San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Students take a stand on arts
An opinion piece spurred students at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts to mount a campaign, urging Gov. Newsom to ‘let us perform’
Who would have imagined an article in a newspaper’s arts section could fire up high school students enough to generate a full-blown project? That’s what happened at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts recently. In the school’s social-action theater class, Cortney Golub was teaching her students how to write opinion pieces. She shared Cal Poly Pomona professor emeritus Ralph E. Shaffer’s April piece, which ran in the Union-tribune’s Arts+culture section. He wrote about student athletes who successfully challenged California’s COVID-19 rules so that they could return to practice and competition.
Shaffer pointed out that, despite the athletes’ win, student musicians, actors and dancers were still not permitted to perform live together.
“When I first read the article and realized the difference between what sports and arts were experiencing, I became frustrated,” said SDSCPA freshman and musical theater student Gavin August. “It’s nice to see sports people doing what they love, but we’re stuck hoping to be able to perform again.
“I miss performing and the connections you make. I’m really missing my art; it’s a form of happiness to be able to express myself. Ms. Golub talked about social justice. If we don’t do something, who will?”
Senior Eliana Hicks, another SDSCPA musical theater major, suffered a pandemic-related disappointment last spring. She had a principal role in the school’s mainstage production of “In the Heights,” but its public performances were canceled.
“For me and the cast, it meant losing the opportunity to perform in front of the public, casting people from local theaters, and college scouts to show what we can do,” Hicks said.
“I have two siblings who play sports. They’ve been practicing awhile now. After we read Shaffer’s article, I realized: That’s very true. I can’t perform, but my sibs can play in a championship game. I saw the favoritism, the inequity.”
Since the opinion essay struck a chord with her students, Golub suggested they write letters to the editor about the issue.
“We took all we were learning on argumentation, research, how to properly cite sources and how to make and back up a claim,” said Golub, who started at SDSCPA in January 2020 and has been teaching for 19 years. “Students were asking, ‘Do you think we could succeed if we do a similar action?’
“The letter writing was a great opportunity to do something they care about. We’re reflecting the very name of our class — tackling social action to bring back theater.”
A group of seniors reviewed 100-plus letters they and freshmen had written, then condensed them into one longer letter. The Uniontribune published it last Sunday in the Arts+culture section.
Excited to perform
Tim Farson is principal of SDSCPA, which he said ranks as the eighth most diverse school in California. Its 1,400 students hail from 82 Zipcodes in the county. Notable alumni include 2021 Oscar-nominee Andra Day and Tony Award-winning Broadway stars Sara Ramirez and Christian Hoff.
Many current students don’t have resources or space to practice their art forms, Farson noted. The letters project saw them researching and working together for change.
“One of the serious issues we have today as a society is the inability to listen, dialogue and come to consensus,” Farson said. “I’m very proud of the letter.”
If restrictions on live performance change, he stressed, the school will continue matching its procedures with California health protocols.
“I’m as excited for the students to perform again as anyone,” Farson said.
Teacher Golub, a former Division I basketball player who relied on athletic scholarships, supports athletes getting to practice.
“We want the same avenue for arts students to seek those kinds of opportunities,” she said. “The students have final panels of professional artists from the community who give them feedback on their art. They also obtain connections with conservatory programs. They haven’t had a way to show their works for over a year. “
Ryan Arandia, a senior majoring in cinematic arts, planned to show his videos and films in galleries.
“It’s the only way to get our names out there,” Arandia said. “Showcasing and presenting the work is a big factor in my field. It was heartbreaking not to.”
Energized by the letters project, Arandia is now making a documentary about it.
“I’m interviewing artists who got their projects canceled because of COVID,” he said. “I think that will impact the audience to hear those stories.”
Having senior year of school be upended is difficult. The pandemic also affected freshmen like dance student Micaela Edano. Because her grandmother lives with her family, Edano’s still taking classes online only.
“Dancing at home is challenging,” she said. “I have to find or make enough space. It’s hard to correctly dance the phrases without a mirror or guidance from the teacher. I had to use a chair instead of a barre.
“I really like dancing with my classmates. Online, it doesn’t really feel like an actual dance class.”
The letters project includes visual arts elements and a social media component (#letusperform) that, together, have helped the students in multiple ways. They’ve honed collaborative skills and taken ownership of their learning process.
SDSCPA’S upcoming spring main-stage production of “Les Misérables” may be on video rather than live, Golub said, but the students have been enriched.
“We’ve learned about equity, about standing up for all young artists,” she said. “So regardless of whether the students perform live in the next few weeks, there’s a lot to celebrate.”