Watch: Englewood Native Shoots Music Video At Alma Mater

Standing in Dwight Englewood's Silberfein Gymnasium, the memories seem to come rushing back to alumna Margot Bennett.

“Fables” tells an unrequited love story on a high school badminton court. Margot loves Zach, but Zach is into Sasha. It’s raining shuttlecocks. It’s a badminton fairy tale.

Photo Credit: Margot Bennett

Look for Dwight Englewood School's Silberfein Gymnasium Friday, April 20, in Margot Bennett's new music video for her original song, "FABLES."
Photo Credit: *Margot Bennett*

Cecilia Levine

04/16/2018 9:12 p.m.

She never felt totally comfortable in the high school gym. Actually, she felt completely out of place -- athletics were never really her "thing."

But oh, has she found it.

And so this time, standing in the Silberfein Gymnasium, 26-year-old Bennett feels right at home, filming the music video for her new song "FABLES," based on adolescent experiences formed nearly a decade ago in the same place.

"Set in a high-school gym class, 'FABLES' is a tale of awkward, unrequited teenage love," said Bennett (Class of 2009).

"Margot likes Zach, but Zach likes Sasha. Through lessons in love, life and badminton, Margot learns what it really means to win, even if she must endure a few shuttlecock hits to the face to get there."

Bennett's love for theater and music was originally fostered at First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, where she sang in the junior choir directed by Phyllis Billings. There, she also became a founding member of a theater group called The Presby Players, managed by Dorothy VanderWerf.

She attended Elisabeth Morrow School, where she learned to sight-read, play violin with Amelia Gold and sang with Joyce McGirr.

In high school and middle school at Dwight-Englewood, Bennett became involved in theater, participating in all of the school musicals and serving as president of Jazz Rock -- a club devoted to showcasing students’ musical talents through a rock concert held twice a year, lead by Rob DeBellis.

When brainstorming ideas for the FABLES music video, the vocalist wanted to create something inspired by her own teenage experiences.

Without much thought, she chose gym class.

"I always felt most vulnerable in gym class because I was one of the least coordinated students in class," she explained.

"Badminton was actually one of my favorite units because it was similar to tennis, but didn’t involve hard bouncy balls that could potentially hit you in the face."

She reached out to the school to see if it might be possible to use the gymnasium.

Headmaster Dr. Rodney De Jarnett responded promptly with a warm email encouraging Bennett to use the gym for filming.

She had help from DE graduate Zach Shevich (Class of 2008), whom she says brought her vision to life as video director. The song was produced by David Baron, who has worked with The Lumineers, Bat for Lashes, Meghan Trainor and other artists.

"I was able to make my dream a reality," Bennett said.

Check back Friday, April 20 for the FABLES music video link.