The lights begin to dim and the chattering audience is suddenly silent, all eyes on stage. Dawn illuminates an old fishing dock, and a sleepy Chinese song plays in the background. A yawning fisherman emerges and slowly descends the dock, taking in the beauty of the sea. As he unfolds his nets, he sings of his hope for a good catch, feeling that luck is in the air.
Set in an imaginary Monterey fishing village in the 1920s, "Speakeasy" is an opera/musical featuring dancing showgirls and a talented night club blues singer who belts 'em out like nobody's business. Anyone would think this is a professional production. But it isn't. The theater is an old, dilapidated auditorium left over from what used to be an elementary school. The lead roles are played by teen-agers, who, along with the rest of the singers, dancers and musicians, are high school students at the School of the Arts. In fact, the opera was written, choreographed and performed entirely by these students.
Located next to the New Humanities Building at San Francisco State University, the School of the Arts is a public high school for future divas, virtuosos and other artists extraordinaire, the San Francisco version of the TV show, "Fame." Auditions are toughÑonly 120 students out of 500 make itÑbut with disciplines in dance, music, theater, media and visual arts, dedicated graduates do go on to professional careers in the arts.
"This is a truly wonderful school," says principal Joe Rosenblatt. "We call it pre-professional training here, so if somebody wants to take advantage of it, they can learn in a professional capacity." Rosenblatt, a middle-aged man with a Brooklyn accent, boasts, "Kids these years were accepted into every famous arts school in the country. Two kids were accepted into Julliard. I don't know of any other high school in this country who got two kids into Julliard last yearÑJulliard takes almost nobody!"
Walking around the halls is like being in a music conservatory. A former musician himself, Rosenblatt says he wishes he grew up in a school like SOTA. "I have parents who say, 'God, I wish I went to a school like this.' When people come from colleges to look at this place, they go gaga, absolutely out of their minds!" he squeals proudly.
Between 15 to 20 percent of students go on to professional careers, Rosenblatt says, but most students come to enjoy four years of high school while pursuing interests in the arts and developing their talent, moving onto other things after graduation.
"The kids who get into their discipline are really excited about being here. Art classes have art shows, theater techs design the sets and costumes, the make-upÑit's a very professional type of operation here. The choir did a Schubert mass with orchestra, Beethoven's 1st Symphony, the drama department performed Marat/Sade. This is a high school! We're doing adult kinds of things." Jon Bailey, a senior in theater arts, says, "This is the place to go if you want to be a professional artistÑyou get a lot of good training." Students commute from as far as Berkeley, San Anselmo and Half Moon Bay. Some have even moved from out of state to attend this school. "We have a lot of very serious artists. SOTA has turned out some incredible talents that are going to go somewhere and be something," he says.
"Any student here does have potential," says Luby Ordona, a sophomore who studies vocal music. "Students are really dedicated, not only to the arts but to academics." Academic subjects like English, history, math and science are taught in the mornings, and afternoons are devoted to various arts classes, where students focus on their chosen discipline.
Lily Chumley, a sophomore in visual arts, says she prefers attending SOTA over any other high school. "It's a good start in the art world. I've really gotten into sculpture and learned a lot in terms of art and conceptual work."
Gym classes concentrate on dance, instead of sports. Dance instructor Elvia Marta begins choreographing a song, and the student's project is to finish it. "It encourages students to be creative and think for themselves, and that's something that has really been wonderful," Bailey says. "We need education like that."
The drama department has given Bailey the opportunity to perform in many different styles. SOTA has put on shows he says just couldn't be done at any other high school. One of last year's productions was based on the plays the Marquis de Sade produced to entertain the wealthy, which de Sade wrote and directed for production by the mentally disabled inmates in a French asylum. "We pulled it off," says Bailey, who played de Sade, "and really well."
Zoe Martin, a junior studying media arts, enjoys the student videos presented at the end of the year. "It's like going to the movies," she says. "You buy popcorn and see these students' work, and it's really goodÑit's not just kids playing with camcorders. We're learning what other kids learn in college."
The 9 a.m. bell rings, and students funnel out of classroom doors into the hallways. Two girls are standing next to the lockers when one of them sees a boy dressed in black approaching. "Hello!" she cries excitedly, throwing her arms around him. Suddenly, throughout the hallway it seems like just about everybody is throwing back their arms and greeting each other in friendly embraces. Moving forward is practically impossible with all the hugging going on.
"SOTA really is a community," Bailey says. "People go up to each other in the halls, give each other big hugs. It's great. There's definitely a strong sense of support for being recognized as an individual. It's all about freedomÑfreedom to be who you are, wear what you want to wear. People know you at SOTA." Since SOTA has only 400 students, just about everybody knows each other. "At most schools, you're lucky if you see a friend in the hall, but here you run into them every period." says Ordona. "The kids love this school," Rosenblatt says. "They all hug and kiss, there's no fights, no racial tension, nobody cares about what color hair anybody has. It's a pleasure being here."
He tells of one mother who lamented that her son never had any friends when he came to SOTA, and now the phone rings off the hook. "I've heard this happening over and over," he says.
Martin likes hearing music as she walks down the halls, seeing sculpture and dance classes. "Everyone is really interested in seeing and hearing about other people's art. One of the big things is that the students are really supportive of you, you feel safe here," she says.
"We have a large gay community which is openly accepted," Bailey says. "You don't hear racist and homophobic stuff like you do in other schoolsÑit's pretty dynamic."
The relaxed atmosphere appeals to Chumley. Because students choose to go to SOTA, "it's less hard to deal with daily life. We're more motivated to think and be alive," she says.
After a tragic scene involving a shooting, a broken heart, horrified prostitutes, and an adoring audience who can't resist applauding at all the wrong places, the yawning fisherman stumbles onto the dock once more, unfolding his nets, and hoping for a good catch. He gets his wish: The audience is hooked. The clapping and cheering continues even after the performance ends.
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