Gilroy
– The slow downward spiral of the past several years that left
Gilroy High School’s drama program nearly lifeless has met its
match: a 24-year-old native Gilroyan with a passion for theater
arts.
Gilroy – The slow downward spiral of the past several years that left Gilroy High School’s drama program nearly lifeless has met its match: a 24-year-old native Gilroyan with a passion for theater arts.
Ethan Stocks, a 1999 GHS graduate, is eager to instill new life into drama at the high school – a program that has lacked student enthusiasm over the past four years. But for Stocks, who actively participated in drama during his time at GHS, the general student body apathy toward theater arts came almost as a shock.
“That was probably the biggest surprise for me, to come back and have to start from scratch,” he said.
During Stocks’ time at GHS, the drama program thrived under the direction of now-vice principal Greg Camacho-Light. One of Stocks’ fondest memories was the tightly knit bond among the “drama kids,” a core group of students committed to high school theater arts, he said.
“The level of camaraderie that was there was amazing,” Stocks said. “That’s something I’d really like to see back in the program.”
But Stocks knows replenishing that camaraderie will be difficult, much less seeing it flourish to the level it once was. Convincing students to audition for the fall play, an adaptation of “Gruesome Grimms’ Fairy Tales” has been his biggest challenge so far.
Jim Maya, drama instructor for more than a decade before Camacho-Light took over in 1994, established the long-standing tradition of the senior musical: an elaborate production with actors and behind-the-scenes workers only from the senior class. Maya’s last senior production at GHS, “The Music Man,” drew about 100 auditions.
That number dwindled slightly during Camacho-Light’s tenure as drama teacher from 1994 to 1999, with about 70 or 80 auditions for the senior production each year.
But student interest weakened considerably over the years following Camacho-Light’s direction, when Kurt Meeker took over in the fall of 2000. The number of productions steadily declined with just one play, “Working,” performed last year.
Meeker was let go last year after a racy set of skits performed in February drew the ire of parents, students, district officials and board members alike. The performances contained several sexual references and indecent language, but Meeker maintained the material was appropriate for high schoolers.
Stocks said he is focused on resurrecting the traditions he remembers, such as multiple productions per year. Along with the fall play, Stocks also hopes this year to produce “Annie Get Your Gun” for the senior production and a yet-to-be-determined spring play.
Although it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why student interest in drama has fizzled, Camacho-Light said revving up enthusiasm will be an ongoing obstacle.
“It takes time to get things rejuvenated. This year, we want to continue to do plays and get kids involved, and not just in one type of play but in a variety of plays: educational, student produced, as many different types of performing arts as possible,” Camacho-Light said.
Camacho-Light said he has faith the new drama teacher is cut out for the challenge, and Stocks understands the difference between artistic freedom and blatant indecency.
“He’s willing to take artistic risk in the sense that students learn the art and know they’re not just being different for different’s sake,” Camacho-Light said.
GHS principal Bob Bravo echoed that confidence, adding he thinks Stocks is capable of transitioning the drama program to a new era.
“It was good fortune that he was available when we were looking to fill the position,” Bravo said. “He’s very connected to local theater, even beyond GHS. He has a lot of ambition about really wanting to make the drama program into something. In his mind, he knows concretely what could happen because he’s seen it and been a part of it. He has that vision.”
A major help to the drama program this year – and over the past eight or so years – has been the Odyssey Theatre Co., a nonprofit organization that assists schools in the Gilroy Unified School District with resources for arts education. For GHS’s fall play this year, Odyssey loaned the drama department money that will be paid back from ticket sales.
“They have a reputation for producing really high quality work, and they’re able to provide us with resources that wouldn’t be as available to us otherwise,” Stocks said. “They make my job a lot easier.”
How often Odyssey is involved in GHS’s drama productions depends on each production’s budget, and Stocks said he expects this year the company will help with all three plays.
So far, students seem to have warmed up to their new drama teacher. In a recent improv class students engaged in a fast-paced situation reaction exercise. At times, an odd comment or quirky response elicited a boom of laughter from the group, but the tone turned focused again when a new situation was introduced.
Junior Monica Puga was involved in theater arts when she attended Brownell Middle School but decided to take other classes during her first couple of years at GHS. She said she enrolled in drama this year because she thought it might help her overcome shyness.
“He knows what he’s doing, and he’s got a good sense of humor. He’s funny,” Puga said of Stocks.
In some ways, Stocks’ young age is a blessing because it helps him better relate to and communicate with students, he said. But it also can be a curse.
“I think it helps because I can understand a little bit better what the kids are going through than some of their older teachers, but there’s also an issue of credibility. Sometimes they don’t take me seriously,” he said.
Stocks has been involved in drama nearly all his life, following in the footsteps of his older sister. He attended Glen View and Rucker elementary schools and South Valley Middle School before coming to GHS. He graduated in 2003 from UCLA’s School of Film and Television and went on to get his teaching credentials at Chapman University. From 1999 to 2001, Stocks worked as a director at Star, a summer theater program for children ages 5 to 15.
Stocks said he applied for the job at GHS because he loves theater arts and is committed to growing local drama programs.
“I’ve always been involved in theater in the Gilroy area, and it’s something I’ve always wanted to see thrive here,” he said. “Having this job had always been in the back of my mind. It was something I’d always thought about but never thought it would actually happen. I never thought I’d actually be here. But it did, and I am.”
Donations to Odyssey
Send donations to: Odyssey Theatre, P.O. BOX 1315, Gilroy, CA 95021
For more information, visit the theater’s Web site at www.odysseytheatre.org
