Next in our series of Department Spotlights, D-E Performing Arts takes center stage! Live artistic expressions—from theatre to musical performances—enrich our community of learners, and the possibilities are boundless.
“The arts are much more than simply memorizing lines or playing a song… They are representative of who we are as people, as a community, as a world,” said Mr. Adam Slee, Dean of the Performing Arts.
“It helps them find their true selves that helps them find their passions,” he added.
“It helps them to synthesize their academics. They take what they learn in English class, and they take what they learn in History, and then, all of a sudden, they’re bringing it to life on the stage.”
Every year, our Theatre program kicks off with the Upper School (US) Fall Play. This year, the show, selected by Mr. Slee and Mr. Jeff Hogan, US Theatre Teacher and Director, was A Monster Calls, which ran from Nov.13-15, 2025.
Tenth grader Logan Passe ’28, a double amputee who uses mobility devices, played the show’s protagonist, Conor, and displayed an incredible amount of physicality during the emotionally resonant production about a boy processing his mother’s terminal illness.
Logan said his character is someone who “feels isolated from the rest of his peer group,” a sense he could relate to from past experience but has since overcome. He said his favorite part of the play was seeing the ensemble working around and with him on stage. He said he also appreciated how dynamic the staging was.
Audiences, too, walked away buzzing about the impactful set design, created by Ms. Caitie V. Miller, Technical Director of Theater, and her stage crew, composed of Middle and Upper School students.
“Dwight-Englewood is a place where we teach people to be fully formed humans, but also to try and explore all the aspects of themselves,” said Ms. Miller.
Eliza Herman ’27, a member of the stage crew who handled the lightboard and props for A Monster Calls, described the school in a similar fashion, adding “Everyone in the community supports you, and all the faculty is very supportive.”
“This is how I got into doing this,” said Bennett Sachs ’29, a sound engineer on A Monster Calls, who said he felt like he could truly be himself during the production of the show.
“One of the reasons why this portrayal of Conor was so amazing and incredible is because Logan was not afraid to use his voice,” said Mr. Hogan. “Do not be afraid to use your voice.”
Conrad Minor ’28, who was in the cast of the Fall Play, said he hoped that people who saw the show “learn that theatre is a really good way for people to express themselves.”
Mr. Slee exclaimed that D-E’s production of A Monster Calls was a must-see show not only for the D-E community, but also the larger theatre community. “It’s the most important show that I’ve ever produced,” he said.
The US Winter Musical—Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel—is currently in production, with showings slated for March 5-7, 2026.
Logan’s advice for D-E students interested in auditioning for a show presented by D-E Performing Arts is
“Be yourself… Be the most authentic person that you can possibly be. Go with it. Have fun with it. Enjoy the process because, no matter what, it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great experience.”
In addition to our Theatre program, music ensembles—such as jazz, classical, handbells, and chorus—are an integral part of D-E Performing Arts. The incredible talent at our school is often on display during our School’s annual assemblies and concerts, such as our Jazz Brunch in November and Winter Orchestra Concert in December.
“Our biggest strength [at D-E] is having a professional teaching faculty—almost all of us are out playing in the New York scene,” said Performing Arts Teacher Mr. Rob DeBellis P’15, ’18, who directs our Stage Band, Jazz Rock, and Jazz Workshop ensembles. “It’s more like a college music faculty that brings a certain perspective, energy, and vibrancy to our program that our students latch on to.”
Mr. DeBellis, himself, is a working woodwinds musician who has been a chair holder on Broadway’s The Lion King, playing clarinet, bass clarinet, and flute, since 2006. Other faculty members who are working musicians include Mr. Diego Garcia and Ms. Annaliesa Place, who direct our Middle and Upper School Orchestras and String Jam Ensemble; and Mr. Kenneth Kacmar P’26, P’28, who directs our Middle and Upper School Chorus ensembles.
“One of my roles, standing up in front of the ensemble, is to help [students] find a lane to express themselves and make some kind of emotional statement to an audience when we’re playing,” said Mr. DeBellis.
There is also D-E 360°’s Private Music Lessons program, which is taught by an incredible team of musicians and designed to prepare students in every division for concert performances. Lessons are offered for piano, brass, woodwinds, strings, vocals, percussion, guitar, and more.
African Drumming is a Middle School (MS) Discovery class, taught by Mr. Jean-Marie Collatin, a 20-year veteran of African dance, who has studied music in India, Cuba, Brazil, and his native country of Senegal, in West Africa.
According to Mr. Collatin, the class teaches seventh and eighth graders coordination, to build confidence, and to not be embarrassed to make mistakes.
Sedi Awoonor ’30, an eighth grader who’s taken African Drumming, said she enjoyed that she was able to be creative in the class. Also, her family is from Ghana, so she said she appreciated “connecting with a part of my culture.”
“Dwight-Englewood School is committed to providing opportunities for all students, regardless of the division, to participate in the performing arts,” remarked Mr. Slee. “You bring who your authentic self is, and once you’re here, we start to figure out what you’re good at and help you to find the area that you belong in.”
In our Lower School (LS), Music Teachers Ms. Lisa Dove and Ms. Fiona Crawford not only teach foundational music concepts to our LS students, but also help to foster creativity and support students’ social-emotional growth through music.
Even the youngest members of the D-E community get to perform for large audiences, such as during the LS Valentine’s Day Concert and the LS Music Concert in March. The Fifth Grade Original Musical, formerly known as the Fifth Grade Opera, goes a step further by giving students the ability to write the scripts, compose music, perform as part of the pit band, design the programs, and help build the sets. And the experience often stays with them.
“An eighth grader or a high schooler, they’ll come and say, do you remember the opera? And they’ll start singing one of their songs… that’s still really fresh in their mind because they created it,” said Ms. Dove, who directs the shows with Ms. Crawford.
Overall, students gain confidence and an appreciation for the performing arts. “Being a global citizen, being a confident individual, being a lifelong learner, I think that really fits in well with the way we do music education,” said Ms. Crawford. “I, of course, would love to know that the students I teach continue to be musicians as they grow, but I’m more concerned with everybody getting to access music and then have that identity or that idea of being a musician stay with them no matter what they choose to do.”