The Skin of Our Teeth

In the final week of the winter term, sixth graders brought Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth to life for the Lower School community, friends, and families. Each section of sixth grade performed one of the play's three acts, allowing every student to practice the acting and stagecraft skills they’ve been developing this year.

First, the sixth graders learned about Thornton Wilder and the time period in which his plays were written and performed. Wilder is well-known for deviating from theatrical conventions, which makes The Skin of Our Teeth an excellent play for middle school drama students. Throughout the play, actors break the fourth wall by addressing the audience directly with meta-theatrical commentary on the play. However, the play also focuses on the themes that are familiar to students, like family, hope, and resilience. The action is centered on the Antrobus family as it faces a series of apocalyptic threats, from an impending ice age to floods and war. The sixth graders enjoyed the elements of fantasy and farce in the play because it allowed them to play dramatic and humorous moments, notes Drama Teacher and Director Adam Crescenzi. “I think it's important for students their age to reach a little bit, and they responded well to that opportunity.” 

In the final weeks of rehearsal, students were on stage in Harris Theater practicing their blocking and ensuring that they were “cheating out” so the audience could see their expressions and hear their dialogue. The actors had to ensure that they were not only memorizing their own dialogue but the lines before theirs so they would know their cues. Each class also functioned as the set crew, managing the set pieces and scenery (created by Arts Department Chair Chris Kimball) and props. “Students are getting practice transitioning between scenes and doing it quietly, and that’s great first-hand experience,” notes Adam.