Rehearsals for Inly Players’ seventeenth annual production are well underway! The cast of Annie takes the stage on March 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Beyond creating a fantastic show that can often tie into aspects of our wider curriculum, the Inly Players has tangible and intangible benefits for our community.

Not only do our students (third grade and up) get to feel the pride and sense of accomplishment that comes from being a part of creating something joyful and successful, but they also experience working in multigenerational partnership with teachers, staff, parents, siblings, career actors, and others in a way that reflects our school’s vision and values. They learn important lessons about professionalism, personal responsibility and accountability, teamwork, flexibility, and taking risks. Participation in an activity like this levels the playing field and blends boundaries in ways that are very important; we are all learners in this together. How often do students get to see their parents or their Head of School forgetting lines and stumbling through choreography, thereby normalizing risk-taking, failure, and stick-with-it-ness?

Each year, I am amazed by the growth and development this experience facilitates in both our students and the wider community. Our kids learn to be authentically supportive, becoming cheerleaders for one another; their confidence grows, and their self-esteem blossoms. Former students have gone on to pursue careers in the arts, and for those who don’t, the experience of successfully performing in front of 250 people at a young age is something they carry with them forever.