About our Theatre Program: Montclair High School offers a variety of theatre courses that follow the Career Technical Education Pathway. Traditional Drama 1 (an introduction to theatre), Drama II, III, IV (advanced acting), Technical Theatre I/IV (no acting, all tech) and Theatre Production (acting and tech production).
In May of 2015, Montclair High School Theatre chartered their first International Thespian Troupe. This International Honor Society recognizes outstanding work in theatre education. Our students have competed at the state level in areas of performance and technical work and have earned top honors. Students have earned scholarships to summer theatre camps and worked alongside professional theatre technicians. In February of 2017, our technical theatre students were highlighted in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin for their work on building a 40-foot wide by 18-foot-tall faux stone castle for the production of Game of Tiaras.
Individual students and our program as a whole, have also been lauded for production work by the California Educational Theatre Association. Each fall, our production is adjudicated by theatre professionals. Outstanding work is recognized by the organization and feedback is provided by ranking their ranking system. Our program has consistently been above 80% and more than 85% of production students are recognized for their production achievements.
Our recent theatre graduates have been accepted into top theatre schools- UCLA, CSU Fullerton, UC Irvine, and CSU Chico (Recently ranked 19th of the top 25 BA programs by OnStage Blog). Our theatre technicians have found work at local/regional theatre. Actors and Technicians have transferred to Mt. San Antonio College.
March is Theatre in our Schools Month
April is Stand Up 4 Arts
2nd week of October is Arts in Education
Arts education helps to increase students’ ability to manage behavior, make decisions, and cultivate a positive concept of the self. William Penn Foundation, Holochwost, Palmer Wolf, Fisher, & O’Grady, 2016
In 2015, students who took four years of arts classes in high school scored an average of 92 points higher on their SATs than students who took only one-half year or less. The College Board 2016
High school students who earn multiple arts credits are five times more likely to graduate than students with low involvement in the arts. National Endowment for the Arts: The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth, 2012
“Only 15% of job success comes from technical skills and knowledge. The other 85% comes from well-developed soft-skills, things like the ability to listen, artistic sense, nonverbal communication, enthusiasm, and storytelling. Isn’t this the focus of our work in theatre?” Patricia Raun, 2017 EdTA Conference
