Each year, WHSAD’s Sophomores engage in an eight session residency with teaching artists from Park Avenue Armory. In the past, students have constructed collages using various media, crafted backdrops for scenes they scripted, and built subway cars out of plastic pipes to convey what NYC commuter life could be like. Each of these projects has some connection to a work the students viewed at the Armory, allowing them to investigate an artistic production in a deeper and more personal way. These sessions allow students to engage with one another in ways different from what takes place in a typical English classroom, from striking a pose in a tableaux to using iPads to record mini-films and voice overs. Every year, students have a great deal of praise for both the program and the teaching artists, who bring energy, open-mindedness, and creativity.
In this year’s residency, teaching artists Neil Tyrone Pritchard and Maxim Ibadov worked with students in creating storyboards and then tableaux based on various scenes from Romeo and Juliet. In March, a group from WHSAD attended Romeo and Juliet Suite, a dance iteration of Shakespeare’s play that used the Armory space in adventurous ways. This performance launched the residency which ended up with the students constructing Verona, the setting of the play, using classroom furniture.
In the following responses, participating students share their thoughts regarding these questions:
What do you remember most about this year’s residency?
What are some skills the residency helped you develop? Please provide specific examples from your experience.
What were your glows (positives) about working with Neil and Maxim? What suggestions do you have for them in planning future activities?
How did this residency help you dig into Romeo and Juliet more deeply ?
Based on your residency experiences and the Romeo and Juliet performance at Park Avenue Armory, why do you think the Armory is a good partner for WHSAD?
Vanessa Arris
I remember making the video for Romeo and Juliet. It was so much fun because I was Romeo, and I feel like I should go and play Romeo in real life. I will remember the little talks I had with Neil and Maxim.
One of the skills that the residency helped to develop is making a frozen film because you can tell a story without saying anything and doing anything.
Neil and Maxim were great. They made everything fun and comfortable, and I would want to have them again. I love the way that they were so positive. I enjoyed the residency because of them.
The residency helped me really understand Romeo and Juliet by having me act it out and writing and drawing the time line.
The Armory is a good partner for WHSAD because it lets students talk more with each other, and it’s not just work, work, work. You get to learn something and also have fun.
Leon Hutton
I remember being offered creative experiences through media such as dance and theater. We learned about Romeo & Juliet. Tableaux were used many times to illustrate scenes.
The residency helped me develop and translate emotion into still images. I learned how to convey many feelings through silence. It built my skills to work with people who weren’t very interested in the medium that is theater.
Neil and Maxim were very supportive and engaging with the students. It was helpful having people connect with a younger group who didn’t make you feel silly for a suggestion or idea.
Seeing multiple interpretations encouraged by the residency helped expand my view of it. Our storyboard drawings showed various viewpoints even after all being shown the same material.
The Armory offers very unique experiences in theater. I think it especially broadens our thoughts in English class, given we’re learning many Shakespearean pieces. The Armory is an engaging class I find myself looking forward to and actually interests me.
Tristan Richardson
I remember acting out the scenes and expressing the characters’ feelings through our actions.
It helped me develop the understanding of how powerful words or actions could be towards each other. For example, if two people were to hold each other’s face and smile, you can visualize that they love each other and show that they are joyful.
The glows/positives about working with Neil and Maxim were that they were very positive with the learning experience. Another glow is how creative and unique they are which gives us students a better understanding of how to look at things. For example, in class period 1 they used tables to express the scene of Romeo and Juliet dying/dead.
This residency helped me dig into a better understanding of Romeo and Juliet like before I had some knowledge of them but not a whole understanding of it. For example, I knew Romeo and Juliet’s parents had hatred for each other but them as individuals still loved each other. I never knew that until this experience so I learned a lot from Maxim and Neil.
I think the Armory is a good partner for WHSAD since it could give us a bit more experience in expanding our mindsets. I also think it’s good since it could help us be more creative as a school. Since we have a lot of diversity here at WHSAD, it could make us learn more about our culture, religions, etc.
Gerard Lozano
The Park Avenue Armory residency was a completely new experience to me in every way, and I felt all of it was beautiful in its own way. The most memorable was obviously the trip to the Armory where we watched Romeo and Juliet. I remember how they never excluded anyone and how diverse it was. They didn’t follow traditional roles and everyone could truly be themselves. I also loved how different the lessons in school were. Instead of desks and chairs and taking notes they allowed us to get up and move around.
The residency helped me develop an idea of confidence in myself after seeing how comfortable the actors and “teachers” were with themselves. The actors didn’t try to cover themselves up or act nervous/uncomfortable in any way. Neil and Maxim emphasized the fact that during their teaching, we were in a safe space and all they wanted was for the students to come out of their comfort zones. And lastly, they never forced us to do anything. Sure Mr Koestner may have penalized us for not participating, but Neil and Maxim never said anything, creating that safe atmosphere that allows students to become comfortable in their own self and ability.
Like I stated before, Neil and Maxim gave me the opportunity to be confident in myself. Though, in my opinion, they could reduce the amount of activities that require confidence in yourself. I’m not a very confident person so I was reluctant to participate in almost every class. The last few days were hard for me, and I was scared of being called. Maybe instead of kids having to act out the scenes if no one volunteers, either Neil or Maxim could fill in that spot while the other records.
Acting in general allows for more feelings to be visible and felt when watched. And with no words unlike traditional shows. Emotions can be felt on a deeper level. During the show, a feeling of genuine joy and love came off from watching it. The actors seemed like they truly love doing what they do and this allowed me to experience Romeo and Juliet in a completely new way.
I believe the Armory is a good partner for WHSAD. The confidence skill building can prepare students for Mr Koestner’s class and even Ms Silverstein’s Junior English class. It also allows students to experience something new, and even if they don’t like it, it’s still a fun experience. Neil and Maxim set a safe and inviting mood that classes don’t typically give off due to the traditional, systematic school system that students can enjoy even if they’re not on the confident side.
Chris Chen
I remember using the desks as buildings when we were filming the act. It was fun doing something hands-on while also using our architectural skills since we are in an architecture school after all. It seemed like something high schoolers would do in their free time, so being able to do that in a learning sense made it fun while also acting for Romeo and Juliet. I also enjoyed bringing my sword as a prop for them.
Some skills I’ve learned are collaborating, thinking skills, and socializing. Most of the time we were put into teams to work on something like story boarding, the tableaux, and acting together. We were told to think of different poses that would resemble scenes from Romeo and Juliet for just a few minutes which is kind of hard when you’re only giving one pose for a scene that could resemble many things. Also, socializing isn’t my thing since I tend to stick with people I know most and not people I never talk to. So when Neil and Maxim first came and we (the students) had to run around randomly in the middle of the classroom and we formed that long line of circling around others was fun because we didn’t know each other but we still socialized together.
Neil and Maxim were super outgoing and sweet, and always engaged with the students with different songs they liked and they were super chill to work with. Maxim and Neil complimented some of my artwork when we first met each other and when I was drawing for the storyboards as well.
They showed us different clips of Romeo and Juliet and gave us different examples of themes that were shown in the story. They also made us do acting for different parts of the scenes do show emotion. We also went on the trip to the Armory to see a show in-person which helped give me a better visual of Romeo and Juliet since I didn’t know it that well. Now, I could basically sum up Romeo and Juliet’s story when before I didn’t even know why they loved each other so much.
The Armory is a good partner for WHSAD mainly because of their staff. The staff really engage with the students and help make learning fun since high school students tend to be bored very easily. Letting the students try out different things like acting and being able to socialize with each other while working is basically a dream come true for many high school students while also learning about something new everyday the Armory is here.
Jose Alicea
I remember a lot about Romeo and Juliet. Romeo and Juliet was a story that I was never really familiar with before this year. I was shocked at how fast I understood it with Neil and Maxim’s help.
They helped me develop my acting skills. I always loved acting, and If I had a chance in the future, I would 100% be an actor. In middle school I acted in a play in which I was rewarded with a trip to Greece.
I loved the attitude and energy they always brought to class. Every day I was ecstatic to see them, not because it was a “free day” but to see their bright smiles. Suggestion? KEEP DOING WHAT UR DOING
It definitely helped me learn about the story, whilst also teaching me themes about love and communication.
I think the Armory is a great partner with WHSAD because of my experiences. Freshman year was amazing, and I loved how we played lots of games whilst also learning. Sophomore year was a lot of acting. I love acting.
James Dress
What I remember most about this year’s residency is building the setting Verona out of tables and chairs. After we built the setting by stacking tables there was an empty space in the center of the room. In this space 4 students, 2 Romeo actors and 2 Juliet actors acted out the scene. This stood out the most to me because I have never done something like this before.
Skills the residency helped me develop are teamwork skills. When my group made drawings for each scene and when we stacked the tables on top of each other we had to practice working together. This skill is very useful because it helps you work with others.
Neil and Maxim were very nice and positive. I think they could be more clear on what the goal is by the end of the residency. For example, we drew images and practice activities, but I felt that these things did not contribute to what the goal of the residency was.
It helped me dig into Romeo and Juliet because it helped us visualize each scene. For example, we went into groups and drew each scene, which helped us think about what emotions were going on when we had to draw the emotions.
I think the Armory is a good partner for WHSAD because they helped us learn how to dig deep. Additionally, it helped us with teamwork skills which is good for the future. Overall, I think they are a good fit because they help us learn valuable new skills.
Angel Zelocualtecatl Rodriguez
I remember most that the main focus of it was over Romeo and Juliet. Then we would do our own take on it and make a play, where we could create our own stage.
Some skills that were developed in the Armory was teamwork. In creating Verona, we had to all work together and help one another to make the setting with the tables and chairs. Then we had to split up the lines and help one another in what to say.
I loved how we went more into the understanding of Romeo and Juliet. For example, in the first or second time they came we started to go over multiple themes then we started to compare and give similarities to other literature. But I would want to add more interaction due to when recording there was only 2 main people acting.
This residency helps you dig into Romeo and Juliet more deeply because we went beyond just about the story. For example, we went and listed themes that are part of it and then found similar media that have themes of forbidden love which connect to Romeo and Juliet.
I think the Armory is a good partner for WHSAD. The Armory showed us how plays are unique through the use of the surroundings as seen in the trip. Then there was the use of our creativity through making our own Verona and poses.
Jadelis Collado
I remember that it was about Romeo and Juliet. I also remember that we had to act out the scenes of Romeo and Juliet. I also remember that there was a trip to go to the Armory.
One skill that the residency helped me develop was to stand still like a statue when it was time to record. Another skill I developed was how to hold my poses for a long time. Another skill I developed was how different tones can affect the meaning and intent of a line.
My glow was that I had fun working with them and I laughed a lot. I suggest that they should work with students for a long period of time because they are really fun to work with. One specific experience was when they stacked up the chairs so we could recreate scenes from Romeo and Juliet.
It helped me dive more deeply by showing me what love can do when there is a lot of hate. One example was when they both killed themselves so they could be together.
Yes it was because they are very fun. They are also good for helping us understand story plots. They also helped us learn about the complexity of the story.
Alan Perez
Some things I remembered about this year’s residency are when we always get together as a group and work together. I remember when we had to act out plays of Romeo and Juliet. And I also remember when we had to choose our own movie and act out a scene and everybody was supposed to guess what movie it was.
It helped me work with others. When we always work together in groups, it helped me get along with others and communicate with others.
Some positives are that they always brought positive energy, and they were always respectful, especially during acting out scenes. They were always happy to see us improve.
It helped me better understand the whole story and find the real main idea.
It’s a good partner for WHSAD as they can help students communicate with others. It can also help other students find some fun and get a job in the Armory while getting paid which is always a great opportunity
Malia Williams
I remember most of the acting activities we did such as the tableaux where we went around in a circle and did poses that represented scenes. I also remember the acting activities where we had to pick scenes and act it out without speaking. I remember the last thing we did when we had to build the background of the Romeo and Juliet scene.
Team work as a lot of the scenes we had to do with people in our group, and we needed their help to complete it. It also helped me improve as we had no script; we just had to do what felt right. Also it helped me think outside the box as we had to be creative with the scenes.
My glows would be the things that I learned working with Neil and Max, such as what a tableau is and how it’s used.
It helped as we were required to think deeply about the scenes we had to perform, such as the fight scene between the characters. We had to figure out a way to portray that with examples.
Yes I think the Armory is a good choice for WHSAD because we are a design and architecture school which sometimes requires you to think outside the box. And to get creative in our ideas and designs and working with the Armory really encourages that in the tasks and the requirements that are had. The Armory encourages the type of approach that is needed in our work at a school for design and architecture which requires creativity and unique thinking.