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A Treasured Tradition
For nearly a century, the Nativity has been one of our most enduring and cherished traditions, bringing generations of students, families, alumnae and faculty together in the Chapel each December.
First performed in 1928, the Nativity enacts the biblical story of Christmas through Scripture, choral music and reverential, symbolic movement. While the production has evolved over time, its spirit of restraint and beauty has remained constant.
Introduced by dramatics teacher Miriam Brown, the earliest Nativities were simple and contemplative. Students performed largely in pantomime, briefly speaking passages of Scripture, while the choir sang from the choir stalls and the audience participated by singing familiar carols accompanied by the Chapel organ. Even in these early years, the arrival of large fragrant pines to decorate the Chapel signalled the beginning of a tradition that would become a defining part of the BSS Christmas season.
In the 1950s and 1960s, dramatics teacher Nancy Pyper introduced a series of tableaux to shape the storytelling, along with solo singing for certain characters. During this period, the Chapel Choir, under the direction of John Hodgins, assumed a central role, providing musical narration that unified the production. As described in the 1954 BSS Magazine, the choir was intentionally unseen, offering a “perfect background” that enhanced the storytelling without drawing attention away from it.
The late 1960s brought further experimentation under speech and theatre arts teacher Doreen Kennedy, who returned the acting to pantomime while expanding the theatrical language of the production. Her tenure included the introduction of scenes featuring King Herod and a memorable black-light sequence for the three Magi. Much of the music now closely associated with the Nativity was established during the long tenure of choir conductor Maureen (Hall) Kolassa, who led the ensemble from 1969 to 1998.
In the decades that followed, drama and music faculty continued to refine the production. In the late 1980s, drama teachers Jane Czarny and Angie Silverstein added the stylized choral speech that the Nativity is now known for. Music teacher Debbie Piotrowski, who was involved as accompanist and conductor from the late 1970s until 2016, continued the choir’s central contribution while adding new musical selections. The costumes have also been redesigned several times, most recently through a three-year renewal project that culminated this year with a full set of new, custom-designed, hand-sewn garments, made possible through the generosity of the BSS Annual Fund donors.
Even during the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nativity endured through recordings and filmed performances. Today, the Nativity stands as a living tradition shaped by nearly 100 years of creativity, care and shared purpose, and lovingly passed from one generation of BSS students to the next.
Sources
Dutton, Susan ALLEN ’79. “Nativity in its 90th Year.” The Link, vol. 1, 2018-19, pp. 26-27.
Hodgson, Monica. “Nativity Introduction Speaking Notes.” December, 2021.
Special thanks to BSS Archivist Jill Spellman, Alice Barnett, Monica Hodgson, Beatrice LEE ’03, Lyne Opinion, Sarah Schryburt, Emily SCHWARTZ Rabe ’04, Paul Toth and Joanne Weedmark for contributing to this article.
