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Amherst Regional Public School District

2024-2025 Performing Arts Program

Amherst Regional High School, Amherst Regional Middle School, and the Regional Elementary Schools

Welcome to the web page of the parent guardian booster association for the Performing Arts programs of the Amherst Regional Public Schools.

Support Our Schools!

The Amherst Regional Public Schools Friends of Performing Arts (FPA) is a nonprofit organization of parents, guardians, and community members committed to providing high-quality education in the performing arts at Amherst Regional Public Schools.

We believe that all students should experience the power of the performing arts. In partnership with the ARPS Performing Arts program directors and teachers, our goal is to provide financial and logistical support to, and advocate for, continued investment in our school programs.

Bi-Annual Travel Trip

ARHS Travels with the Band, Orchestra and Chorale students every other year to a new destination. This promotes new creative environments while also building Performing Arts “character” that students take with them when they travel beyond High school.

Countdown to our next Travel Trip

Destination TBD, April Spring Break, April 18th, 2025
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ARPS Performing Arts Courses

ARTS LEARNING

The 2019 Massachusetts Framework for the Arts establishes that all Massachusetts students will develop artistic literacy through active participation in the arts, expressing creative ideas with skill, confidence, and artistic intent. Through practices related to creating, presenting/performing, responding, and connecting, students will understand the role of the arts in their individual lives and interests. While recognizing the intrinsic value of the arts, students will also discover the meaningful connections between the arts and other disciplines, and how the arts contribute to their communities and cultures around the world. The practice of responding to works of art builds perceptive acuity and aesthetic sensitivity. A rigorous progression of learning and engagement with the arts throughout Pre-K–12 education is the foundation for a rich, lifelong relationship with the arts.

Lens: 135mm f2.8 Carl Zeiss T* Sonnar 7066883 c.1986 C/Y mount

A SPECIAL MENTION FOR OUR EVENING THEATER PROGRAM

Theater classes during the school day are available to both ARMS and ARHS students. 

Courses include:

  • Drama (MS)
  • Acting 1 (HS)
  • Acting 2 (HS)
  • Stagecraft (HS)
  • Theater for a New Audience (HS)​​​

At the Middle School and High School in the evenings, the ARMS and ARHS Theater Company produces an average of eight productions a year, with ample opportunities to perform, direct, design, and do tech work.

Each year, the Theater program may produce:

  • A full-length play each fall
  • An original, full-scale immersive theater production
  • Briefs: an evening of published 10-minute plays
  • An annual winter musical, utilizing over 150 students each year
  • An entirely student-produced full-length play each spring
  • The annual student-written play festival – now in its 4th decade.
  • Guest playwright and artist workshops from the professional theater-makers

In 2018, the ARHS Theater Company was honored with the Samuel Minot Jones Award for Outstanding Literary Achievement in the greater Amherst community.

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BUY STUDENT TICKET

2025 Travel Ticket

Please make a special contribution to the Travel Scholarship Fund - so that every student who wants to travel, can travel.

All-School Stage Map

  • Amherst Regional High School (ARHS): 21 Mattoon St, Amherst, MA 01002
  • Amherst Regional Middle School (ARMS): 170 Chestnut St, Amherst, MA 01002
  • Wildwood Elementary: 71 Strong St, Amherst, MA 01002
  • Fort River Elementary: 70 S East St, Amherst, MA 01002
  • Crocker Farm Elementary: 280 West St, Amherst, MA 01002
  • Shutesbury Elementary: 23 W Pelham Rd, Shutesbury, MA 01072
  • Leverett Elementary: 85 Montague Rd, Leverett, MA 01054

Sponsorship Opportunities

We are always looking for sponsors to support our community. For details and and assistance, please email us at friendsofperformingarts@gmail.com with “SPONSORSHIP” in the subject line. Thank you!

ARPS Friends of Performing Arts