The Daily News
1 Well, here's some News.
2 I found out yesterday that Drama officially is NOT being offered as an elective next year, which pretty much signals the death knell for the Drama Workshop.
3 I got an e-mail a few weeks ago from the administration telling me that next year, because they have to make room for CAHSEE <the California High School Exit Exam> electives, that some electives had to go. So it was decided that since there is no Drama anyway, it is already gone. Huh?
4 Oh, well thanks.
5 Yeesh.
6 I wrote back and inquired why an elective that has been around for over twenty years should be thrown away, and I also talked of the way Drama has helped so many people in college and in their careers, and I made a stand for keeping the arts intact.
7 As of last week, I had heard nothing back. I figured it was finally a fait accompli. I have seen it coming for years, which is really why I declared my retirement from Drama last year.
8 But I THOUGHT they would hire a new teacher, a young teacher who could fight the good cause, and re-build the Workshop in their own fashion.
9 When that didn't happen, I decided to contact the Pigeon Players about bringing in directors for the Fall production.
10 I did, and a brand new group was born, and did a marvelously wonderful job on the Fall production, my own personal miracle.
11 That spirit spilled over to the musical, and even then, we STILL had to put up with a bunch of flaky people who came in and then left, but the group still working bonded through it all, and yesterday, we had the BEST rehearsal yet!
12 I decided on doing a musical because it's not a play, and because I promised kids last year that I owed them a musical. So this one is really special and meaningful, just a joy, and this cast in particular moved me personally to a very happy state.
13 But yesterday's news about Drama NOT being offered really hurt. They offered two NEW electives too, and I was pretty outraged.
14 Sadly, I just didn't want to go into the office and fight that. I've fought that battle a hundred times over the years. I usually win. But I see a trend that is really sad for the schools.
15 It isn't just Drama that is threatened. It's an issue that won't go away. And a younger teacher, or maybe even a younger version of me would have maybe had the health and time to go in there and fight hard.
16 I can't afford the strain it could put on my health, not at this point.
17 What REALLY killed me was that brand new, unproven electives, or more recent electives, were still being offered. Clearly there's no last hired/first fired sense of fairness involved here. It's completely unfair, and ridiculous. But it's the reality. That is the decision that our Administration made.
18 So I don't know what is going to happen next year. Last year I stuck to my guns and told them I was not doing it again. The reason Drama wasn't offered this year was because I stepped down, expecting a replacement. None came in.
19 I NEVER wanted to see the Drama Workshop disappear. That was never in the stars. In fact, I was expecting a young, energetic teacher coming in and turning it all around, while I did tech and still managed the Theatre.
20 Instead, Drama has officially been disrespected as an essential, vibrant part of the school, and of the school's traditions of having a Fall and Spring show, and of being one of the longest existing clubs on campus.
21 So I don't know what happens from here. I'm going to make this musical happen, because it's just the sweetest thing that's happened to me since the school year began.
22 But the school without Drama is a rather sobering thought. If I'm not in there each day running the Theatre, the Theatre is going to go to weeds. When I backed off earlier this year, it became storage, and lawnmowers and garbage began piling up in there. The seats started coming unbolted, and the lights burning out.
23 I hope the lights don't burn out at the end of this year. The end of the Drama Workshop would be a cruel blow to all of us. It would make my own life probably better, but make no mistake, the Theatre disappearing from our lives would effect a tremendous amount of people who look on all of this as a home they could always keep in their hearts, and a smile that sometimes crosses their thoughts, some each day.
24 And to anyone who has loved our Theatre, yesteday's reality of Drama being removed from the curriculum may also remove the Theatre from our lives.
25 Not a pretty thought. The DN would be relegated to a mere blog, instead of as a sort of cosmic link to everyone and everything that has experienced the pure joy of our Theatre as an ongoing, vibrant work that lives each day in all our hearts.
26 Right now, I'm doing a musical. I have work to do.
27 But fear not. I'll do what I can to keep the Theatre homefires alive and warm.
28 In an ironic act of synchronicity, Bon Jovi is on Jay Leno right now <of course, the SECOND round of Jay Leno!> and he's singing his hit song, Who Says You Can't Go Home, and it just seems to fit right here.
30 And now, Conan just came on and talked of Heidi.
30 Amazing to me. I'll see to it that the Theatre stays alive in all our hearts. I was about to go to bed. It's almost 3:30 a.m. But I know what I have to do. And I'll fight to keep the Theatre. Fear not.
31 Because I'm still a fighter.
32 And the fighter still remains.
33 Peace.
~H~
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