David Berry '90, High School English and Arts Faculty
David Berry reflects on the High School Play from Fall 2020: Almost, Maine:
Over the years, as the values and traditions of this theatre program have emerged and solidified, students who spend time here have learned that they can expect to share in a number of hallmark experiences: they can expect to perform Shakespeare; they can expect to participate in the development of new and original work, and they can expect to have the opportunity to experience working with classic scripts, both old and new.
This year, Almost, Maine joins Our Town as the second play to be performed three times by Ensworth’s High School students. This is not a fact that I shy away from. Like Our Town, the play has become a part of the culture of our program. Current students inherit roles formerly inhabited by company members from years past—former students who remain household names in these halls. Likewise, those former students smile when they hear that a story that they loved is being given new life with new voices. When I think of these plays, I hear all of their voices at once.
In years such as this one, there is something comforting both in the passage of time and in the mystery that there is something eternal in the moments and the relationships that we value. Thank you for sharing this story and this moment with us.
The spirit of a place is evident. If enough people believe in something, it becomes a truth. If enough people believe that truth, it becomes a culture. A culture passed from one generation to the next is a tradition. Everyone came together in support of the vision and In Search of Truth.
Ensworth is committed to providing our students with access to the latest technology and an expert faculty. The new Creative Technology Center at the High School, featuring an engineering-oriented instructional space, a full-service broadcast suite and control center, a dedicated home for the Robotics team and arena, a podcast studio, and a well-equipped digital media and computer science classroom, opened in the fall of this year.