The Upper School Theatre Program

The Abington Friends School theatre program is designed to immerse our students in the storytelling art of live theatre. The ability to tell stories is a fundamental aspect of the human experience, and doing it well creates community as well as art.

The Upper School theatre program provides challenging learning experiences to expose student actors and student technicians to the multi-faceted world of live performance. Students may engage in both the acting and technical tracks, or focus on just one. Both tracks seek to ground the student in practical individual skills while placing emphasis on the collaborative nature of theatre.

The theatre program empowers students with the skills, history and artistry of theatre in order to explore the stories, old, new and yet to be created, of what it is to be a human being. We strive to expose our students to a full spectrum of theatre in terms of history, style and genre, and are particularly engaged by the opportunities to connect with new work and living artists.

In the class, on the stage or behind the scenes, students learn the craft of performing, designing and technical theatre and how the collaborative efforts of many combine to bring to life stories that surprise, challenge and delight; reminding us all of what makes us unique, what we share in common and what we have yet to learn.

AFS is a participant in the Cappies program, a national program celebrating the work and achievement of high school theatre and theatre critics. Since joining the program, the AFS theatre program has been recognized with  62 nominations in 19 categories and 18 wins.

Students are encouraged to experience theatre through the Mainstage Season, with two major productions a year, or through student-driven Independent Projects.