Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School

Infobox School
name = Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School
location = 15 Mulligan Drive
South Hadley, MA
country = USA
enrollment = approx. 400
faculty = 40 (Full Time) 60 (Part Time/ Administrative)
type = charter school
grades = 7-12
founded = 1996 (High School) 2004 (Middle School)
website = http://www.pvpa.org

Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School, or PVPA, is a public charter school in South Hadley, Massachusetts. Founded in 1996 as part of the Massachusetts Educational Reform, PVPA was originally located in Hadley, Massachusetts, but relocated to South Hadley for its tenth year in 2005. The school serves students from over 60 towns in Western Massachusetts, but gives priority to students residing in Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties as well as the towns of Petersham, Brookfield, and Sturbridge, Athol.

Overveiw

PVPA is prominent in Western Massachusetts in most arts. The school has two stages, The main theater and the studio theatre. In the 05-06 school year PVPA made a deal with The Academy of Music to hold their big production of the year at their facilities. PVPA's most recent production there was Bye Bye Birdie in 2008. Due to scheduling conflicts, PVPA's 2009 production, Hair, will be held at the Fine Arts Center at UMass Amherst. PVPA was started by Ljuba Marsh and Bob Brick.

Music

PVPA is nationally known for its contributions to field of music. The school's a cappella ensemble, 5 Alone, has been acknowledged with 2nd place in the Berklee School of Music, and 3rd place in the ICHSA competition.

Theater

PVPA holds many theatrical productions during the school year. With shows ranging in style from Shakespeare to Commedia dell'Arte and culminating with the schools annual Musical Theater production.

Of course, as with all

Dance

As in all other forms of Art PVPA holds a high standard in dance.

Visual Arts

The visual arts program is run by Martin Bridge and encompasses stage craft, costume design and lighting in addition to more traditional forms of art. It has been much improved since the move to South Hadley, since the rooms were once portable classrooms. It is even great enough to be on wikipedia now.

External links

* [http://www.pvpa.org PVPA website]
* [http://www.5alone.com/index.htm 5 alone website