Blues and greens rippled across the stage, silky fabric whirling into twists and circles to the trill of the music notes and beat. Words were not necessary. The message of nature’s harmony and beauty was conveyed thoroughly through this mesmerizing cultural dance display.

It was not junior Jayla Klainbard’s performance alone that packed the Masters’ Experimental Theater with students, parents, and teachers alike. Polyglot, essentially a talent show with no English allowed, featured multiple performances that showcased the many cultures of the students and teachers who participated.

Polyglot-performer Adrian Ciubotaru ’27 said, “I was interested in performing because I am the only [foreign] Israeli student in school, I wanted to share the culture and language.”

“I’ve never, ever seen such a diverse community… It is really interesting how Polyglot and many other events at Masters allow people to share their culture, which is very kind of uncommon and a bit scary. For me personally, with the current situation, not just in the U.S. but around the world,
I wouldn’t speak Hebrew on the street,” Ciubotaru said. 

At Polyglot, Ciubotaru performed a famous Israeli folk song (later turned into a poem) called “Chorshat Ha’Eucalyptus” (The Eucalyptus grove). “I like the fact that Polyglot is very non-political. It gives a stage for anybody in any culture,” Ciubotaru said.  

Polyglot also got students involved from outside of the Masters Mainstage program giving students within the Mainstage the chance to learn new skills in production logistics.The Upper School Theater Teacher and Director Beth Manspeizer said “I think that it is a really valuable learning lesson for the theater students to get an understanding of production work, the promotions, the flyers, the submissions and the creation of a running order.”  

Manspiezer sees this performance as “an opportunity to include the whole school community. It [isn’t] just supposed to be for the Mainstage Theater Program, but for everyone in our community.”