The axiom, “The Show Must Go On!” is alive and well at Albert Leonard Middle School, where seventh-graders on March 18 attended their first full auditorium assembly in two years. The presentation: A live performance of New Rochelle High School’s fall production of “12 Angry Jurors,” a version of the classic 1957 courtroom-drama film released as “12 Angry Men.”
“As this is one of the texts read in many of the classes in seventh-grade English Language Arts, it was a fantastic opportunity for the ALMS English Department to partner with the PAVE/Performing and Visual Arts Education Program at New Rochelle High School to bring a piece of literature to life,” said Albert Leonard Humanities Chair David Luhman.
Albert Leonard Principal Camille Edwards-Thomas also praised the cooperation between the schools. “We are so grateful to the students and faculty advisors from our TheatreWorks program who volunteered to put on an additional showing of the play in March when many of our students are actually reading the work in their classes.”
Seventh-grade English Language Arts teachers at Albert Leonard said students were highly engaged in the debate and drama they saw unfold as the characters struggled with their decisions to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. Teacher Sarah Fernandez said, “Students were able to learn about the importance and challenges of participating in jury duty. They learned valuable lessons about understanding human biases and the need to work hard at remaining objective when examining evidence and making decisions. The content of the play also tied directly into the work students do in social studies to understand the significance of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.”
Michelle Shapiro, a faculty advisor, said, “This was a very special collaboration for TheatreWorks to be involved in. Not only was this event relevant, educational and enjoyable, but the performance also allowed our secondary students to be really engrossed in a true theatrical experience during a time in our society when students have not had much exposure to these kinds of live events.”
Another faculty advisor involved in the play, Lisbeth Lynn, and Deepak Marwah, the school district’s Director of Performing and Visual Arts, were delighted that middle-school students expressed an interest in becoming involved with PAVE after seeing high school students’ impressive acting skills.
