Theater feature

Tom Titus

‘o7 ‘The art of a people is the true mirror to their minds.”f7 --

Nehru

The three Rs may be enough for a rudimentary education, but another R

-- the one in the word “art” -- is essential for the growth of the

complete individual.

The Huntington Beach Union High School District addressed that need

nearly a decade ago with the creation of the Academy of the Performing

Arts, headquartered at Huntington Beach High. This magnet school program

creates a scholarly atmosphere for young performers in Orange County --

and draws from schools in Los Angeles County as well.

APA offers a specialized curriculum with master classes, small class

sizes, strong interaction with guest arts and arts clinicians and

art-related field trips. The academy also provides assistance with

audition preparations, academic placement, career placement and personal

student guidance with portfolio development.

Lest parents think APA is all fun and games, rest assured that the

academy is equally committed to excellence in academics. Students

continue their academic curriculum while participating in a rich

selection of performing arts studies. Graduates must have completed the

course work necessary for college and many have taken courses at local

community colleges.

APA offers pre-professional training in six areas -- musical theater,

technical theater, acting, vocal music, dance and instrumental music. The

faculty and staff are trained professionals in their respective

disciplines, preparing many students for professional performing arts

careers.

Why a performing arts academy in Huntington Beach?

The two main reasons for its inception in 1992 were the increase in

district academic graduation requirements that forced students to take

more academic classes, to the exclusion of performing arts classes, and

the creation of the Los Alamitos High School of the Arts in 1987, which

competed with the district’s program and had drawn 25 outstanding

performing arts students from the Huntington Beach district.

In September, 1992, a committee was formed to create a new model,

consisting of five instrumental teachers, two vocal teachers, two theater

teachers, two site administrators and one district administrator. This

group decided that one magnet would be the most reasonable, and that

there would be a need to make provisions to keep students on their “home”

campus for beginning experiences. The program was implemented in

February, 1993.

Funding of the arts school was left primarily to its beneficiaries.

The school district finances just 20% of APA’s budget. The balance is

provided by outside support, such as students, their families and

fund-raising events. Over the past eight years, APA has drawn instructors

with some impressive credits to serve on its faculty. The school’s

artistic director is Diane Makas-Colwell, a skilled choreographer, who

also serves as chairman of the dance department.

Jay Louden, who teaches theater and acting, has performed on a number

of TV series; theater chairman Robert Rotenberry is a veteran director

and producer of play festivals and Tim Nelson, who handles musical

theater, is well known in the local area for his musical direction and is

a onetime Daily Pilot man of the year in theater.Other artistic

specialties represented and their chairman are Christine Baltes, jazz;

Jeff Hendrix, tap; Craig Jensen, vocal music; Salwa Rizkalla, ballet,

Gregg Gilboe, music; Robert Salas, modern dance, and Joe Batte technical

theater.

APA has grown steadily since 1993, attracting interest and student

enrollments from around Orange and LA counties, until enrollment has

reached over 300 students. Judging by the demand and inquiries, this

growth surely will continue.

(Next week: APA artistic director Diane Makas-Colwell discusses the

performing arts school, its growth and plans for the future.)