NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (June 23, 2021) – Graduation week at New Rochelle High School is even sweeter for students who were part of this year’s high school musical. Apple has posted a story on its Newsroom website, featuring and celebrating the students, teachers and families who took part in “Is There Life After High School,” produced this spring amid the challenges of the pandemic. The innovative and creative undertaking harnessed technology to deliver an outstanding experience for those in the production, as well as for the audiences that enjoyed the performances online.
When in-person learning was interrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drama teacher Anthony Stirpe used iPhones, iPads and Mac computers to aid students in reinventing the annual high school musical. The process built exceptional opportunities for students to learn and connect in new and different ways.
Unable to stage the play live, Stirpe – an Apple Distinguished Educator – turned New Rochelle High School’s production of the Broadway musical into a months-long project that incorporated student actors, dancers, the school orchestra and even parents. Alumni helped direct. Scenes were filmed both at school and in the students’ homes, with their parents as added cast members.
A major scene filmed at New Rochelle High School featured parents lining the halls as Stirpe moved past them, capturing their exultations on video. News media were there that day, documenting the making of the musical and the innovative use of technology. The Apple Newsroom feature story includes photos, as well as quotes from Stirpe, New Rochelle High School seniors Noah Massey and Olivia Dower and Olivia’s mother.
“It was important for our students to have the rite of passage of staging a spring musical,” said Stirpe. “We brought it to life in probably the most unique way possible.”
Also quoted in the Apple feature is Jeffrey Kindley, who wrote the Broadway musical 40 years ago. After watching the New Rochelle production online, he wrote to Stirpe: “You created something spectacular in our year of lockdown limitations: You found ways to use the intimacy of iPad and Zoom to focus on private moments and make them instantly relatable… It’s odd to be moved by your own words when you wrote them four decades ago, but it happens when talented people bring them to life again.”
“Is There Life After High School” is available for viewing online through June 27; tickets are available for a donation of $10.
