{"id":32272,"date":"2025-10-31T18:53:06","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/32272\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T18:53:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:53:06","slug":"drama-the-stage-kind-is-thriving-at-south-bay-high-schools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/32272\/","title":{"rendered":"Drama \u2014 the stage kind \u2014 is thriving at South Bay high schools"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.<\/p>\n

Professional theater companies in the Bay Area have been financially struggling recently, with numerous recent closures, but the interest and activity level in some San Jose high school drama programs remains high.<\/p>\n

Willow Glen has a thriving theater and drama program, from Willow Glen Middle School through the high school. \u201cA cast for one of our plays can range anywhere from 20 to 55 students\u2013that\u2019s just one play,\u201d said\u00a0 Allyson Velasquez, who teaches drama and helps direct plays at the high school.<\/p>\n

Leigh High School has a performing arts department with several theater and musical tiers. Drama teacher Maria Griswold teaches several drama classes totaling about 140 students. She also acts as director or adviser for school productions, including an upcoming staging of the musical \u201cShe Loves Me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Musicals draw the most student interest, Griswold said. She tries to involve as many students as possible in the production \u201cby doing double-casting and understudies. It helps boost morale. I try to keep as many kids as I feasibly can.\u201d Others get involved as technicians, costume designers and makeup artists.<\/p>\n

\"MariaMaria Griswold, teacher of Theatre Arts at Leigh High School, directs a rehearsal of a student production of \u201cClue,\u201d in San Jose, Calif. (Courtesy of Chris Malin)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kinsey Wright, a senior at Leigh, has been a part of the theater program through four years, playing several roles in numerous productions. \u201cI act, I costume-design, I direct,\u201d he said. \u201cI plan on being a theater major\u201d after high school.<\/p>\n

Willow Glen senior Aaron Ortiz was drawn to drama at an early age. \u201cWhen I was younger, I used to watch many movies with my grandparents,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember my first time watching \u2018Hamilton,\u2019 and I was just so amazed by the performance. That\u2019s when I knew that was the passion I wanted to follow.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has worked behind the scenes for his school\u2019s productions, as well as in acting roles in smaller drama club productions. \u201cAs part of the stage management team, I essentially make sure all the student performers are ready and the lighting and sound system is tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond high school, \u201cI do plan on pursuing theater in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cOne of the things I look for when I apply to colleges is an inclusive theater club community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LeighLeigh High School\u2019s Narya Bower, top, helps Lorien Bower prepare to put on their wig for their fall 2023 play Clue in San Jose, Calif. (Chris Malin\/Mosaic)\u00a0<\/p>\n

The robustness at the school level contrasts with the present situation in professional theater in the Bay Area. Recently both the California Shakespeare Theater and the Berkeley-based Bay Area Children\u2019s Theatre were among several theatrical groups ceasing operations, and the National Endowment of the Arts withdrew a $10,000 grant from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.<\/p>\n

But in the South Bay, \u201cPractically every (high) school has a theater or drama department,\u201d said Griswold. She cited particularly strong drama programs at Lincoln and Westmont high schools.<\/p>\n

Producing the shows requires not only student participation but also funding, in part through ticket sales. \u201cThe goal is always to break even for theater productions,\u201d Griswold said, so that costs are covered \u201cfor the costumes, makeup supplies, paint, food.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past couple of years we have been able to break even,\u201d she said, \u201cbut we definitely are not making a huge profit from these shows.\u201d<\/p>\n

As with any artistic endeavor, profit is not always an essential part of the effort. \u201cI want to be a part of the community,\u201d Ortiz said, \u201cas the joy of acting is like no other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sami Khan is a member of the class of 2026 at James Logan High School in Union City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Editor\u2019s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32273,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[184,7,4730,181,23,88,90,89,198,200,1058],"class_list":{"0":"post-32272","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-jose","8":"tag-bay-area","9":"tag-california","10":"tag-k-12-education","11":"tag-latest-headlines","12":"tag-local-news","13":"tag-san-jose","14":"tag-san-jose-headlines","15":"tag-san-jose-news","16":"tag-santa-clara-county","17":"tag-south-bay","18":"tag-theater"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32273"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}