By Abby Whelan’14, Staff Writer

Each year, come spring, Newark Academy transforms into a bustling hub of arts events, displaying the hard work of both the teachers and students from the past year. At each event, however, there are usually certain artistic pieces and performances that take the spotlight: the work of the senior IB artists. These outgoing actors, actresses, visual artists, and dancers compile a plethora of masterpieces by the end of the year that the community can enjoy. Looking back and seeing how far they have come, three seniors: Nicole Andrzejewski (visual arts), Cody Reid-Dodick (acting) and Zoe Kay (dance), reflected back upon their work and their experience in this program, and what they were able to take from the long two year artistic journey.

Nicole Andrzejewski, one of the busiest seniors on campus, had nothing but positive things to say when asked about her experience in the class. Her artwork, which consisted mostly of colorful ceramics, was most recently displayed in the gallery along with two other IB Visual Arts students, Annabel Sharahy and Katie Charney. Nicole said that she made the decision to do the two-year IB Visual Arts program because she “thought it was a great way to get HL credit and still make art and be creative.” The two year process was definitely challenging, as she warned the upcoming students in the program to “start their workbooks earlier than the night before it is due.” However according to Nicole the hard work put in definitely paid off “during my exam when I saw all of my final pieces together.”

Cody Reid-Dodick has made his mark in the acting program, starring as the lead in the fall drama “Fortinbras” and then most recently performing in the Night of Theater. Similarly to Nicole, Cody was very optimistic about his experience in the IB arts program, especially when he described why he had originally signed up for the program, “I decided to do IB Acting because I knew it was a perfect way to explore a passion that I hadn’t really discovered. I knew I’d be exploring a lot of different angles of theater, from acting to playwriting, to theatrical history, to dramaturgical research- and I figured that it was the best way to really get to know the art, which I knew I really enjoyed but wasn’t really involved in.” The acting program also is a two year HL program, which focuses not only on analyzing pieces but also “creating pieces as students”, which Cody claims is his favorite part of the course. Cody’s most memorable moment was in his second year of the program during the 24-hour play writing festival. This festival, which occurs every two years, is a monumental event for acting students. After staying up all night producing a play, the students perform for their peers. It requires an admirable amount of creativity and hard work, and is undeniably an amazing experience. Cody explained how “it feels really great to see a tangible product onstage that you’ve played an integral part of creating. You can really see your choices.”

Zoe Kay, who became involved in the IB Arts through 2 years of IB Dance, has been shining in the spotlight quite literally through her gracefulness and fluidity in the IB Dance program. Zoe made her decision to explore and prolong her dance endeavors in the IB program because, “I had been dancing at NA since sixth grade. I wanted to continue dance in high school and IB Dance seemed like the next step. I always admired the ‘advanced dancers’ and I knew that I wanted to be just like them in high school.”  The most rewarding experience Zoe had was earlier on in her high school career, looking up to the juniors and seniors as they conquered the tough IB program, “when I first performed as an IB dancer in 9th grade I felt incredibly honored to be dancing with 10th, 11th, and 12th graders. I have never been more nervous in my life, but getting up on the stage and getting through that performance was definitely one of the many rewarding moments of IB Dance.” Zoe’s passion for dance has truly been prevalent through her work in the IB Dance program, and she encourages the incoming IB dancers, saying, “don’t let all of the stories about the ‘killer essay’ deter you. There’s so much more to IB dance than the essay…exploring new types of dance and watching your own choreographed piece come to life on stage are just a few moments that I will never forget.”

These three IB students are stunning examples of the hard work the rest of the IB artists, actors, actresses, and dancers have put in these past two years. Each student proved that the program becomes more rewarding as it progresses, and there is nothing like the feeling of pride looking back on the work you have developed over the past two years.