Home to state-of-the-art dance facilities and a vibrant theater community, Andover offers countless ways to get involved with theater and dance on campus. The first major performance opportunity available is Grasshopper, an annual variety show featuring dance, music, acting, magic, sword-fighting, and any other talent students are interested in performing. With auditions coming up on September 22, there’s still time to participate. This particular show is put on by the Department of Theatre and Dance, but each of these sectors has its array of opportunities. To Ivy Randall ’25, a former producer and a participant in the department, Grasshopper stands out as a memorable favorite.
“I might be biased because I produced it, but I think [Grasshopper] is one of the most incredible shows to see and to be a part of, just because it really brings together people from all over the community. We have so much talent on campus, and it’s so inspiring to see everybody,” said Randall.
There are three main ways to participate in a Grasshopper dance: dance courses, dance as a sport, and dance clubs. Dance as a sport meets during sports time, and allows students to take daily classes in the techniques of ballet and modern. Open to both beginners and lifelong dancers, the classes are broken into three levels, determined during a placement class. Through Dance as a Sport, students can participate in the tri-annual department shows. For the 2024-2025 school year, the Fall Term show will be with a resident company, the Repertory Dance Theatre. The Winter Term show will be a compilation of student-directed performances, and the Spring Term show will be the faculty-choreographed Spring Dance Concert.
For students interested in commercial styles, student-run clubs are the way to go. On campus, there are clubs in the styles of jazz (Blue Strut), hip-hop (Hypnotiq), Afro-Caribbean (Fusion), tap (Footnotes), Asian performing arts (APAC), KPop (JVNE), and Bollywood (BDC). These auditions will likely be held the weekend of September 13. More information can be found by going to the clubs’ Instagram accounts. These clubs participate in the Andover Dance Festivals. happening in the Winter and Spring terms, as well as Grasshopper and the pep rallies.
The final way to get involved with the dance program is through dance courses that meet during class time and are associated with a 1-6 grade. Students who are interested in learning about techniques, cultural influence, and the basics of composition may partake in introductory classes such as “Dance 1.” For those interested in choreography, “Choreographic Elements” is the prerequisite for an “Advanced Studies in Dance Performance,” or Theatre & Dance 902, an independent project where a student produces an eight to ten-minute piece directed, choreographed, and taught by them. Fellow students can also enroll to be a performer in one of these pieces
The Theatre section of the department also houses countless opportunities for performances, most of which are accessed through enrollment in a course. This Fall, there are three shows/courses open for students to enroll in: “Identity” intersects writing and acting with societal issues; “Devised Performance: Why We Vote” unites acting and activism; and “Numa in Fairyland,” a Theatre & Dance 901 (THD 901) play directed and produced by Wendi Ying ’25 and Melinda Wu ’25. Similar to dance, the “Advanced Practical Theater Performance,” or THD901, the course provides the opportunity for students to have complete creative control. Randall, who performed in Jack Swales’s ’24 THD 901 musical, “Fun Home,” spotlights the THD 901 and 902 courses as opportunities to both lead their own productions and participate in student-run classes.
“Second to [Grasshopper], the student-choreographed 901s and 902s are my favorite. I think Andover is really unique in that it allows students to lead their own productions entirely. They direct it, they work backstage, they do the tech. I think this is an amazing opportunity that you can’t find anywhere else, and it’s one of my favorite things about Andover… It was just an amazing experience to be a part of,” said Randall.
In the Winter and Spring Terms, there will be four more THD 901 performances in addition to a musical in the Spring (to be announced) and a play production of “Rossum’s Universal Robots.” Beginning in the Fall Term, the Theatre and Dance Producers (student leaders selected by the department) will bring back Drama Labs, short informal performances directed by students. Whether a devoted actor or dancer, or simply interested in trying something new, Andover offers many avenues to pursue. For the most updated information on the Department of Theatre and Dance, join the THDA Canvas page through the Theatre & Dance “space” on PAnet. Randall imparts her advice to new students looking to try theater or dance, encouraging everyone to get involved.
“[My advice] is to start as early as possible, and get involved as much as possible, because one opportunity just kind of leads to another… Really any experience level is welcome… Everybody should get involved with theater and dance at Andover, even if you don’t know if you’re 100 percent interested yet, or even if you’ve never done theater before. The community is really amazing, and theater brings people together in a way unlike anything else I’ve ever been a part of,” said Randall.
Interview 1: Ivy Randall ’25
Could you state your name and pronouns?
Ivy Randall, she/her pronouns.
Great. What is your role in the theater or dance department?
Right now, I’m just a participator, but last year I was a theater producer, so I produced Grasshopper as well as some of the smaller student-run theater shows, like Drama Labs, a couple of drag shows, that sort of stuff. And I have been in Anonymous, the play, I’ve been in Everybody, the play, I’ve been in Urinetown, the musical, and Assassin’s, the musical, and Shrek, the musical, and Fun Home, the musical, and Pathways, which is the devised piece. And I’m currently working to direct my own. And I dance, I do dance as a sport.
Okay. And can you talk about how new students can get involved with theater and dance?
Yeah, I think the best way is to audition for a show. My first, or maybe my second day of orientation, a blue key, who was a blue key head at the time, showed and told me to audition, and I was really nervous, but I did it, and it kind of got me hooked on the entire Andover Theater Department. So I would encourage new students to audition for a show, even if they think it could be scary at first, because it’s a great community to be a part of. And those shows can be 901s, which are our student-directed, or like the department plays, or department musicals. And for dance, you can do dance as a sport, or audition for one of the dance groups.
Great. And what advice would you give new students who are interested in trying theater and dance?
Um, start as early as possible, and get involved as much as possible, because one opportunity just kind of leads to another. Like, when I started, I never thought that I would be a producer or directing my own 901, until like, I think the fact that I auditioned my first, I don’t know. I don’t think that advice would work. I think auditioning as soon as possible, just to get your foot in the door in the department, is really great. And then also, I would advise them to talk to older students in the department about their favorite things, just because there’s such a variety of opportunities, from like, musicals to plays, student-directed, faculty-directed. There’s just like, a devised performance where you can include your own written pieces, like in the identity show, or other devised pieces. So yeah, talk to older students who’ve been in the department to find out what’s right for you.
And can actors or dancers of all levels participate?
Yeah, really any experience level is welcome. And there are opportunities for everybody. I don’t know.
No, no, that was good. What do you think is the most exciting thing coming up in the department this year?
My favorite event, probably at Andover, is Grasshopper. I might be biased because I produced it, but I think it is one of the most incredible shows to see and to be a part of, just because it really brings together people from all over the community. And we have so much talent on campus, and it’s so inspiring to see everybody do that. I think, second to that, the student-choreographed 901s and 902s are my favorite. I think Andover is really unique in that it allows students to lead their own productions entirely. They direct it, they work backstage, they do the tech. I think this is an amazing opportunity that you can’t find anywhere else, and it’s one of my favorite things about Andover.
Yay. What has been one of your most memorable moments from your time in the theater and dance department?
Two. One of them is probably the most memorable moment is producing Grasshopper. I had a really great group of other producers, and we spent almost every hour of free time that we had in the fall putting towards working a show. We spent almost every hour of free time working towards the show, and then to see it all pay off, and to be in the green room with all the other performers before the last show was just so rewarding, and it was such a happy space to be a part of because everybody’s so proud of each other, everybody’s so happy for each other, and it’s so amazing to watch each other. And then the second amazing moment was being part of Fun Home, which was Jack Swales, who graduated in the class of 24. This is 901, and I loved that we didn’t even have a teacher there. We were all there just because we wanted to be there and because we love theater so much. It was my first period class of the day, but to wake up to go see my favorite people and work on an amazing show, we were all just so excited to be there working together. It was just an amazing experience to be a part of.
Great. And do you have anything else you’d like to add?
Everybody should get involved with theater and dance at Andover, even if you don’t know if you’re 100% interested yet, or even if you’ve never done theater before. The community is really amazing, and theater brings people together in a way unlike anything else I’ve ever been a part of.
Yay! Okay, that’s great. Thank you.
