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Arts

In drama, the visual arts, and music, artistic expression enhances communication skills—written, oral, persuasive, narrative—personal empathy, and confidence when it comes to getting your ideas, skills, and self out there.

Drama

The Drama department at SOF believes in the power of storytelling to engender empathy, build bridges, and highlight injustice. Students learn to use their voices and bodies to express themselves and these goals. They start off with basic acting technique and build performance skills like vocal projection, stage presence, and movement. With time and experience, students go deeper into improvisational skills and the methods through which an actor breaks down a script, creates a character, and portrays emotion on stage. Students develop respect for the rehearsal process and the importance of careful preparation for auditions and showcases. 

Drama at SOF is also a chance to be part of high-quality stage productions. The department produces a high school play, a middle school play, and a musical in the spring for which students in all grades can audition. This is yet another special experience at SOF, where bonds are forged between students of diverse backgrounds who share a passion for theater. They work together to expose audiences to material that expands their perspectives. 

For more information, contact Director Lisa Sobin at [email protected]. 

Studio Arts at SOF

The studio arts program at the School of the Future invites students to explore what art is, what inspires artists, and how visual expression can communicate powerful social, cultural, and emotional ideas. As a vital part of the curriculum for grades 6–12, our art classes give students the opportunity to share ideas, build skills, and create work in response to personal, cultural, and social themes. Through both individual and collaborative projects, students are encouraged to think critically, experiment freely, and express themselves in ways that go beyond words.

 

Our art studio is more than a classroom—it’s a space for discovery, risk-taking, and reflection. Students are challenged to move beyond the random, drawing inspiration from master artists while cultivating their own artistic voice. The creative process is honored as much as the final product, and each student’s unique vision and growth are celebrated.

 

SOF artists have earned recognition in a wide range of citywide and national programs. Their work has been featured in group exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and The Shed as part of the Manhattan Borough Arts Festival, and selected for inclusion in programs such as the NYC Salt Photography Program, ICP Teen Academy, P.S. Arts, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and the Ezra Jack Keats Bookmaking Competition. Student artwork is regularly displayed throughout the school year, with outstanding pieces showcased at the biannual SOF Arts Showcase.

 

Each fall, Studio Arts Teacher, Janine Kelly, offers portfolio reviews and practice sessions for middle school students applying to NYC’s Specialized and art-focused high schools. These sessions can be arranged once a week during lunch, providing students with a little extra time, space, and support to refine their portfolio.

 

For more information, contact Janine Kelly at [email protected].

 

Digital Arts

Students at SOF learn about digital art and design principles while studying other concepts in Digital Arts Media. Paintings, photographs, and sketches can be combined into glorious new bodies of work when students investigate and experiment with different methods for producing their works. SOF artists learn Adobe Creative Suite and develop their own creative processes and describe them in writing and by using critical analysis.

For more information, contact Jackie Riutort at [email protected].

Workshop

This SOF middle school elective presents the fundamentals of thinking through, designing, and building in 3-dimensions. Students explore the steps of design and fabrication using materials like paper, cardboard, and wood. They also use basic hand tools—rulers, tape measures, compasses, rulers, squares, hammers, nails, and hand saw—to create individual and group projects that bring about greater facility with the foundational skills of planning and problem solving. School of the Future uses the Maplewood WorkShop hand tool set as a platform for building out of wood.  

For more information, contact Jackie Riutort at [email protected].

Music

The School of the Future Department of Music provides all students with a comprehensive, standards-based music education. The study of music fosters artistic development, critical thinking, intellectual curiosity, and the pursuit of life-long learning. Through performing and responding to music, all students develop individual skills, realize a sense of belonging, and establish connections to their school community.

SOF’s rich and rigorous music experience starts in 6th grade, when basic skills are introduced in a quarter-long survey course. It continues, up until senior year, with an increasingly greater emphasis on improving ensemble skills. 

Students can hone their selected performance skills, vocally and instrumentally in these ways:

  • Grade-level Band: flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, saxophone, percussion
  • Middle School Chorus 
  • High School Chorus (during lunch hour)
  • Middle School After School Music
  • Spring Musical (for Middle and High School students)
  • Fall Talent Show (for Middle and High School students)
  • Music Production - 10th Grade Elective and 11th/12th Pathway 

For more information, contact Paul Sandberg at [email protected]