Fifty years ago, in early 1971, Groton decided to welcome girls to the Circle, initiating a thriving of music, visual art, and theater programs, which still continues to this day. Initially aiming to raise the boy-girl ratio to 2:1, the school, seeing the girls’ contributions to not only the arts, but to every aspect of Groton life, eventually balanced out the ratio. In fact, to date, many artistic programs like theater and dance are dominated by girls.
The school’s decision to support coeducation was in part influenced by gender-based stereotypes in the arts: Groton was looking for greater participation in artistic areas like theater, dance, and visual arts, which were generally referred to as female-dominant programs. As debate regarding coed surfaced in the school committee, discussions centered on involving female contributions to strengthen the art program. Design Consultant John Donovan ’20 explained that “girls not only bolstered the arts program but every other aspect of life at Groton as well.” Subsequently, male-dominant art classes became populated with girls, with gender ratios quickly evening out over time.
A drastic evolution in theater and dance programs after coed was seen in the respective departments by the chair, Laurie Sales, who has taught at Groton for over 25 years. As Mr. Donovan recounts, “Before coed, Groton boys dressed in women’s clothes and played the female parts, mirroring the established tradition in English Renaissance theater where women were not allowed to perform. Starting in the 1950s, however, girls from Concord Academy were invited in to play these roles, and when Groton went coed in the 1970s, their first production was Beauty and the Beast,” featuring both male and female actors. Successive plays and musicals saw a remarkable growth in female participation. Fast forward to this decade, with recent productions like Legally Blonde and Mamma Mia exploring themes of femininity, female independence, and relationships, there have been far more opportunities for female performers to bring out their identity on stage, express themselves, and share their stories, highlighting the crucial role girls play in the performing arts.
Similarly, Music Department Head Mary Ann Lanier, PhD, who has taught at Groton for over 20 years, also saw tremendous growth in both the music program’s numbers and the support for art programs. “This year there are 153 private music lessons taking place every week, the most ever at Groton,” Dr. Lanier noted. She also observed an improvement in financial support for music programs, which occurred as a result of increased participation following the implementation of coed. Originally only providing financial aid for music lessons to students receiving financial aid in tuition and participating in credited music courses in 2011, the school extended the policy in 2021 to students interested in music, eliminating the course requirement.
Following the introduction of female students to visual and performing arts programs, the arts program exploded. In 2002 and 2005, respectively, the Dillon Arts Center and the Campbell Performing Arts Center were built. In recent years, Groton has produced all-female plays, such as The Wolves and The Effect of Gamma Rays on the Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, honoring female representation and identity. As Ms. Sales says, a treasurable asset of the last 50 years of coed is that theater at Groton is “one of the places on campus that are truly gender-inclusive,” welcoming students of all genders into one big, shared ensemble. Theater fosters empathy, and “a gender-inclusive space is doing that in practice,” facilitating a deeper understanding of gender roles, norms, and identities. Cross-gender casting has become integral as we explore gender identity, and Groton continues to extensively encourage and explore themes of gender in the performing arts.
This school year, Groton honors coeducation with a series of diverse celebrations in the arts. During the coeducation dinner on September 20, an all-female string quartet with Mia Li ’28, Sophie Kopp-Hills ’28, Youju Lee ’29, and Liv Ding ’26 performed female composer Jessie Montgomery’s Strum. On Monday, November 10, students of the Select Chamber Music program will perform in a female composers’ concert, featuring accomplished composers like Florence Price, Grażyna Bacewicz, and Amy Beach. The theater program will put on a production of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which famously explores themes of identity, transformation, and gender. Groton’s acapella ensemble, the Maqupellas, will perform works by female composers during Parents’ Weekend.
The fascinating history behind female influence on Groton’s arts program bolsters our gratitude for coeducation, earning greater respect for female contributions to Groton art and each program’s lengthy journey to where it is now. Instead of highlighting gender divisions and competition, art programs foster student interest in perspective and expression. Thanks to the introduction of coeducation, these programs have all seen drastic improvements in support, numbers, and excellence, and the boy-girl ratio has evened out to 1:1 since 2004 thanks to profound female influence on the arts.
