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The Bakersfield Californian Thursday, March 3, 2011
Eye Street
Index Brian Lonbeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Freedom Trunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Freedom Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Arts Alive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 First Friday / Casino Night . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 The Lowdown with Matt Munoz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Christian Youth Film Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Oscar contest winners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Editor Jennifer Self | Phone 395-7434 | e-mail jself@bakersfield.com
CASEY CHRISTIE / THE CALIFORNIAN
Students in the cast of Stockdale High’s production of “20 Years of Theater at Stockdale” rehearse for the production, which premieres today.
Take a bow, kids BY CAMILLE GAVIN Contributing columnist
When Stockdale High School opened in 1991, a few of the buildings — and many of the finishing touches — were yet to be completed. Drama teacher CJ Pope has fond memories of how she and others coped with the situation. “We had construction workers roaming the halls for the first two years,” Pope said. “During passing periods you’d see these orange hard hats mingled in with our students.” Jeannine Thompson, formerly a principal at South High, hired the staff for the new school. Pope, who had been teaching drama at Bakersfield High School, came on board as chairman of the fine and performing arts department. Initially, there were no classroom doors so, “You could see your colleagues teaching across the hall,” she recalled. “The staff that opened the school formed a unique bond because of our unique circumstances.” And the cafeteria, where the administrative offices were temporarily located, was one very large and open room because it had no dividers to separate one function from the other. “We all called it Wall Street because there were no walls and it was hectic,” Pope said. Stockdale’s theater wasn’t completed until 1992 so her students put on their first
‘20 YEARS OF THEATER AT STOCKDALE’ When: 7 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday Where: Stockdale High School, 2800 Buena Vista Road Admission: $8; $7, students Information: 665-2800
INSIDE East High stages “Hairspray,” 29
production in December of 1991 at Little Harvey Theater on the BHS campus. But the uncompleted cafeteria at their own school served as a rehearsal hall. To commemorate those early days, Pope and her students will present “20 Years of Theater at Stockdale,” which opens tonight for six performances in the school’s theater at White Lane and Buena Vista Road. One of the scenes in the production will have a cafeteria setting with some of the 34 cast members lining up at the cafeteria as others practice their scenes nearby. In the show’s opening scene, dancers will use canes, crutches and walkers as a spoof of Stockdale’s original cast members, who are now 20 years older. A reception for drama alumni will be held in the cafeteria on Saturday. Part of the show includes a video presen-
Pope
tation that is a montage of the 40 main stage productions Stockdale students have done since the school began. In teaching theater arts, Pope uses an improvisational style called Mirror Mirror, which she learned in 1987 as part of her master’s degree at Northern Iowa University, where she was known as Cindy Jo, rather than CJ. “I renamed myself when I moved to California,” she said with a friendly laugh. “It was kind of a transforming experience for me. I had already signed with (an Iowa school) but when the recruiters from Bakersfield came I decided that sounded a lot better than winters that were 20 degrees below.” She first used Mirror Mirror at BHS where she taught before being asked to join the Stockdale staff.
It involves introducing a certain theme — such as a reunion play about Stockdale — then dividing students into small groups where they talk about the theme, are encouraged to come up with ideas about how to carry it out and ultimately develop and write an original script. “Mirror, Mirror helps students tap into their creativity, loosens them up and encourages them to take risks within the group,” Pope said. “It also helps with timing and characterization.” Improvisation of any kind is usually a team effort and is definitely an “of the moment” exercise in which an actor interacts with other members of the troupe while at the same time feeding them lines that will support their individual roles. Over the years a number of Pope’s students have found careers in live theater. Among them are Megan Swanson who recently finished a national tour of “Camelot”; Blaine Swen, the creator and director of The Improvised Shakespeare Company in Chicago; John Marston, who’s making a name for himself in Milwaukee; and Jeff Lepine, who’s active as an improv actor in New York City. Others have found jobs as professional stage managers or lighting designers. And one former student works for NASA, or as Pope puts it, “She’s a rocket scientist.” Pope is enthusiastic about this year’s crop of thespians and seems to look forward to those she’ll train in the years ahead even though no money from the school’s annual budget is designated for the performing arts department. “We pay our own way through ticket sales,” the teacher said. “And we have a very supportive administration.”