Rivers Middle School students created a world of their own in the Black Box Theater for this year’s fall play. The latest Middle School production, [Insert Name of Show], was a show fully conceived, scripted, and acted by four Middle School students—Maggie Tompros ’30, Charlotte Hardgrave ’30, Alma Peña ’31, and Bea Ketcham ’30—under the direction of Ellie Strayer. The original show premiered in the Black Box Theater on Friday, November 15, with two additional community performances on Monday and Tuesday.

Almost, Maine, is an almost place that is almost magical. Almost, Maine is also the name of the Nonesuch Players’ fall production, performed in the Black Box Theater on November 7, 8, and 9. The play consists of eight short vignettes (plus a prologue, epilogue, and “interlogue”), tied together by the Northern Lights and by the theme of love.

Head of School Ryan S. Dahlem announced this week that, following a national search that drew a robust pool of candidates from across the country, Javier Caballero has been named executive director of performing arts at Rivers, beginning on August 1. In this newly created role, Caballero will be responsible for strategic vision and administrative oversight of The Rivers School Conservatory (RSC) and the Performing Arts Department at The Rivers School, including its signature Conservatory Program. This overarching leadership model will strengthen the relationship between RSC and The Rivers School to create a unified vision of performing arts on the Rivers campus.

Even before the opening curtain, it was clear that the Middle School musical, Finding Nemo Jr., would transport viewers to an undersea world. The Black Box theater had been transformed into a colorful coral reef, and Beach Boys tunes filled the air as the audience took their seats.

The Rivers Big Band, joined by members of Honors Big Band and Select 2 Combo, recently returned from a whirlwind cultural, historical, and musical tour of Cuba. While Rivers has offered travel programs with a music focus in the past, this is the first year a Rivers group has traveled to Cuba, with 21 students from the Rivers Honors Big Band participating in the trip, along with around 15 students from the Noble and Greenough School’s jazz band. Students took in the vibrant arts scene of music and art, playing and recording Cuban music with local conservatory students, learning and playing with master teachers and recording artists, visiting important cultural sites, and creating lasting intercultural friendships and partnerships.

If you’ve been to a performance of one of The Rivers School’s jazz ensembles in the last few years, it’s likely you’ve seen Ethan Kasparian Weisman ’24. A multi-instrumentalist from a young age, he has participated in the National YoungArts Competition twice—once for saxophone and most recently for clarinet, for which he was invited to National YoungArts Week in January with peers throughout the country. As a senior, his performance qualified him to be nominated as a 2024 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts, one of 60 nominees to earn this prestigious distinction, and one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students who exemplify artistic and academic excellence. We recently sat down with Kasparian Weisman to talk about his musical journey and recent successes.

Four Broadway stars walk into a tense PTA meeting at a high school in Indiana, where a gay teen has been excluded from attending her prom by the town’s small-minded PTA leadership. The stars are in desperate need of a cause and some rebranding, and the student—well, she just wants to attend her prom with her girlfriend like any other student, yet finds herself in a crossfire of egos, town values, social pressure, and media coverage. Thus the scene is set for Rivers’ winter musical, The Prom, performed by the Nonesuch Players. The large ensemble cast, production team, and pit orchestra delighted the audience with the magic of show business, delivering big choreographed numbers, comedic timing, talented acting and singing, and a powerful, uplifting story of love and acceptance (and many, many sequins!).