Kent Place School Presents Middle And Upper School Plays in February And March

Kent Place School, a non-sectarian college preparatory school for girls in Summit, NJ, is pleased to announce the Upper and Middle School plays. The plays will be performed in February and March.

The Upper School play, Disconnected, was written by Kent Place senior Denae Wilkins. The startling new drama, will receive its world premiere performance at Kent Place on Thursday and Friday, February 27 and 28, as part of a unique program that encourages the development of new theater work by students.

A talented writer, Denae came to the attention of Kent Place audiences with her spirited original work for our Performance Company. Disconnected takes audiences into the tumultuous life of senior student Frankie Miller. With college pressures, intolerant classmates, a demanding mother and an absent father, Frankie thinks things couldn’t get much worse – until her world is suddenly turned upside down by new student Tessa Morgan, and both girls find themselves facing challenges they never expected to encounter.

Cast members of the play are Amara Balan ‘16, Brianna Barrett ‘14, Lauren Burr ‘16, Abigail Espiritu ‘15, Asha Fradkin ‘14, Molly Gump ‘16, Sabrina Hunte ‘16, Gabriela Mottesi ‘15, Julia Mustaro ‘17, Anna Salamone ‘16 and Ashley Villarreal ‘16.

Performances of Disconnected will be on Thursday, February 27 at 7:30 p.m. and Friday, February 28 at 8:00 p.m. Admission is free. Please note: This play contains material that may be considered inappropriate for younger viewers.

Middle School performers are also preparing for the world premiere production of their winter play, Bad Teacher. Billed as “a techno-thriller for girls,” the new play explores the battle that erupts when several girls begin a vicious online bullying campaign. Before they realize the full impact of what they’re doing, they find themselves tangling with something far darker and more dangerous than they could have imagined!

Cast members of the Middle School play are Ayanna Ballard ‘18, Jessica Brice ‘18, Rose Chrin ‘18, Sofia Faris ‘18, Riley Kaufman ‘18, Ruth Laurence ‘18, Molly Lohuis ‘18, Lucy Lynch ‘18, Evelyn Mukherjee ‘18, Jacqueline Pothier ‘18, Katherine Vieser ‘18, Evelyn Wallace ‘18 and Mary Woodall ‘18.

Performances of Bad Teacher will take place Thursday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m. and Friday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. Admission is free.

Bad Teacher is the fifth new play to have been developed by Drama Department Chair Bob Pridham for Middle School actors. His previous Middle School plays, How I Got That Part, What Andy Warhol Never Told Me and Coaster received their world premieres at Kent Place. These plays are now published and performed both nationally and internationally with current or upcoming productions in Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Australia and Oman.

“Kent Place has a long and terrific tradition of nurturing new plays and new playwrights. This year, for the first time, both Middle and Upper School divisions are participating in the exciting work of bringing entirely new pieces to life on our stage,” stated Bob Pridham, Kent Place Drama Department Chair. “This is what theater is all about -- experiment, discovery, community -- and we are proud this tradition has become such an important part of our program.”

The drama program at Kent Place is committed to the production of good theater and maintains a special focus on the creation and performance of new plays. In tri-state competitions, Upper School theater productions have received multiple awards for excellence in production and performance. For more information please visit www.kentplace.org/drama.