Coral Wilson”Footloose” may be a movie from...

Coral Wilson

“Footloose” may be a movie from the 1980s, but its themes live on.

As Costa Mesa High School students prepare for their upcoming

musical performance of “Footloose,” now less than a week away, they

agreed that dancing may not be banned in their town, but

stereotyping, censorship and oppression still exist.

It is the story of a big-time city guy who goes to a small town

and turns it around, 16-year old Angelica Sinajon said.

“They are stereotyping dancing and saying it is always bad,” Sarah

Crandall, 15, added.

The girls agreed that, while times have changed, they relate to

the characters in the script who struggle with the old-fashioned

ideas of elders. Only now, there are modern-day conflicts and bigger

school dances to fight over, such as the school prom.

Parents see a movie or hear of one bad experience and tend to

think that all school dances are the same, the girls said.

“Kids go to prom all the time and don’t drink and don’t do bad

things and come back and go to bed,” Crandall said. “Parents are

oppressive.”

“They think we should be doing what they were doing,” Sinajon

said.

“People over-exaggerate,” Crandall said.

Chris Reed, 17, overheard their conversation and joined in.

“Parents are oppressive, schools are oppressive,” he added his

opinion as he jumped over them and hopped down the stairs, waiting

for rehearsal to begin.

It is more than just generational conflict, the world suffers from

similar problems, 18-year-old Celinda Sandoval said.

“I think the play is very apt at our school and the nation right

now, dealing with censorship and security issues,” Sandoval said.

“Security is a form of censorship.”

But the solution is the same, for oppression at any level, she

said.

“[The problems] can be overcome if people keep striving to

overcome them,” she said. “It takes hard work and effort and someone

to stand up and say, ‘We can make a difference.’”

The students agreed on another point -- preparing for their latest

musical performance has been a lot of hard work, but been a lot of

fun.

“In my major scene, I get to have a lot of fun, like a stunt

show,” Marvin Ramirez, 17, said.

“And what are you supposed to do for the audience?” Sinajon asked.

“I am supposed to thrill them!” Ramirez said while his classmates

burst into laughter.

Costa Mesa High School puts on two performances a year: a play and

a musical. But the school does not have an official drama program or

regular acting classes, director Deidre Schoo said. With the constant

changeover of acting teachers and directors, it takes bravery for

students to participate -- with very little drama experience to back

them up.

“It is an issue of funding,” Schoo said.

The school got a donation to buy lightbulbs for the neglected

theater lights, a basic necessity.

“We had the lights, but we didn’t have lightbulbs,” Schoo said,

adding that the bulbs were substantially more expensive and powerful

than regular household bulbs.

Schoo, a UC Irvine graduate, has enjoyed working with the students

because they catch on quickly and have shown a lot of progress.

“When they get it, it is just like, ‘Wow!’” she said. “They can do

everything I ask. It is just a matter of time.”

The students have been practicing for about seven weeks, and have

been humming tunes, tapping their feet and quoting the script, in and

out of rehearsals, in their excitement before the show.

“I’ve never done anything like this. It takes a lot of work. I

really respect professionals that do this,” Reed said.

Keola Asuega, 18, will play Ren, the lead male role. Admired on

campus for his prowess on the football field, Asuega is known in

Costa Mesa citywide for his Polynesian fire-dancing performances.

“Don’t be afraid of the fire, don’t be afraid of things and just

don’t be afraid,” Asuega said of the secret to fire-dancing.

The other secret Asuega lives by: “If you can’t do something, wing

it.”