, you missed a stunning performance, full of laughs, lively music, great acting, and of course, Jabberwocky. This production of Alice in Wonderland finds its humor and confusion when Alice, from modern day society, cell phone tight-in-hand, encounters our favorite characters from traditional Wonderland.
As I shared on opening night, this play was a success not just because of how good the actors were, and they were wonderful, but because of how the community came together to bring this script to life. In addition to the 40 actors, there was a wonderful 8-member musical ensemble, directed by Miss Katie, that provided the play some of its most memorable moments. There was also the woodworking enrichment class with Mr. Castello who helped build some of the set pieces. Ms. Fox had a painting and drawing enrichment where students painted the set. There were parents who helped with costumes and teachers who helped with auditions, practices, and crew work. Of course, Ms. Shannon was a brilliant director who guided the team from vision to stage! In all, there were many hands and hearts that touched this play, and I think that aloha could be felt by everyone in the audience! And then the performance itself. Wow! It was nothing short of phenomenal.
At Assets, we value the arts. Last week, I wrote about our extraordinary Art Show. While there are many interesting and important curricular disciplines vying for precious space in a school day, we have consistently held firm that the arts are a priority. Why? Because the arts humanize us. The arts make us feel. The arts help us better understand ourselves and our world. They give us a way to express ourselves and explore thoughts and feelings that we haven’t articulated yet. As George Bernard Shaw wrote in “Back to Methuselah,”
Art is the magic mirror you make to reflect your invisible dreams in visible pictures. You use a glass mirror to see your face: you use works of art to see your soul.
At Assets, we believe that students getting exposed to the arts and engaging in them is essential to the healthy development of their intellectual and emotional lives. We embrace arts education because we believe that any proper definition of education must include this fundamental aspect of humanity.
Mahalo again to everyone who supported the Alice play and our growing arts program.
About the Author
Ryan Masa is the K-8 Principal at Assets School in Honolulu, Hawaii
Assets School K-8 Principal Blog 