Gonzalo del Peon ’13
Episcopal’s enforcement of clean-shaven student faces is an oft-lamented facet of the boys’ dress code. However, this past October, many Upper School students were struck by an unfamiliar and bearded face. Jon Barr, a Penn Charter import to the sophomore class, was given special permission to grow a beard for his role in the fall play, “Twelve Angry Jurors.” Although the beard is long gone, many unacquainted with Barr still remember him as the scruffy sophomore. Barr recently snagged the lead in the spring musical, which has literally put the spotlight on this up-and-coming underclassman. Scholium decided to inquire past the facial hair, to talk with Episcopal’s very own Cat in the Hat. This year is not Barr’s first encounter with Episcopal. Even though he has been a student at Penn Charter for the last five years, he visited Episcopal in 8th grade. He said of that first impression, “The uniforms stuck out to me, since at Penn Charter we had a very, very loose dress code. Everyone seemed really nice and there also seemed like a lot more activity than at Penn Charter.” Now that Barr is a student here, he compared it to Penn Charter. “The classes are harder, they meet more often and there’s more work, but in a good way since the difficulty creates a good balance.” Barr has always loved theater, and has recently gotten more involved in it. His first experience was an acting camp in kindergarten, and has continued with intermittent acting workshops, participating in every show he could. His freshman year resume alone included “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” in which he was cast as Cornwall, and “The Tree,” in which he played a ghost. In Penn Charter’s last musical, “Little Shop of Horrors,” Barr was a part of the chorus as a reappearing drunk homeless man. Although he never landed a lead in the past, Barr delved into every theater opportunity he could be involved in, simply for the love of it. This past fall, Barr played the part of Juror # 11 in Episcopal’s fall play, “Twelve Angry Jurors.” “It was a really good experience,” Barr said, “and it was interesting for me to be more involved in a show than I had been before. The blackbox also made it an interesting experience, with the whole unique setup really affecting how we all acted, surrounded by the audience … the role was bigger than what I had done before, and I got to develop the character myself more. He was supposed to be a European juror, and showing his point of view as a foreigner relating to the plot was fun and interesting too.” Barr also thought it was a good move to be a new student and try the play as his first activity at Episcopal. “It was a really fun experience for everyone, and for me, being new as well. People were like, ‘Oh who’s this kid with a speaking part and a beard?’” he said. This spring, Barr will be the lead in the musical, “Seussical,” having gotten the part of the Cat in Hat after the auditions and callbacks. “Seussical” is a musical combination of Dr. Suess’s books, or as Barr put it, “It’s like if Dr. Suess and Stephen Sondheim had a brainchild.” Barr has never seen the show before, but rehearsals have started. “So far it seems like it’ll be a really fun show to do,” he said “I’ve been mentally preparing for it by deciding that I’m going to play it by being goofy. It’s a fun part, so if I don’t have fun with it, it won’t work out.” When asked if he has plans to bring back the facial hair in any way, Barr said, “As of yet, I am not planning on growing another beard for this one. I don’t think my teachers, or my mom for that matter, could handle another furry student.”