Coed, independent, PK3-12th grade school in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Upper School Performing Arts

Students in the 9th-12th grade Upper School have robust opportunities to study the Performing Arts in depth, with a wide variety of electives in Instrumental Music, Musical Theatre, Stagecraft and more. The Performing Arts courses and faculty support students at all levels of performance, from the interested novice to the experienced performer who intends to continue studying the Performing Arts in college.

Courses include opportunities like Musical Theatre, Acting Studio, Music Theory, Introduction to Piano, Introduction to Guitar, Advanced Band, Introduction to Recording Arts & Music Production, Stagecraft, and Theatre Technology and Production*
 
Performing Arts classes in Shorecrest Upper School offer opportunities to experience, explore, and master a variety of performing arts. 

Instrumental Music

Shorecrest offers instrumental music courses and opportunities available to aspiring musicians at all levels. Some instrumental music courses meet outside the regular school-day schedule to allow for more flexibility for students who are interested in multiple performing arts tracks. 

Course offerings include AP Music Theory, Band, Guitar, Piano, Intro to Recording Arts and Music Production and more.*

Shorecrest musicians have opportunities to perform in the annual Fall Showcase, Winter and Spring Concerts, Rock Band performances, special events, and even in student-initiated individual concerts. Audiences include fellow students, parents and family members, and the greater community. 

Fun Fact:
Shorecrest singer-songwriter Lauren Brumbelow ‘24 worked with Band Director Ethan Updike to present a student-led concert featuring her original work. She was accompanied by a band of Shorecrest student musicians.

Acting & Musical Theatre

From delivering monologues, to performing in a musical ensemble, to the history of the acting craft, students have the opportunity to experience all different aspects of acting and musical theatre through performing arts coursework and co-curricular opportunities like competing with Thespian Troupe 3140. 

Shorecrest actors have opportunities to perform in the annual Fall Showcase, a signature Broadway-style musical each spring, Thespian competitions, special events, and more. 

Fun Fact:
Shorecrest's Thespian Troupe 3140 has garnered many top honors at both the District and State levels, including presenting one-acts and mainstage productions at the Florida State Thespian Festival at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts, dazzling an audience of over 2,000!

Stagecraft & Theatre Technology

Shorecrest stagecraft and tech students take leadership roles in running and producing award-winning and visually stunning sets, lights, sound, and more. These behind-the-scenes opportunities allow students to to develop real-world, hands-on skills that are applicable not only to the performing arts but in other fields, too. 

Fun Fact:
Stage manager Reanna Hossain ‘24 won a Broadway Star of the Future Award for her work on the 2022 Shorecrest musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street." She was one of 9 Shorecrest students nominated for Broadway Stars Awards in 2022. 

Performance Opportunities

Shorecrest students have a variety of opportunities to perform for audiences throughout their time at the School, from intimate one-act plays in the Black Box Theatre, to al fresco concerts under the stars, to Broadway-style musicals before an audience of hundreds.  

Treblecrest, Shorecrest’s a capella ensemble, made its debut in 2015. The group explores a wide range of material from this increasingly popular style of vocal performance. 

Independent Study

Students who wish to pursue topics above and beyond the scope of what is offered in the curriculum may propose an independent study course, under the supervision of a member of the Shorecrest Upper School faculty. Independent study courses may be of any approved topic of field, including the performing arts. For example, Class of 2022 student Wade LeCain was passionate about Classical Guitar and developed his own independent study of the topic. Part of his final assessment for the course was a live public performance of his work, which was held in the Janet Root Theatre at Shorecrest. 
* Courses are subject to change. For a comprehensive list of current performing arts offerings, please see the current Upper School Curriculum Guide on the Upper School page.

More Fun Facts

  • Shorecrest alumnus Patrick Wilson '91 received a Tony nomination in both 2001 and 2002 for his Broadway performances. He also starred on screen in "The Alamo", "Phantom of the Opera", "Insidious", and received Emmy and Golden Globe award nominations in 2003 for his acting in "Angels in America." Watch Patrick's recent Shorecrest Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award acceptance.
  • Shorecrest alumna Monica Raymund '04 won the 2013 Imagen Award for Best Actress in Television. You may have seen her on TV starring in "Lie To Me" or "Chicago Fire".
  • Students from the Shorecrest Playwriting Class have had their works produced and performed in theaters off-Broadway - in Los Angeles, California, and in Telluride, Colorado - as well as in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
  • Competing with hundreds of high school and college talent throughout the country, Shorecrest musical theatre students are consistently selected to train with some of the most renowned artists of this era at Ann Reinking's Broadway Theatre Project.
  • Shorecrest theatre, musical theatre, playwriting and dance students have won "Superior" and "Critics' Choice" ratings at District, State and International Thespian Competitions.
  • Shorecrest was the first independent school in the Tampa Bay area to offer a course in Videography/TV Production. Students have won many awards for their programing.
  • Alumnus William Leavengood '78 is a two-time Eugene O'Neill Award winning playwright. He has several off-Broadway plays to his credit, including "Florida Crackers."
  • The Shorecrest Concert Band has been invited to play at a presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.
  • During the past twenty-five years, the Shorecrest Cultural Enrichment Program has brought hundreds of national and international artists to perform and hold workshops on campus.

Upper School Performing Arts Faculty

List of 5 members.

  • Photo of Jennifer Marquis

    Jennifer Marquis 

    Performing Arts Producer
    View Bio
  • Michael McCarthy 

    Upper School Musical Theater Instructor
    View Bio
  • Photo of Bradley Miller

    Bradley Miller 

    Technical Director of Production Elements
    727-456-7537
    View Bio
  • Photo of Ethan Updike

    Ethan Updike 

    Director of Bands
    727-522-2111 x641
    View Bio
  • Photo of Madelin Willett

    Madelin Willett 

    Upper School Dance Instructor
    View Bio

Anything Goes Rehearsal Excerpt

The 600+ seat, state-of-the-art Janet Root Theatre has a stage size comparable to professional theaters, fantastic acoustics, real dressing rooms, good sightlines and a black box rehearsal theatre on the side. This space becomes a home away from home for many students.

Shorecrest Preparatory School

5101 First Street Northeast
St Petersburg, FL 33703
Phone: (727) 522-2111  |  Fax: (727) 527-4191
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Privacy Policy | Faculty


Shorecrest Preparatory School is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational, college preparatory day school for students preschool through high school, located in St. Petersburg, Florida.

NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
Shorecrest acknowledges its obligation to prohibit discrimination, harassment, or retaliation on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin sex, citizenship status, genetic information, handicap or disability in admissions, access, employment, tuition assistance, educational policies, or other school administered student and employee programs and activities. Questions regarding the School’s compliance with the application and administration of the School’s nondiscrimination policies should be directed to Kristine Grant, Head of Middle School, 5101 First Street Northeast, St. Petersburg, Florida 33703, (727)-522-2111, kgrant@shorecrest.org or to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Please refer to the School’s Non-Discrimination Compliance Policy on the School’s website for information on how to file complaints with OCR.