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The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

The student news site of The Harker School.

Harker Aquila

Whether through theater, technical production, teaching or cooking, Larsen remains committed to storytelling and actively engaging curious minds. "By staying very connected to and focused on the kids that are coming through the program, it continues to be exciting because different people bring different skill sets," Larsen said.

Meet your staff: Bringing stories to life

by Tiffany Zhu and Minal Jalil March 4, 2025

Above the bustling Elizabethan-costumed crowd, an over six-foot-tall high schooler takes in the bright sights and sounds. Students’ laughter and live orchestral music echo through the air. On this trip...

Kerbis points out the emotion and movement embodied in a line from a cartoon. She invited attendees to take turns reading a line of their choice and suggested improvements to their acting.

Voice acting workshop offers career insights and acting feedback

by Chelsea Xie and Lindsay Li February 7, 2025

Voice actor Stephanie Kerbis led a workshop in theater teacher Brandi Griffth’s room on Monday after school.  Kerbis guided the students through the auditions for various cartoon characters like...

Sophomore Lana Tariq performs her monologue as Queen Margaret from “Henry VI: Part 3.” She won first place for her performance and will go on to perform in the regional Shakespeare monologue contest in San Francisco.

Shakespeare monologue contest spotlights students’ acting skills

by Suhani Gupta, Eva Cheng, and Claire Tian November 18, 2024

Twenty students competed in the schoolwide Shakespeare Monologue Contest in Nichols Auditorium during lunch on Nov. 14 for the opportunity to advance to the national stage of the English-Speaking Union...

King of the fairies Oberon, played by junior Bee Chadwick, schemes to trick the four Athenian lovers. "'A Midsummer Night's Dream' is one of the most entertaining comedies," theater teacher Brandi Griffith said.

Midsummer magic

by Suhani Gupta and Disha Gupta November 3, 2024

Meet your staff: Teachings of a thespian

Meet your staff: Teachings of a thespian

by Jonathan Xue, HoH Co-Editor-in-Chief May 3, 2024

A scintillating soliloquy punctuates the stage, marking the ending number to a theatrical adaptation of Antigone. As the lights fade to black and the curtains draw close, a resounding applause fills the...

All aboard: Union Station wows locals and tourists alike

All aboard: Union Station wows locals and tourists alike

KANSAS CITY — With its century-old architecture and central location, Kansas City’s Union Station remains one of the city’s iconic sites, boasting bustling shops, restaurants and specialized attractions.  Harker...

Performers unveil work in the arts during Student Directed Showcase productions

by Sidak Sanghari, Hima Thota, Alison Yang, and Sally Zhu January 18, 2023

A misshapen blob of students, dressed in costumes ranging from floral shirts to ski boots to construction vests, gather onstage. Wrapping their arms around each other, they squat down, heads bowed in anticipation....

Benedick speaks about their marriage and love for Beatrice. In the swing cast, Benedick and Beatrice are played by Avayna Glass (9) and Sonya Apsey (10), respectively.

Students perform Fall Play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ as first in-person performance in over a year

by Kinnera Mulam, Reporter November 3, 2021

Multicolored lights spin as hues of pink and purple dance across the stage in harmony to the soft instrumental music flowing from the speakers. Soldiers and women don elaborate masks with shimmering silver...

Seniors Ruya Ozveren, Alex Kumar, and Vaishnavi Murari sing in the closing scene of the spring musical "Les Misérables" with the entire cast on March 19. Unlike the format of the Fall Play and Student Directed Showcase (SDS), Performing Arts Director Laura Lang-Ree converted the musical into a movie, where multiple video angles are used and the audio is recorded beforehand.

It’s a wrap: “Les Miz” cast to release movie production of Spring Musical

by Aastha Mangla and Michelle Liu April 7, 2021

As the third theater performance following the start of the pandemic, "Les Misérables" hints at hope in a time of loss and revolution. To bring this story to life, the cast and crew of the Spring Musical...

Music Monday is a new installation featuring a different category of songs on a weekly basis.

Music Monday: Sing Broadway with Aquila

by Irene Yuan, Multimedia Editor January 18, 2021

Music Monday features a different category of songs on a weekly basis. Each Monday, Harker Aquila will release seven songs, one song for each day of the week. In tandem with this year's NYC Broadway Week,...

Peter Galen, played by Alex Kumar (11) in "Booby Trap" leans against a piece of wood as he ponders his fate and reflects upon his past. Another soldier, acted by Shray Alag (11), examines the area surrounding him.

Performing arts presents annual Student Directed Showcase

by Sriya Batchu and Lauren Liu January 14, 2020

After a semester of preparation and hours upon hours of rehearsals, the Student Directed Showcase (SDS), featuring four plays, took the stage last Friday and Saturday night. in the Rothschild Performing...

Sarina Sharma (11), playing Ginette, smiles as she rests her head on Nicky Kriplani's (11) shoulder in the prologue of the fall play. The play, "Almost, Maine," was performed between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 by two casts of students in the Patil Theater.

Love, loss and some laughter in between: Two casts of students perform in fall play “Almost, Maine”

by Sally Zhu and Lauren Liu November 2, 2019

After weeks of preparation and a dress rehearsal on Oct. 23, two casts of students told tales of love and loss in their performances of the fall play, “Almost, Maine,'' between Oct. 24 and Oct. 26 in...

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