Arts and Lifestyle — The St. Marker

By Hannah Cha ’25, Lori Cui ’25

The annual Fall Play is underway! Directed by Mr. Kent, who oversees the theater department at St. Mark’s, this year’s play is “Men On Boat,” written by Jaclyn Backhaus. This play follows the expedition of a crew with a captain and many loyal volunteers through the Colorado river. There are more detailed summaries online, so feel free to check them out before the opening night. Recently, writers of the St. Marker interviewed some of the cast and the tech crew to get a better feel of the play, no spoilers ahead!

This year’s tech crew has revealed that there is an exciting use of stage props that they are all very proud of and are very excited to present. The cast has also mentioned that it is the “most interesting and unique element” to look forward to. Even cooler, the play has tire swings hanging down from the ceiling of the black box. Since the play is about a journey down the river, the tires will be a mimicry of the boats that the cast will “travel” in. One of the tech crew also adds that there will be a “unique, attractive design for each of the boats that the cast travels on, so the audience should also look out for the details during the play.”

In addition to the fascinating “boats,” the play has many unique elements that the school has never seen before. For instance, chairs will be arranged in a special way for the audience to view on the opening night. As one of the cast members mentioned, “the seats are all around and [arranged] in a different style than before.” This new formation of seats might function as a difficulty for the cast, but there are no differing opinions on whether this alternation would give a whole new perspective to the play.

When we asked the cast for a reason why people should go watch the play, one cast member mentioned that the audience should look forward to “fun, laughs and a lot of emotion.” Everyone on the theatre team is extremely excited to perform their work and encourage people to come! The opening night of “Men On Boats” is on the 16th of November, and production week lasts until the 18th. Don’t forget to sign up for tickets and sign out on Orah when coming-and don’t miss out on the fascinating opportunity to watch some wonderful work the cast and tech crew have done. See you there!

A photo of the theater workshop: most stage props are produced here.

Seoyeon Kim ‘25

After five weeks of adjusting and settling into the school year, the St. Mark’s community celebrated one of its most beloved events, the Family Weekend Concert, on the evening of the 15th of October at the Class of 1945 Hall, Putnam Family Arts Center (PFAC).

The concert was an excellent opportunity for families to socialize and experience and take a peak into the daily lives of the St. Mark’s community. But, it was even more heart-warming for the international families and students who hadn’t seen each other in over a month.

Families engaged in various exciting activities such as college counseling sessions, advisor conferences, art galleries, mini-lessons, and, of course, attending the remarkable Family Weekend Concert.

As the Head of School, John C. Warren ’74, Ed.D. commenced the concert with a warm welcome and praised the performers for their “wonderful talent and enthusiasm.” It was truly outstanding that the performers had “only been at it for a month or so,” Mr. Warren said.

St. Mark’s Jazz Band performing “St. Thomas” by Walter Theodore “Sonny” Rollin

The St. Mark’s Jazz Band made a bright, lively opening to the event featuring the score “St. Thomas” by jazz musician Walter Theodore “Sonny” Rollin. Despite the group’s large membership, members of the Jazz Band masterfully collaborated and made the listeners sway and dance away before they knew it.

Four soloists gave strong performances throughout the evening, highlighting Lillia Fisher ‘26 on the tenor saxophone, Jeff Lei ‘26 on the trombone, Ian Choe ‘25 on the vibraphone, and DJ Shin ‘24 on the guitar. In addition, all four musicians added tremendous variety to the original “St. Thomas” with their excellent improvisation skills.

Sherry Mi ‘26, one of the attendees, said she “really liked the tenor saxophone solo.” Mi, an excellent pianist, commented that she particularly appreciated the piano part, which was “hard to discover in all of the instruments, but [significant regarding] its contribution to the rhythm.”

St. Mark’s Choir singing “Day by Day.”

Following the jazz band, the St. Mark’s Choir, led by the Director of Music, Mr. James Wallace, charmed the audience with a soulful rendition of two hymns, “Age Quod Agis,” by J. Stanley Sheppard and “Day by Day,” by Lina Sandell.

Ian Cho ‘26, an orchestra member, recalls himself as dumbfounded and staring at the performance in awe. “The choir took the concert to another level. My previous exposure to choir performance was of modern, non-religious songs. The concert Hymns were a pleasantly new experience.

St. Mark’s Symphony Orchestra performing “Bacchanale” by Camille Saint-Saëns

Capping off two incredible performances, the St. Mark’s Symphony Orchestra finished the evening with a dazzling finale, preparing two pieces, “Farandole” by Georges Bizet and “Bacchanale” by Camille Saint-Saëns.

In response to the marvelous performance, parents praised the performers for their professionality and energetic attitude. All concert participants were warmly greeted with a compliment rather than unenthusiastic how-are-yous.

Jimin Seo, one of the parents attending the show, commented that “the way the performers were completely immersed into their music” made her do the same.

The performers were genuinely happy about the performance, with a slight dissatisfaction with the fact that they were better in their rehearsals.

“It was worse than our choir rehearsals, but it is probably because we didn't have enough time to warm up and practice,” Sara Hatsu ‘26, who sang in the choir, said.

Nevertheless, the performers also enjoyed the evening as they were allowed to share love and care through music. One of the aforementioned students, Ian Cho ‘26, watched the recorded version after the concert since he had to perform and hence could not attend the show as an audience.

For those who missed the concert like Ian, HERE is the recording of the whole event!