Alumni Artists
The arts have always had a place at Lawrence Academy, though it was only in 1963, with the hiring of William Ross Searle (1936-2017) that a full-fledged art curriculum was established. Bill Searle was young, talented, and eager to help Headmaster Arthur Ferguson, himself a musician and an art lover, to realize his long-held dream of a “real” art program at the Academy.
Mr. Whipple ran a strong, strictly extracurricular theatre program for several years, until the arrival of Brian Smiar, LA’s first full-time theatre teacher, in 1972. Mr. Smiar three productions per year, one each term. shows were the first to run for several successive nights, Wednesday through Saturday.)
Though Brian Smiar professed to hate musicals, his arrival heralded — or at least coincided with — the start of the big Broadway musical era at LA. Fall productions were usually plays, and talent shows and the like occupied the winter, but the spring was reserved for the musical.
The musicals also gave a boost to the music program, which in those days consisted only of a chorus and a band. The band members, supplemented by three or four outside professionals, started practicing the score in the fall, and the hard work showed in the fine quality of the 15- to 20-piece orchestras that accompanied the plays.
Alumni in Athletics
Not only do we have plenty of notable alums who have taken what they have learned at LA and applied it to their careers beyond Groton, Mass., we also have a number of former Spartans who have gone on to accomplish great things in athletics. Check out our Alumni Athletes page to learn more.
Course Offerings
Want to see all our course offerings for arts at LA? Feel free to click here to check out our 2024-2025 Course Guide.
Click above to read the full stories of our LA alumni in LA...
"Lawrence, in my mind, was very much about ‘The Work,’ you know? I think that to do well at LA, you just had to do ‘The Work.’ ‘The Work’ was celebrated, whether that was the poetry competition, the play, or athletics."Chris Hazzard, Class of 2003
Pursuing the Arts after Graduation
Adèle Borden '08
Participant Media
Amanda Champagne Meadows '01
US Weekly
Taylor
Selé '02
Actor
Meg
Lewis
'10
Paramount Pictures
Lynne Hartwell '08
Warner Brothers
Richard
Ellis '70
Entertainment Executive
Chris Hazzard
'03
Screenwriter
Kristin Achtmeyer '02
Costumer