• Justin Yamaguchi (I) Named National YoungArts Winner

    Justin Yamaguchi (I) Named National YoungArts Winner

    For his skills on violin, senior Justin Yamaguchi has been named a 2024 National YoungArts Winner in Classical Music Violin. As described on the YoungArts website, “Winners are chosen for their caliber of artistic achievement by esteemed discipline-specific panels of artists through a rigorous blind adjudication process.”

    For more than four decades, the YoungArts Award has been recognizing talent and hard work like Justin’s: artistic skill that demonstrates exceptional technique; a strong sense of artistry; and a depth of thinking and performance that exceeds the level of peers at this career stage.

    As part of the award, in addition to a cash prize, Justin is eligible to participate in one of two in-person interdisciplinary programs held in Los Angeles or New York City this spring, as well as virtual professional development seminars with fellow YoungArts award winners.

    Erin Berg

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  • “The Play That Goes Wrong” Is So Right

    “The Play That Goes Wrong” Is So Right

    On November 9 and 11, more than 50 actors and crew members brought to life the antics, hilarity, and mishaps of The Play That Goes Wrong, Roxbury Latin’s fall Senior Play, written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields.

    This Olivier Award-winning comedy is “a hilarious hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes. Welcome to opening night of The Murder at Haversham Manor where things are quickly going from bad to utterly disastrous,” says the show’s site. 

    “During the performance—a play within a play—a plethora of disasters befalls the cast, including doors sticking, props falling from the walls and falling apart. Cast members misplace props, forget lines, miss cues, break character, are made to drink white spirit instead of whisky, mispronounce words, step on fingers, and are manhandled off stage. One cast member is knocked unconscious, and her replacement (the group’s technician) refuses to yield when she returns. In another scene, an actor repeats an earlier line of dialogue, causing the other actors to repeat the whole dialogue sequence, ever more frenetically, several times. In the climax, virtually the whole of the remaining set collapses.” (Wikipedia)

    Roxbury Latin’s production—directed by Mr. Phillips with technical direction by Ms. Korotkin—packed the Smith Theater both evenings with theater-goers young and old, and laughter rang the whole night through.

    View production photos, taken by Mr. Miller.

    CAST
    Aidan D’Alessandro ‘24
    Akhilsai Damera ‘24
    Brendan Reichard ‘25
    Fintan Reichard ‘26
    Habo Baaj ‘26
    Leo Bene ‘24
    Liam Walsh ‘26
    Lucas Connors ‘25
    Lucas Vander Elst ‘24
    Maeve Cullen (UA) ‘25
    Maggie Crowley (NCDS) ‘25
    Makenna Devine (UA) ‘25
    Max Kesselheim ‘26
    Nick Glaeser ‘26
    Oliver Colbert ‘26
    Ryan Peterson ‘24
    Simba Makura ‘26
    Sophia Beaver (NCDS) ‘25
    Taylor Ehler (TRS) ‘25
    Thomas Silva ‘24
    Tom Pogorelec ‘26

    SET / TECH THEATER CLASS
    Alex Giordano ‘25
    Andrew Plante ‘27
    Austin O’Leary ‘28
    Ben McVane ‘25
    Benjamin Dearden ‘25
    Caiden Crowley ‘28
    Charles Malley ‘29
    Christo Velikin ‘25
    Colin Bradley ‘26
    Danny Tobin ‘26
    Devan Rajagopalan ‘25
    Flynn Hall ‘27
    Jacob Lando ‘29
    Jaden Barrack-Anidi ‘25
    James Gibbons ‘26
    JP Ward ‘26
    Kevin Brennan ‘25
    Liam Russell ‘25
    Logan McLaughlin ‘25
    Luca Bene ‘26
    Michael DiLallo ‘26
    Michael Stojny ‘25
    Nathan Ginsburg ‘29
    Nishant Rajagopalan ‘27
    Noah Abdur Rahim ‘25
    Rory Kelly ‘28
    Ryan Conneely ‘25
    Sam Ruscito ‘28
    Simon Albrechtskirchinger ‘26
    Taylor Cotton ‘25
    Timmy Ryan ‘25
    Tucker Rose ‘25
    Xavier Maricich ‘27
    Zach Beaver ‘27

    LIGHTING
    Dylan Pan ‘26

    SOUND
    Chris Vlahos ‘26

    STAGE MANAGEMENT / RUN CREW
    Austin Reid ‘26
    Avish Kumar ‘26
    Calvin Reid ‘25
    Jordan Bornstein ‘26
    Joshua Hua ‘25
    Miles Baumal-Bardy ‘25
    Nitin Muniappan ‘26

    Erin Berg

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  • Glee Club Takes to Nashville and Memphis!

    Glee Club Takes to Nashville and Memphis!

    In the early morning hours of March 18, four members of RL’s faculty and 56 members of the Glee Club boarded a plane to head to two of America’s most iconic music destinations. First the group spent three days in Nashville, Tennessee—Music City! On Saturday, they spent some time getting to know downtown Nashville before heading to the legendary Grand Ole Opry. On Sunday, RL’s singers provided music for the service at Belmont United Methodist Church; performed at and visited the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; and enjoyed a private concert by the versatile artist Ajaye at Ole Red. On Monday, the group worked with two choirs at Montgomery Bell Academy and performed at the all-school assembly that kicked off MBA’s Field Day. RL’s boys and faculty visited Vanderbilt University and enjoyed a wonderful dinner and musical exchange with our friends, the French Family Band. (Camille, Stuie, and Sonny French—along with their bassist Joe Reed—were last year’s Berman Visiting Artists in Residence, performing two concerts at RL and working with student musicians in master classes and jam sessions throughout the school day.) RL’s students and adults were also honored to meet, hear, and perform with Jimmy Fortune of the Statler Brothers. Highlights of that evening included Tait Oberg (I) and John Austin (I) trading solos with Sonny and Joe, and Glee Club singers singing “My Girl” with five professional musicians as their backing band!

    From Nashville, the group departed for Memphis, where they spent three days performing and hearing some great music, as well as learning about the history and culture of our country and the Mississippi Delta region. On Tuesday, the group visited the battlefield where Union forces held off a Confederate charge at the Battle of Franklin. They then arrived in Memphis, where they performed at the Central Atrium of Crosstown Arts and heard a tremendous jazz concert presented by the students of Stax Music Academy. On Wednesday, the group headed downstream: First stop was Helena, Arkansas, where they performed at the Helena Country Club for the local Rotary and Kiwanis Clubs. They then went on to Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Tait and John once again got to jam with a pro: blues artist, Super Chikan. The day ended with a fun change of pace, as the group took in an exciting NBA game (with the hometown Grizzlies prevailing!). The trip’s concluding days began with a tour of the legendary Sun Studio, followed by time to explore Beale Street (which included some Latonics busking in the Land of the Delta Blues!), followed by a moving visit to the National Civil Rights Museum.

    The weeklong trip was memorable, and included not only performing, hearing, and learning about music, but also taking in the sites, sounds, and tastes of another area of our country, rich in history and culture. Thank you to Mr. Opdycke, Mr. Pojman, Mr. Beam, and Mr. Pellegrini for chaperoning this year’s spring break Glee Club trip.

    View photos from the Glee Club trip to Nashville and Memphis, taken by Mike Pojman.

    Erin Berg

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  • RL Presents The Little Prince, This Year’s Junior Play

    RL Presents The Little Prince, This Year’s Junior Play

    Each winter, RL’s youngest, budding actors and crew—from Class VI through Class IV—come together for the production of the annual Junior Play. On February 24 and 25, The Little Prince—by Rick Cummings and John Scoullar, adapted from the beloved book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry—filled the Smith Theater, bringing the classic tale to vivid life.

    The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, addressing themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss. Despite its style as a children’s book, The Little Prince makes observations about life, adults, and human nature. Saint-Exupéry’s most successful work, The Little Prince has sold an estimated 140 million copies worldwide, which makes it one of the bestselling books in history. The work has been translated into more than 500 languages and dialects and has been adapted to many and varied art forms and media.

    Director Derek Nelson noted in the show’s program, “My first or second year at RL was the last time that, for the Junior Play, we mounted a stage adaptation of a book that the boys also read in one of their classes. That first time it was The Lord of the Flies—in the Class V curriculum—and some of you may remember that the set looked more like a skateboard park than an island. Plus ça change, as the Aviator might say! Boys who take French read The Little Prince in the Class IV year, and I think it appeals to the philosopher, the poet, and the explorer in all of us. We have taken dramatic liberties with it (‘Really, Mr. Nelson—step ladders?’) because they seem appropriate, given how fanciful and lyrical the story is—and because the stars at night ‘sound like five hundred million bells.’”

    From Le Petit Prince:
    “All men have stars, but they are not the same things for different people. For some, who are travelers, the stars are guides. For others they are no more than little lights in the sky. For others, who are scholars, they are problems… But all these stars are silent. You—you alone will have stars as no one else has them… In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars will be laughing when you look at the sky at night… You, only you, will have stars that can laugh! And when your sorrow is comforted (time soothes all sorrows) you will be content that you have known me… You will always be my friend. You will want to laugh with me. And you will sometimes open your window, so, for that pleasure… It will be as if, in place of the stars, I had given you a great number of little bells that knew how to laugh.”
    —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

    View a complete gallery of photos from the production, taken by Mr. Miller.

    Cast List
    Aviator(s): Liam Walsh, Eric Archerman
    The Little Prince(s): Nate Kelly, Austin O’Leary, Luke Kern, Teddy LaFond
    The Rose: Toby Harrison
    The King: Denmark Chirunga
    Conceited Man: Paul Tompros
    Businessman: Nicholas Glaeser
    Lamplighter: Liam Guadagno
    Geographer: Caiden Crowley
    Snake: Nitin Muniappan
    Fox: Fintan Reichard
    Ensemble: Casey Chiang, Toby Harrison, Ameer Hasan, Milan Kapasi, Rory Kelly, Thomas Numa

    Tech Crew
    Tech Director: Ms. Korotkin
    Costume Designer: Joy Adams
    Costume Assistant: Cass Martyn-Seidl
    Tech Assistant: James Allan
    Stage Manager: Cass Martyn-Seidl
    Lighting Design: Ms. Korotkin
    Light Board Operator: Austin Reid
    Sound Design: James Allan
    Recorded Music: Instrumental music & sound effects by Rick
    Cummings and John Scoullar
    Props: Mr. Nelson, Ms. Korotkin, Cass Martyn-Seidl
    Sound Board Operators: James McCurley, Chris Vlahos
    Set Crew: Ben Romano, John Cirasuolo, Austin Reid, Ajay Devendran, Simon Albrechtskirchinger, Joseph Raposo, Jack Kelly, Kolby Sahin, Matthew Young, Oliver Colbert, Max Goldman
    Projector Operator/Run Crew: John Cirasuolo, Chris Vlahos
    Production Photographer: Mr. Miller

    Erin Berg

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  • Eric Zhu, Class II, Accepted into National Youth Orchestra

    Eric Zhu, Class II, Accepted into National Youth Orchestra

    After a comprehensive and highly competitive audition process, Eric Zhu (II) was invited by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to join the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA). As a member of NYO-USA, Eric will have the honor to play with some of the most talented young musicians from around the country; learn from top-notch orchestra professionals and guest artists; and serve as a cultural ambassador while traveling and performing nationally and internationally. Each year, NYO-USA receives applications from many exceptional musicians but ultimately offers about 100 instrumentalist spots. Eric is one of 14 violists chosen for the orchestra.

    In its tenth anniversary season, the 2023 NYO-USA program will span the month of July and kicks off with a two-week residency at Purchase College in New York. Following the residency, NYO-USA will embark on a North American tour—its first since 2014—under the direction of Sir Andrew Davis, with Gil Shaham as the guest soloist for most of the concerts. After an opening performance at Carnegie Hall, the orchestra will travel coast to coast, starting at the newly opened Groton Hill Music Center in Massachusetts and ending at the spectacular Rady Shell in San Diego. The tour will also have an international stop at one of Canada’s leading festivals outside Montreal. 

    In addition to being accepted into the NYO-USA, Eric will join the Massachusetts All-State Orchestra to perform at Symphony Hall in March. Having started his musical journey at a young age, Eric has been a member of Boston University Tanglewood Institute, NEC Prep Chamber Music Intensive Performance Seminar (CHIPS), Greenwood Music Camp, and Rivers Honor ChamberMusicLab, and is currently part of the Honors Chamber Music at Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras and a principal violist for the Boston Youth Symphony.

    Erin Berg

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  • Woodworking and Craftsmanship: An Exhibit of Alumni Work

    Woodworking and Craftsmanship: An Exhibit of Alumni Work

    This year’s Winter Art Exhibit, currently on display in the Great Hall, features the work of four alumni who have combined science, math, and artistry to create careers focused on woodworking and carpentry, architecture and design. They and their work have become known entities in Boston’s humming furniture and construction scene, having been featured in Boston Magazine and the Boston Globe Magazine. This month all four of these grads were with us on campus celebrating the exhibit and spending time talking with students, faculty, parents, and fellow alumni about their crafts.

    Lucas Robertson, Class of 2000, and Tim Pingree, Class of 2002, together founded SHAKE Architecture and Construction in 2017, to marry their parallel disciplines—of building and architecture respectively—into a seamless, holistic approach to design and construction.



    Lucas is a licensed contractor with 15 years of building experience. A Dartmouth College graduate, he studied further at Yestermorrow Design Build School, and has worked as a framer and finish carpenter in California and throughout New England. Lucas oversees Shake’s project construction and coordination while personally leading many of the critical aspects of each project, from framing to finish carpentry.

    Tim is a licensed architect with a diverse educational and professional background. A graduate of Williams College, Tim earned his master’s in architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In addition to working for builders and fabricators, Tim’s professional experience includes positions at architecture firms in San Francisco, in Cambridge, and most recently with William Rawn Associates in Boston. Tim leads Shake’s design process from concept through construction documents and construction administration.

    Together, Lucas and Tim strive to create projects that are carefully designed and built to exceed owners’ expectations, and that contribute positively to the surrounding community and greater environment.

    Zack Hardoon, Class of 2005, and Kevin Mullin, Class of 2010, are carpenters and craftsmen with Cannon Hill Woodworking, a custom furniture shop founded by Zack and their colleague Sam O’Leary. Their team specializes in crafting residential and commercial tables and benches, desks and bars, kitchen islands and shelving.

    After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Zack spent two years as an elementary school teacher in both Boston and San Francisco before becoming a professional carpenter. He got his start with Robertson Design Build, now Shake Architecture and Construction, in high-end residential remodel and new construction projects. He took a break in 2016 to hike the entire Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. Prior to founding Cannon Hill, Zack spent years building tables in the Boston area. With the Cannon Hill team, he has built and delivered more than 500 unique custom tables.

    Moving pieces of that scale from workshop to final destination requires more than craftsmanship—it calls for the right kind of transport. Depending on the load, a flatbed may suit carefully finished tables, while a dump trailer can handle bulk materials and site debris during builds. Many professionals rely on services like trailer rental mapleton to match the equipment to the task, ensuring each piece arrives safely and each job runs efficiently without unnecessary delays.

    That kind of flexibility keeps projects moving in rhythm with the work itself, allowing craftsmen to focus on precision rather than logistics. Whether coordinating deliveries across the city or managing materials between job sites, having access to dependable hauling options supports both the creative and practical sides of the trade, ensuring each build is completed with the same care it began with.

    After graduating from RL, Kevin went on to Boston College, where he earned a degree in English—harboring an ambition to learn furniture making the whole time. Originally a home builder by trade, Kevin met Zack on the job sites where they came up together. Kevin has worked with several high-end residential contractors in Boston and also ran his own carpentry subcontracting outfit. After helping out at Cannon Hill off and on over the years and assisting on the shop build-out, Kevin eventually joined the Cannon Hill team full-time. He now splits his time at Cannon Hill between the shop floor and the administrative side of the company.

    On January 12, all four alumni joined us for a panel-style Hall in the Smith Theater, during which they discussed their varied career paths, shared what’s most rewarding about the work they do, and offered advice to anyone interested in pursuing a similar line of work. (Watch the entirety of their Hall presentation.) After Hall, they joined students in Engineering and Woodworking classes to further discuss their work in the context of what boys are learning. Finally, we were glad to welcome more than 60 alumni and friends, family and former faculty members to an opening reception of the Winter Art Exhibit, showcasing their work in person, as well as in video and images. The exhibit is available for viewing in the Great Hall through February 9.

    Erin Berg

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  • Roxbury Latin Welcomes Jazz Quartet The Late Risers

    Roxbury Latin Welcomes Jazz Quartet The Late Risers

    It was fitting that on a cold, gray day in January, Roxbury Latin students, faculty, and staff were treated to a sunny and upbeat performance from local jazz quartet The Late Risers—a band that has been described as “the musical equivalent of blue skies and glorious sunshine.”

    The Late Risers got their start in 2014, when trumpet player and bandleader Sam Dechenne invited Josiah Reibstein (tuba), Tev Stevig (tenor banjo), and Nat Seelen (clarinet) to participate as a jazz quartet in the growing revitalization of Boston’s Downtown Crossing district. Their strolling “Pocket Jazz Band” has been together ever since, bringing traditional 1920-1940s era Jazz to the street corners of Boston and all over the world.

    In addition to performing traditional and New Orleans-style jazz, The Late Risers play popular modern tunes as well as original compositions. They even welcomed RL students to perform with them, as the band members spent the morning on campus for conversation and musical collaboration with some of RL’s talented jazz and vocal musicians in both the Smith Theater and Instrumental Room.

    The concert Hall was made possible by the generosity of the Andrew Daland ’46 Memorial Concert Fund, established by Andrew’s wife, Pamela Worden, and his family and friends, with the purpose of bringing a musical concert to Roxbury Latin boys each year in Andrew’s memory. 

    Since the Fund’s establishment, Roxbury Latin has welcomed many musicians to campus, including guitarist Jason Vieaux; the a cappella group Cantus; Elijah Rock; violinist Stefan Jackiw ’03; Yale’s Whiffenpoofs; singer-songwriter Jonathan Edwards; alumnus David Leach ’09 and Julia Connor who together form Room to Spare; and most recently, Matt Weiner ’89 and his band Squirrel Butter. We are grateful for the generosity that fuels this musical experience each year.

    View their Hall performance, this year’s Daland Concert.

    Erin Berg

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  • Holiday Concerts Kick Off the Winter Break

    Holiday Concerts Kick Off the Winter Break

    In Roxbury Latin tradition, on the day following mid-year exams—and just before the students and faculty leave campus for a well-deserved winter break—nearly half of the student body assembles to deliver a festive and joyful holiday concert, honoring the celebrations and spirit of the season. On December 16 we were delighted to have Rousmaniere Hall filled with family and friends who joined in a happy evening of song to commence the vacation and close the year 2022.

    Led by conductors Rob Opdycke, Director of Music, and Kerry Brennan, Headmaster, the members of the Glee Club, the Latonics, and the Junior Chorus regaled an audience at 4:30 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The second concert was followed by refreshments and fellowship in the Bernstein Tea Room.

    Roxbury Latin Glee Club

    Personent Hodie
    from Piae Cantiones
    Mathias Why, organ
    arr. Gustav Holst

    Ne Sedi Djemo
    Bosnian Folk Song
    arr. Stephen Sametz

    Lowlands
    American Sea Shanty
    Eddy Pan, solo
    arr. Alice Parker & Robert Shaw

    Ave Maria
    Tomás Luis de Victoria
    arr. Hans Lavater

    Somebody’s Calling My Name
    Traditional Spiritual
    Emmanuel Nwodo, solo
    arr. Wendell P. Whalum

    Roxbury Latin Latonics

    Ave Verum Corpus
    William Byrd

    Shenandoah
    American Sea Shanty
    Michael Allen, solo
    arr. Jameson Marvin

    The Christmas Song
    Robert Wells & Mel Tormé
    Emmanuel Nwodo, solo
    arr. The Blenders

    Roxbury Latin Junior Chorus

    Winter Wonderland
    Felix Bernard
    Marco Suri, piano
    arr. Andy Beck

    The Lion Sleeps Tonight
    Solomon Linda
    Nishant Rajagopalan, Rory Kelly,
    & Flynn Hall, solos
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Pompeii
    Bastille
    Eric Archerman & Michael Clark, solos
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Roxbury Latin Latonics

    Got to Get You into Good Day Sunshine
    Lennon & McCartny
    Xavier Martin & Ryan Miller, solos
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Walking in Memphis
    Marc Cohn
    Emmanuel Nwodo, solo
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Sh-Boom
    The Chords
    Brendan Reichard, Alexander Sanzone
    & Tommy Reichard, solos
    arr. Alexander Sanzone

    Grenade
    Bruno Mars
    Tommy Reichard & Fin Reichard, solos
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Roxbury Latin Glee Club

    My Girl
    Smokey Robinson & Ronald White
    Emmanuel Nwodo, Tommy Reichard & Nahum Workalemahu, solos
    arr. Rob Opdycke

    Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho
    Traditional Spiritual
    Justin Yamaguchi & Eric Zhu, piano
    arr. Howard Helvey

    Chanukah, oi chanukah
    Charles L. Baker
    Justin Yamaguchi, piano

    Brightest and Best
    from Southern Harmony
    Justin Yamaguchi, violin;
    Michael Allen, bass; Eric Zhu, piano
    arr. Shawn Kirchner

    Sleigh Ride
    Leroy Anderson
    Dennis Jin, piano
    arr. Michael Edwards

    The Founder’s Song
    James Shelley Hamilton
    Mathias Why, organ
    Joined by the Junior Chorus & Roxbury Latin Alumni

    Erin Berg

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  • Love and Information: This Fall’s Senior Play

    Love and Information: This Fall’s Senior Play

    Over the weekend of November 11 and 12, more than 40 actors brought to life the ideas and emotions, conversations and relationships comprising playwright Caryl Churchill’s Love and Information, Roxbury Latin’s fall Senior Play.

    Love and Information is a compilation of 49 short scenes within seven sections, each scene ranging in length from less than a minute to a few minutes long. The seven sections of the play—simply numbered one through seven—must be performed in order, however the many vignettes within each section can be included in whatever order the director chooses. Each scene has a short title, denoting topics as diverse and far reaching as Climate or Dinner, Mother or Spies, God or Dream. The play includes more than 100 characters, however none of the characters are named or gendered, and any can be double cast—as was the case in RL’s production. The script includes very few stage directions, and the scenes can be ordered in any way that the director wishes, allowing for various sequences, structures, or foci. All of this combines to provide a broad scope of creativity for any director or company.

    As the play’s director, Derek Nelson, noted in the show’s program: “Scene by scene, and even moment by moment, Churchill drops us into the middle of a multiplicity of contexts involving, among others: friends, lovers, ex-couples, scientists, interrogators, therapists, fans, censors, doctors, journalists—and even a recluse! And what I think she is asking us to think about is: Does our ‘insatiable appetite for information’ diminish our ‘capacity for love’?”

    View the gallery of production photos, taken by Mike Pojman.

    ONE
    SECRET:  Christina Monroe, Tarini Dasari
    CENSUS:  Michael Thomas, Bobby Zabin
    FAN: Maggie McDonald, Ariana Shokrollahi
    TORTURE: John Austin, Nick Martin
    LAB: Thomas Savage, Marc Quintanar
    SLEEP : Lucas Numa, Lucas Connors
    REMOTE: Oliver van den Bosch, Beatrix Picotte

    TWO
    IRRATIONAL: Jack Sweet, Akhilsai Damera
    AFFAIR: Aidan d’Alessandro, Oliver Cook
    MOTHER: Christina Monroe, Zach Heaton
    FIRED: Thomas Silva, Leo Bene
    MESSAGE: Matt Hoover, Nahum Workalemahu
    GRASS: Tarini Dasari, Lucas vander Elst
    TERMINAL: Christo Velikin, Jack Sweet

    THREE
    SCHIZOPHRENIC: Marc Quintanar, Thomas Savage
    SPIES: Michael Thomas, Bobby Zabin
    DREAM: Lucas Connors, Lucas vander Elst
    RECLUSE: Ryan Peterson, John Austin, Nick Martin
    GOD’S VOICE: Harry Lonergan, Thomas Connolly
    THE CHILD WHO DIDN’T KNOW FEAR: Tommy Reichard
    STAR: Akhilsai Damera, Dennis Jin

    FOUR
    WEDDING VIDEO: Tommy Reichard, Brendan Reichard, Michael Allen
    SAVANT: Emmanuel Nwodo, Mathias Why
    EX: Will Grossman, Christina Monroe
    MEMORY HOUSE: James McCurley, Akshay Kumar
    DINNER: Gia Bharadwaj, Nahum Workalemahu
    PIANO: Dennis Jin, Beatrix Picotte, Michael Allen
    FLASHBACK: Tarini Dasari, Matt Hoover

    FIVE
    LINGUIST: Lucas Connors, John Austin
    MATHS: Michael Thomas, Beatrix Picotte
    SEX: Marc Quintanar, Tarini Dasari
    GOD: Thomas Savage, Nick Martin
    RASH: Maggie McDonald, Ariana Shokrollahi
    CHILDREN: Lucas Numa, Oliver van den Bosch
    SHRINK: Christina Monroe, Bobby Zabin

    SIX
    THE CHILD WHO DIDN’T KNOW SORRY: Ariana Shokrollahi, Maggie McDonald
    CLIMATE: Zach Heaton, Oliver Cook
    CENSOR: Jack Sweet, Christo Velikin
    WIFE: Beatrix Picotte, Lucas vander Elst
    DECISION: Nahum Workalemahu, Matt Hoover
    THE CHILD WHO DIDN’T KNOW PAIN: Thomas Silva, Leo Bene
    EARTHQUAKE: Aidan d’Alessandro, Akhilsai Damera

    SEVEN
    CHINESE POETRY: Bobby Zabin, Lucas vander Elst
    MANIC: Nick Martin, Akhilsai Damera
    FATE: Harry Lonergan, Thomas Connolly
    STONE: John Austin, Tommy Reichard
    VIRTUAL: Michael Thomas, Thomas Savage
    SMALL THING: Bobby Zabin, Lucas vander Elst
    FACTS: Lucas Connors, Ryan Peterson

    Tech Crew
    Tech Director: Ms. Korotkin
    Costume Designer: Joy Adams
    Costume Assistant: Cass Martyn-Seidl
    Tech Assistant: James Allan
    Stage Manager: Cass Martyn-Seidl
    Assistant Stage Manager: Joshua Hua
    Lighting: Owen Butler, Evren Uluer, Ms. Korotkin
    Light Board Operators: Owen Butler, Evren Uluer
    Sound Design: James Allan
    Recorded Music: Violin Concerto II by Philip Glass
    Sound Board Operators: Matt O’Connor, Chris Vlahos
    Set Crew: James McCurley, Alejandro Rincon, Ryan Peterson, Dominic Landry, Nitin Muniappan, Jed Dougherty, Aydin Hodjat, Jaden Barrack-Anidi, Lincoln Hyatt, Dennis Jin, Mark McGuire, Ryan Lin, Dylan Pan, Chris Vlahos, Tom Pogorelec
    Running Crew: Benji Macharia, Miles Baumal-Bardy, Navid Hodjat, Nitin Muniappan
    Production Photos: Mr. Pojman

    Erin Berg

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  • Permanent Boston Mural Designed by Bobby Zabin (I)

    Permanent Boston Mural Designed by Bobby Zabin (I)

    For the past two summers, senior Bobby Zabin has worked as part of the Mayor’s Mural Crew—a City of Boston Parks and Recreation program, whose goal is to enhance the style and visual landscape of Boston neighborhoods. This summer, Bobby was commissioned by the program’s leadership to design and execute a large-scale, permanent mural—15 feet tall by 60 feet long—intended to promote National Geographic’s Beyond King Tut immersive exhibit, which is currently installed at the SoWa Power Station on Harrison Avenue. Bobby is the first high school student invited to design a mural for the program in the Crew’s recent history.

    Bobby’s charge was to design—and then lead the execution of—a mural in the Ancient Egyptian style that would draw people’s eyes and interest in the adjacent King Tut exhibit. Drawing upon his love of art, his knowledge gained from Dr. Sue McCrory’s AP Art History class, and his experience with the Mural Crew, Bobby was up to the task.

    “The first thing I did was look at the actual murals in King Tut’s tomb, which are more than 3,000 years old,” Bobby says. “Some of the research took me a while, because the material is not in English. Then I spent time looking at other funeral art from Ancient Egypt. Once I had an idea of what I wanted to create, and what story I wanted to depict, I used an app on my phone where I can just draw, and so I made my own.”

    The crew working on Bobby’s mural included 15 high school students from schools throughout Boston, as well as three college-aged facilitators—all supported, ultimately, by Heidi Schork, the program’s long-time director. Together they worked over two and a half weeks, first erecting their scaffolding and then priming the wall with a neutral, cream-color acrylic paint. Once that priming layer was dry, the group began sketching out the figures and shapes—according to Bobby’s design—with a thin layer of orange paint.

    “The story that the mural depicts is really similar to the one in King Tut’s actual tomb,” explains Bobby. “It’s essentially him being welcomed into the afterlife by various Ancient Egyptian gods. Once we sketched out the major figures, the majority of the work became filling in the lines. Because it’s designed in the Ancient Egyptian style, the art is pretty simple—it’s not very detailed or naturalistic. It’s basically colors and shapes.”

    What Bobby learned in Dr. McCrory’s Art History class last year helped inform and prepare him for designing a mural of this style and scope.

    “One of the units in that course was actually Ancient Egyptian art. In the AP Art History curriculum, on the test, there are 250 objects you have to know from across time and across history. One of those objects is a papyrus from Ancient Egypt about a man who’s being judged by the gods on his journey to the afterlife. Having researched that, I had a lot of material and a lot of prior knowledge that I could use to better research and design this new mural. That class prepared me to analyze and understand this type of art in a way I wouldn’t have otherwise. The Egyptian style is remarkable, because it basically didn’t change for all of that kingdom’s history. It’s one of the only really concrete art forms that persists, essentially unchanged, over thousands of years. Knowing and understanding it well, I was able to point out mistakes that my fellow crew mates were making, so that we could honor these Ancient Egyptian murals. For instance, in this style there is never an item depicted smaller in the background in order to create an illusion of depth or distance. Egyptian murals are considered to be rather ‘flat’ and lacking depth perspective. So, people would try to paint a small plant behind a figure, to make it look far away, and I was like, ‘You can’t do that. They didn’t do that.’”

    The realities of painting outdoors all day, on scaffolding, in the hot, summer sun present logistical challenges, but Bobby claimed that the biggest challenge was being in charge.

    “I wasn’t really expecting all these people to be asking me what to do—even though I designed the mural! Every minute I was painting, someone would inevitably come up and ask, ‘Bobby, is this the right color?’ or ‘Should this go there?’ or ‘Does this look right?’ I’d have to stop what I was doing to help or take a look, which could be frustrating. But, it also made me feel good, that they were looking to me for guidance, and that I had the answers.

    “Stepping back and looking at the completed mural—with everyone looking at it, taking pictures, asking their parents and relatives to come look at it—made me feel really proud, of myself and of everyone who worked on it. It was such a hard thing to do, and we did it.”

    For now, Bobby is working in his Studio Art class on his portfolio, which consists largely of watercolors—his favorite, small-format medium. His subject of choice these days is birds, and trying to connect them to Latin America—to his mom’s family’s history in Colombia.

    Bobby’s King Tut mural, installed by the Mayors’ Mural Crew, lives at 471 Harrison Avenue in Boston. The mural project received press from all around the City, including by WCVB. The Mayor’s Mural Crew began in 1991 as a summer initiative to cover graffiti with murals painted and designed by high school students from the City of Boston. Over the course of the program, the Crew has engaged hundreds of young people. Its mission today is to create neighborhood landmarks within Boston’s parks and playgrounds. They offer creative job training opportunities beyond murals, with projects that include installations, public and green space design, temporary street art, pop-up exhibits and art, and community events.

    Erin Berg

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