The upper school’s performing arts division, the Conservatory, proudly announced its 2010-11 season in May.

The fall play, directed by Jeffrey Draper, will be Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing.” This romantic tale takes place in a coastal city when a troupe of military victors comes home from war. Draper will be setting his version in 1945, with the boys coming back from defeating Hitler and Japan in World War II. Auditions will be Sept. 6-9.

The musical theater department was invited, for the second time, to participate in the world’s most prestigious arts festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, sponsored by the American High School Theatre Festival. This year’s musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” directed by Laura Lang-Ree with musical direction by Catherine Snider, will travel to the Fringe in August, 2011. Because of the extensive planning involved in taking the show on the road, auditions for the musical will be the week of Sept. 20, not in February as is usual.

Details for both shows will be posted in the daily bulletin and announced on campus when school begins. Students of all grades are encouraged to audition.