Theatre Drama at Portledge begins in the Lower School and offers students exposure to the fundamentals of the theatre. Weekly Assemblies offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their talents and provides invaluable lessons of public speaking and teamwork. The Lower School Holiday Play is a rich tradition at Portledge that brings the entire community together. Throughout the Middle and Upper School year the theatre program takes a more comprehensive look at the world of theatre including the opportunity to perform the works of Shakespeare and dramatic plays such at Our Middle School students delighted their audience with the performance of Moliere farce, Les Precieuses Ridicules. They also participated in a Shakespeare festival after reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, or Romeo and Juliet. The students choose scenes that reach them in an individual way. Text analysis and character development are the primary goals of this project. The scenes are studied, blocked and rehearsed in Our Middle School students delighted their audience with the performance of Moliere farce, Les Precieuses Ridicules. They also participated in a Shakespeare festival after reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, or Romeo and Juliet. The students choose scenes that reach them in an individual way. Text analysis and character development are the primary goals of this project. The scenes are studied, blocked and rehearsed in class, and then they are presented to the middle school. This project is based on the Shakespeare & Co. model as performed in the New England Shakespeare Festival. Students discover that the context of Shakespeare’s plays is best understood through performance. Our Upper School students demonstrated their muscial and acting talents in their performance of Into The Woods.