Beloved Teacher Robin BR Wood Dies

Robin at Reunion 2008

Robin Benensohn-Rosefsky Wood, beloved theatre teacher at The Cambridge School of Weston since 1970 and chair of the department from 1976 until this fall, died Monday, February 23, 2009, at Massachusetts General Hospital surrounded by her family. She was 64 years old.

Robin at Commencement 1983

Over the course of nearly 40 years at CSW, Robin directed hundreds of plays, skits and shows; and she taught thousands of students. With a nimble mind and a creative passion for the arts and language, she developed a program that encouraged students to find their voices and be themselves, "whatever we can conceive to meet the demands of the students' desires and needs," she wrote. She had an extraordinary amount of energy and dedication, which she directed steadfastly toward the school.

"Robin was a big person in a very small frame. She touched the lives of many, she changed the lives of many and she saved the lives of some. Above all, Robin's boundless passion for CSW came through," said Jane Moulding, head of school. "She was one of the keepers of our values as a progressive school. She believed in the discipline of learning in the theatre and did not believe in half measures, only full and complete.”

In addition to her role as teacher, Robin was co-founder of the Children's Garden, the inspiration for several on-campus programs like SALSA (Students Advocating for Life without Substance Abuse) and ASL (American Sign Language), a driving voice behind the construction of the Mugar Center for the Performing Arts and the mother of three: Alexis '91, Jonas '95 and Augusta '96.

"Theatre here was always about the students for Robin who believed theatre skills are life skills," said Lisa Hirsch, current chair of the theatre department. "But it was also about collaboration and ensemble work and writing, directing, acting, improvisation, technical aspects and design. It touched on historic and contemporary issues, diverse cultural and political material, inclusion of all generations, open communication, discipline, risk taking, and responsibility to ourselves and to each other, to the community, to the subject matter, and to the process."

In recent years, the department has produced "Execution of Justice," "Urinetown," "Into the Woods," "The Boys from Syracuse," "The Three Penny Opera" and "Pajama Game," only a partial representation of the deep and rich theatre program.

Thanks to Robin, all main stage productions are interpreted into American Sign Language (ASL). In addition, the school offers ASL instruction, and an opportunity to join Pocket Players, a bilingual (ASL/spoken English) touring children's theatre group, which performs for Deaf and hearing audiences throughout the year.

"When I look around campus, I am constantly reminded of all that Robin has started that has thrived," wrote long-time colleague and fellow teacher, Rhona Carlton-Foss, mathematics, in 1996. "When Robin decides that something is important, that it is going to get attention, that it is going to happen, watch out! She puts her energy and focus on something, and it happens."

In the mid-90s, Robin and the students produced plays and musicals in the gymnasium. With technology and production values that had long outgrown the space, the school began planning and raising funds for a new performing arts complex. The resulting Mugar Center for the Performing Arts was as much of a tribute to Wood and the theatre department as it was new classroom space.

"My son and I came to see Molière's 'Learned Ladies' in the old days when the theatre was still in the gym, and the entire production was absolutely fantastic—the direction by Robin, the costumes, the acting," said John Butman P'98, chair of the board of trustees. "We just said, 'Wow!' Any school that could put on a play like that was the place to be."

At a faculty meeting in early 1973, Robin and Judith (City) Bernstein, former language teacher, discussed a desire to open a small infant-toddler center on campus to care for their children. The Children’s Garden quickly became an extension of CSW in its approach to teaching, inclusion of the high school students in the classrooms and honoring the larger campus community.

Robin was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University, where she earned a master of fine arts in theatre. Following graduate school, Robin lived in Paris and studied mime with Marcel Marceau and Wolfgang Mehring.

Robin is survived by her husband, Jeremy, and three children. A celebration of Robin’s life will be held at The Cambridge School of Weston on June 14, 2009. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that any donations be made to the ASL and Theatre Funds at the school.

For members of the CSW community who wish to leave your recollections of Robin, please e-mail alum.csw.org.

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