Every year, Berkeley Carroll's sixth graders take on one of the most ambitious projects of their Middle School journey. This spring, the annual Grade 6 Play Festival returned as the culminating event of the sixth grade Advising curriculum, with students bringing original, student-crafted plays inspired by ancient Greek myths and The Odyssey to life on stage at the Marlene Clary Performance Space.

The work behind the performances was anything but simple. Working within their Advising groups, students were responsible for every element of production: writing original scripts, making casting decisions, building scenery, designing props and costumes, blocking their performances, memorizing lines, and problem-solving together whenever challenges arose. The result was a showcase that was entirely their own, from first draft to final bow.

Woven throughout the process was a rich set of social-emotional learning skills. Students practiced self-management as they juggled creative and logistical demands, responsible decision-making as a group, and relationship skills as they navigated the collaborative work of putting on a show. The Play Festival, in this way, is as much about the journey as the performance itself.

When the lights came on, the creativity, dedication, and camaraderie that sixth graders had poured into their work over the past several months was on full display. Congratulations to all sixth grade students and their advisors on another EPIC production!

View More Photos Here