Editor’s Note: This article was written for Mosaic, an independent journalism training program for high school students who report and photograph stories under the guidance of professional journalists.

Professional theater companies in the Bay Area have been financially struggling recently, with numerous recent closures, but the interest and activity level in some San Jose high school drama programs remains high.

Willow Glen has a thriving theater and drama program, from Willow Glen Middle School through the high school. “A cast for one of our plays can range anywhere from 20 to 55 students–that’s just one play,” said  Allyson Velasquez, who teaches drama and helps direct plays at the high school.

Leigh High School has a performing arts department with several theater and musical tiers. Drama teacher Maria Griswold teaches several drama classes totaling about 140 students. She also acts as director or adviser for school productions, including an upcoming staging of the musical “She Loves Me.”

Musicals draw the most student interest, Griswold said. She tries to involve as many students as possible in the production “by doing double-casting and understudies. It helps boost morale. I try to keep as many kids as I feasibly can.” Others get involved as technicians, costume designers and makeup artists.

Maria Griswold, teacher of Theatre Arts at Leigh High School, directs a rehearsal of a student production of “Clue,” in San Jose, Calif. (Courtesy of Chris Malin) 

Kinsey Wright, a senior at Leigh, has been a part of the theater program through four years, playing several roles in numerous productions. “I act, I costume-design, I direct,” he said. “I plan on being a theater major” after high school.

Willow Glen senior Aaron Ortiz was drawn to drama at an early age. “When I was younger, I used to watch many movies with my grandparents,” he said. “I remember my first time watching ‘Hamilton,’ and I was just so amazed by the performance. That’s when I knew that was the passion I wanted to follow.”

He has worked behind the scenes for his school’s productions, as well as in acting roles in smaller drama club productions. “As part of the stage management team, I essentially make sure all the student performers are ready and the lighting and sound system is tuned.”

Beyond high school, “I do plan on pursuing theater in the future,” he said. “One of the things I look for when I apply to colleges is an inclusive theater club community.”

Leigh High School’s Narya Bower, top, helps Lorien Bower prepare to put on their wig for their fall 2023 play Clue in San Jose, Calif. (Chris Malin/Mosaic) 

The robustness at the school level contrasts with the present situation in professional theater in the Bay Area. Recently both the California Shakespeare Theater and the Berkeley-based Bay Area Children’s Theatre were among several theatrical groups ceasing operations, and the National Endowment of the Arts withdrew a $10,000 grant from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.

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But in the South Bay, “Practically every (high) school has a theater or drama department,” said Griswold. She cited particularly strong drama programs at Lincoln and Westmont high schools.

Producing the shows requires not only student participation but also funding, in part through ticket sales. “The goal is always to break even for theater productions,” Griswold said, so that costs are covered “for the costumes, makeup supplies, paint, food.

“In the past couple of years we have been able to break even,” she said, “but we definitely are not making a huge profit from these shows.”

As with any artistic endeavor, profit is not always an essential part of the effort. “I want to be a part of the community,” Ortiz said, “as the joy of acting is like no other.”

Sami Khan is a member of the class of 2026 at James Logan High School in Union City.