About the Conservatory

Last night, Mayfield’s Choreographers’ Ball opened to an enthusiastic audience. This annual performance highlights the talents of the Dance and Technical Theatre Conservatories, with student choreography and student lighting design. This year featured choreography by Dance Conservatory’s nine upperclasswomen. And the pithy title “hello. goodbye.” brings to mind all of the in-between spaces associated at the beginning and end of things. And these choreographers have a lot to reflect on during their high school years: from the retirement of their longtime dance teacher (Denise Leitner) to the hiring of their energetic new teacher (Sarah Alaways), from the COVID lockdowns to the anxious/exciting deliberations of imagining their lives beyond the Bellefontaine campus—and much, much more. We had a chance to sit down for a round-table discussion with several of the choreographers and their Dance Teacher, Ms. Alaways, as they opened up about parts of their creation, the bitter and the sweet…

This week was crackling with fall artistic energy with class projects in full swing and performing arts groups gearing up for our November and December performances.

• Shout out to instrumentalist, Venice Jithavech ‘24 who was named Artist of the Week!
• Many thanks to our musicians and singers for bringing music to our Holy Child Foundation Mass celebration: Jade Telles '25, Venice Jithavech '24, Giuliana DeFilippo '23, Anna Pruyn '23, Lauren Mascarenhas '24, Grace Nguyen '23, Lily Salazar '23, Kendall Cuenca '23, Kaitlin Boutros '23, Women’s Ensemble and Mr. Castelo.
• This weekend, we welcome 7th and 8th grade students to a free day of arts classes at Explore the Arts at Mayfield. This session offers Studio Arts with Mr. Lewis and Ms. Green and Creative Writing with Ms. Gomez.
• Next week, the Arts Council will be hosting Halloween Activities, including pumpkin decorating, a costume contest & more!

As our community comes closer to in-person learning this spring, the performing arts Conservatory programs at Mayfield have been pioneering new ways to rehearse, perform and engage with audiences, while abiding by pandemic restrictions. This week, vocal music instructor Andrew Alvarez conducted rehearsals as part of a “car choir” with members of the Women’s Ensemble, and theatre director Maryanne Householder launched the first-ever Cubs Cabaret, which was open to all Mayfield student artists who wanted to take on some of Broadway’s milestones in monologues, dances and songs. We caught up with Mr. Alvarez and Ms. Householder to hear more about their recent projects.

When the 2020-2021 theatre season had to start remotely, Theatre Conservatory Director Maryanne Householder didn’t fuss. Auditions? She could hold them on Zoom. Plenty of actors prepare remote auditions at the best of times. Rehearsals? A ton of play preparation involves research, which could be done online, too. No sweat. And Ms. Householder’s can-do attitude extended to the selection of the fall production as well. She chose a one-act play without too many technical requirements, dealing with material that she loves to teach, and a story that would make the actors shine.

It takes a village to bring the beloved musical Oliver! to life in Pike Auditorium. This year’s all-school musical draws from Mayfield’s vast community of talent, from alumnae siblings and faculty spouses, to athletes who are making their Pike stage debuts.

Congratulations to our student artists, who racked up an impressive tally of 19 awards in the 2020 Western Region Scholastic Art & Writing Awards from a pool of more than 60,000 submissions. The Scholastic Awards, which recognize students in 29 different genres of creative arts and writing, are among the nation’s oldest and most prestigious arts prizes.

by Emma Stolpe '20

This Tuesday, Nora Warren’s AP Art History class visited the Jonathan Club in Downtown Los Angeles to learn about their hometown’s rich art history. The breakfast outing was hosted by generous club members John and Patti O’Keefe, who invited the group of 20 students to hear guest speaker Christina Nielsen, Director of the Art Museum at The Huntington, and experience a private tour of the Jonathan Club’s impressive art collection.

On the eve of Cornelia Connelly’s Jan. 15 birthday, the students in Maryanne Householder’s freshman theatre class are in for a surprise—an unannounced guest speaker is in their midst. As the girls huddle, cross-legged, in a circle on the stage of Pike Auditorium, accomplished Broadway costume designer Michael Krass joins them for a candid conversation about his craft and his career.

Have you ever picked up a scarf and just felt it? Closed your eyes, no talking, just your touch and the scarf. You don’t know what color it is, where it came from, or who gave it to you, but you just feel it. And as you are feeling, you smell a familiar scent and hear the sound of nature in the background. The room’s edges become defined, the light is reflecting and making shadows...you no longer feel the fabric in your hands. Instead, you feel the story, the character.

Mayfield artists pushed outside the familiar gates of Bellefontaine this spring, taking a bold step to put their art “out there” before critics, adjudicators and the public. The results are worthy of a standing ovation:

In a delightfully entertaining show of talent and heartfelt emotion, the Dance Conservatory’s 2019 Choreographers’ Ball showcased the skills of our junior and senior dancers and our Technical Theatre members who created the 100% student-run show.