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Arts Calendar

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SCHOOL EVENTS

Something Rotten

March 30, 31, and April 1, 5, 6, 7 in the Performing Arts Center

What: “Something Rotten” tells the story of two brothers named Nick and Nigel Bottom, owners of an acting company, who attempt to write the first “musical,” meanwhile challenging the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The musical is being put on by the Backstage Bruins.

Opinion

Winter Guard championships

April 2 at Independence High School

What: The Winter Guard competition will be a part of the California Color Guard Circuit and will showcase the school's winter guard's show "A Million Reasons," a show about finding love.

Scoops and Tunes band concert April 4 in the cafeteria

ANGELA CHOI

Science and Health editor

Junior Christian Winzenread has performed in every post-pandemic school production since he joined the Backstage Bruins, Branham’s theater troupe. He starred two years ago in “Evil Dead: The Musical,” playing the sarcastic Ash with a chainsaw for a hand.

This week he will appear on stage as Nigel Bottom in the musical comedy “Something Rotten,” a mashup of Broadway and Shakespeare. Though he said that he was “humbled and very privileged” to live in a district that values arts programs, he said he is looking forward to things being better.

With the passage of Prop. 28 in November, which sets aside $1 billion to exclusively fund arts education in the state, Winzenread hopes that the theater department can reach even greater heights. Perhaps the funds can lead to more staffing.

The legislation will set aside 70% of funds to be distributed based on overall enrollment with 30% going to economically disadvantaged schools. Individual districts will decide specifically what programs and resources the money goes towards.

A bigger budget can also allow for higher production values in their shows, such as better props and lighting.

“Our sets could look a little bit better,” he said. “We probably (could) have a more polished product because we've been able to devote more time and resources to developing it. We would have more people to help and more opportunities for theater classes to help productions.”

Winzenread hopes the additional budget can also level the playing field between actors from public schools and actors from private schools.

In his involvement with theater outside of school, he has noticed that actors who want to pursue theater as a career are drawn to private schools for their increased arts program resources.

He hopes that the money from Prop. 28 can aid students who also want to pursue an arts career, but don’t have the resources to attend private schools.

At the district level, arts education has always been uniquely supported compared to other districts. Currently, the district allocates about $23,000 thousand dollars to arts education, and holds. District-wide events including music festivals, drama and art festivals, and art festivals to highlight talent across schools.

District Superintendent Dr. Robert Bravo said that he hopes that the funding will benefit existing arts education efforts. The funding will take effect in schools beginning next year and will be split among schools in the district based on size and need.

Having access to new instruments or being able to have more accompanists or drama coaches are some things that Bravo said the district would stand to benefit from Prop. 28.

“It's going to be chiefly an enhancement of the programs that are in place,” he said.

At Branham, arts programs have a budget set aside as well as an additional boost from the district. Band director Chris Nalls said that the additional money is particularly helpful for the band because some instruments don’t last a long time.

“It just helps us do a better job serving our community in those ways,” Nalls said.

Nalls also hopes that the resources can push arts education exposure to students who didn’t initially consider it as a career. He hopes to use the budget to implement additional opportunities for students post-covid. Over the pandemic, although band enrollment dropped from 120 students to 60. However, the cost of instruction did not change. Band had to cut staff members from the marching band to stay under the budget.

“That means the group may not be as good,” Nalls said. “It means that students don't receive the same level of instruction that puts a little more strain on those of us that are left to fill the gaps.”

Eileen Bertron, the Visual and Performing Arts department cochair, said she is excited to receive the increased budget next year, and hopes she can use it to increase staffing for the arts department.

“It's more than one person's job. And we need help,” Bertron said. “We're so tired and we're scrambling all the time.”

Winzenread agrees that the budget will attract people to the arts.

“Art is one of the greatest things that you can do as a human,” he said. “And because of what we have you should definitely get out there.”

Mitty’s alumni currently in the performing arts include Isabella Esler, playing the role of Lydia from “BeetleJuice” on national tour, along with Myha’la Herrold, who is starring in the Broadway national tour of “The Book of Mormon.”

The school is known for its strong performing arts program, so it’s no surprise that Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose employs six staff. By contrast, Branham has three. In addition to staff, the private school has a wider variety of classes available including AP music theory, advanced dance, sketch comedy, drama performance, and jazz choir, along with visual arts classes such as animation, cinema arts, painting, portfolio development, modern art and western art.

They also have various venues for their arts programs, including a dance studio, center for the arts, and an amphitheater. Despite their surplus of resources, the school population is only 1,768 students with a teacher to student ratio of 17 to one.

All of this comes with a price, as tuition there costs $24,550 at Mitty.

These funding opportunities at private schools give students advantages in resources over public schools such as Branham, where students in the performing arts perform with aging school-provided instruments and compete for rehearsal spaces.

Though the district and Branham make room for the arts, hosting music and theater festivals, they cannot pour resources into these programs as private schools in the area often have a surplus of arts equipment and greater performance and rehearsal venues, marking a clear disparity in resources.

The gap may narrow with the passage of Prop. 28, which provides $1 billion in additional performing and visual arts funding for public schools K-12 in the state, with 80% of the funding going towards teachers and aides.

In addition, Prop. 28 asks schools to be accountable with their funds, won’t allow school districts to use the funds for other purposes and asks schools to provide annual reports of their usage of the funds and impact it makes on the program and the students benefiting.

This aid will help many public schools bridge the gap between their private counterparts, but there are still issues that will continuously be encountered.

In California, elementary schools and schools serving large populations of low-income families have less arts education and instruction.

As of 2022 in the state only around 11% of public schools provided instruction for music, dance, theater and visual arts, according to Create CA. In comparison, private schools such as Mitty are provided with significantly more funding and specialized visual and performing arts staff for a broader educational benefit.

The disparity in funding goes beyond high school, giving students receiving a private education an edge later on.

Students from lower income families are more likely to drop out before obtaining a degree even if they obtain government aid. There is also the factor of demands or work and family that create challenges in making time for education.

This disparity still largely comes from the educational gap lower income students may have gotten in high school. Since private schools put a lot of effort into preparing their students for the purpose of attending college, coming into a school with fewer educational advantages can be a setback for many from day one.

Prop. 28 and arts education may help improve a student's learning environment, it can also set students up for a more robust arts program, helping them find success in a career in the arts.

What: The concert will showcase the music program, including band and choir, and will be offering ice cream to raise money for graduating seniors and current students who are interested in participating in local music camps.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors.

Winter Percussion championships

When and where April 15 at the Stockton Arena

The Winter Percussion will be performing its show “Gravity” . It will be a part of the Northern California Percussion Alliance circuit.

OMG Family Festival April 1 and 2 at Milpitas Square in the Great Mall.

The OMG Family Festival aims to bring together family and friends with music, food and vendors in one place.

If you can't make it to Milpitas, it returns June 3 and June 4 at Discovery Meadow near the Children's Discovery Museum.

ART Community Pot Luck and Art Show

April 15 in San Jose

The group Garden to Table Silicon Valley is hosting a potluck that will also showcase local artists. The event will donate10%of proceeds toward farm education programs.

COMEDY

Jerry Seinfeld

April 13, Center for the Performing Arts

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld, best known for his classic TV show "Seinfeld" and recently will be here to perform his newest stand-up routine. His show was declared the best show of all time in 2009 by Time Magazine.

Jerry Seinfeld

Tickets cost $68-$185.

— Compiled by Ava Stark