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<\/p>\nMitski’s Hollywood High shows join school\u2019s long arts history<\/p>\n
For the students, it\u2019s an opportunity to see a beloved artist at \u201cour freaking school.\u201d For the school, it\u2019s a continuation of a \u201cworld famous\u201d arts legacy.<\/p>\n
This week, indie musician Mitski is playing a series of sold out shows at an unexpected L.A. venue: Hollywood High School\u2019s auditorium.<\/p>\n
For the students, it\u2019s an opportunity to see a beloved artist at \u201cour freaking school.\u201d For the school, it\u2019s a continuation of a \u201cworld famous\u201d arts legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes me look at the school with so much pride,\u201d said Lotus Rosby, a junior. \u201cI’m like, \u2018Wow, they have a huge artist coming to our school.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Music for a \u2018good cry\u2019<\/p>\n
Mitski has built a dedicated following since she self-released her first album in 2012.<\/p>\n
Keep up with LAist.<\/p>\n
If you’re enjoying this article, you’ll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less. <\/p>\n
Senior Angel Cueto found the singer in middle school during \u201ca very like, angsty teen part of my life.”<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s so many times where I’ve just bawled my eyes out in the shower to her music, and she’s always like the crying artist that I go to when I just want a good cry,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For sophomore London James, hearing 2014\u2019s \u201cI don\u2019t smoke\u201d was a canon event in her life.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitski speaks to me,\u201d James said. \u201cI understand her, like she’s me and I’m her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
James searched for tickets as soon as she saw the announcement of the Hollywood High shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn’t even have time to check the prices because every date was already sold out,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
James, who\u2019s in the school\u2019s theatre program, wondered if there\u2019d be a chance for students to volunteer to work backstage.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut deep down I knew that was not gonna happen,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A 1920s era view of the Hollywood High School campus looking northwest from Highland Ave. The school opened in 1903 when the surrounding area was largely farmland. <\/p>\n
(<\/p>\n
Los Angeles Public Library Collection<\/p>\n
)<\/p>\n
Then the school announced a contest. If students attended school every class period, every day for two weeks, they\u2019d be entered into a raffle to win a pair of tickets donated by Mitski\u2019s team.<\/p>\n
Attendance is tied to school funding<\/a> and students\u2019 academic success<\/a>, both of which are priorities for the Los Angeles Unified School District.<\/p>\n Michael Reagan, an attendance counselor at the school, said the 168 students who entered the contest had a 96% attendance rate compared to 89% for those who did not.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aIt’s definitely my most effective attendance challenge that I’ve done all year\u2026 probably in my three years in the district,\u201d Reagan said.<\/p>\n Hollywood High School’s auditorium, pictured here in 1939, and the library were the only two surviving buildings after the the 1933 Long Beach Earthquake.<\/p>\n (<\/p>\n Los Angeles Public Library Collection<\/p>\n )<\/p>\n Students James, Cueto and Rosby were among the 46 students who won a pair of tickets.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I’ve said I’m excited 25 million times and I don’t think it’s enough,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n For Cueto, who\u2019s a senior, it\u2019s another opportunity to reflect on the arts as a viable career path \u2014 not just as an artist, but all the roles it takes to put together a show.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just us watching a(n) artist that we like so much,\u201d Cueto said. \u201cBut us also maybe getting a peak into our future.\u201d<\/p>\n Why Hollywood High?<\/p>\n Hollywood High School is one of two U.S. stops for Mitski\u2019s tour to support her new album, Nothing\u2019s About to Happen to Me<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted it to feel special,\u201d Mitski told the show World Cafe earlier this year<\/a>. \u201c\u200a\u200aI wanted it to feel like an experience, I wanted to recreate even the feeling that I had going to shows, going to DIY shows, punk shows.\u201d<\/p>\n The artist is also donating $2 of each ticket sale to nonprofit L.A. afterschool music program In The Band<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are more than a thousand wooden seats between Hollywood High School’s first floor and mezzanine and a pipe organ embedded in the walls. “\u201dWe rival some of the playhouses on Hollywood Boulevard,” Dovlatian said. <\/p>\n Cueto, a senior at the school, has a different take on the space. \u201cIt’s like a, in my head, a janky auditorium that I spent like four years in,” she said. “Sometimes it hurts my butt sitting in there for too long.”<\/p>\n Mitski isn\u2019t the first musician to play the auditorium. Former Smiths frontman Morrissey played at the school in 2013<\/a> and Hollywood High School\u2019s connection to the arts goes back decades.<\/p>\n Principal Samuel Dovlatian calls the school \u201cworld famous\u201d because of the long roster of alumni<\/a> working in arts and entertainment<\/a>.<\/p>\n They include:<\/p>\n Carol Burnett, actress, comedian, singer and writerBrandy, singer, songwriter and actressSarah Jessica Parker, actress and producerLaurence Fishburne, actor, producer and director<\/p>\n Their names line the school’s hallways in red stars. Actress Judy Garland also attended the school, but according to Dovlatian, skipped graduation to finish filming The Wizard of Oz.<\/p>\n Ken Handler, the inspiration for Mattel’s Ken doll graduated from Hollywood High School in 1961. <\/p>\n Principal Samuel Dovlatian in Hollywood High School’s museum. <\/p>\n There\u2019s also a collection of memorabilia in a \u201cmuseum\u201d attached to the school’s library with includes:<\/p>\n The hammer from The Shawshank Redemption, a film written by alum Frank Darabont<\/a>, who went on to create “The Walking Dead.”An original Ken doll modeled after alumni Ken Handler<\/a>.\u00a0A pair of rhinestone heels owned by Marge Champion<\/a>, a dancer and the inspiration for Disney\u2019s Snow White.\u00a0<\/p>\n The arts are also a core part of the school\u2019s present.<\/p>\n Dovlatian said even if students don\u2019t go into the entertainment industry, they\u2019ll take away valuable skills about working in teams and communicating.<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to go beyond the textbook,\u201d Dovlatian said. \u201cGet [students] hands-on learning, get them to struggle with the problem, the concept, the dance routine, the material, the equipment, and let them figure out for themselves what success means.\u201d<\/p>\n The historic library, which includes a mural of entertainment industry history, is one reason junior Dulce Duque chose to attend the school. \u201c\u200aI really like our old Hollywood vibes,\u201d Dueque said.<\/p>\n Hollywood High converted the former auto-body shop into a studio where students learn video and film production<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mawuena Akorli uses that space as a junior in the New Media Academy<\/a> program. She said as a Black girl, she doesn\u2019t often see herself in the media.<\/p>\n \u201c\u200aI wanna make stories and films that people can relate to and makes them feel seen,\u201d Akorli said.<\/p>\n How to apply for LAUSD magnet programs <\/p>\n Hollywood High\u2019s arts programs are a few of the hundreds of specialized magnet programs available at LAUSD schools. Learn how to apply with LAist\u2019s School Game Plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n The same auditorium where Mitski will host her residency is also home to the school\u2019s performing arts magnet<\/a>, which includes theatre, dance and music.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1774935253_956_.jpeg\")
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