Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Garrett
Hi Bill, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve been working at Calabasas High School and running the theater program there for the past 25 years. I originally got started when I was back in Los Angeles helping to produce a project, when my old theater teacher, Jim Gilchrist, asked if I would like to help him out. I had gone to Calabasas High and I jumped at the opportunity to help out my old teacher, who I adored, and work with the students to put together our fall play and spring musical. That opportunity led me to eventually take over the program when my mentor retired. I’ve been happily working there for twenty-five years and have the joy of watching our program grow over the years. I’m very proud of the numerous students who now work professionally on the stage and screen, as well as leading successful careers as directors, designers, producers, agents, and casting directors.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
It’s been a labor of love. The job requires tremendously long hours. I probably average around 65+ hours a week. However, the students are always incredibly inspiring and it makes me excited to go in and teach every day.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I teach theater at Calabasas High School. Over my 25 year career, I have also taught Leadership, Film, and English. I am really proud of all of our productions that we produce. Every show we hear, “I can’t believe that was a high school show”. I am also extremely proud of all our students who have used what they’ve learned to have successful careers in the arts and beyond. I believe that all Arts Teachers deserve special recognition. They often go above and beyond to provide students with transformational experiences. I feel blessed to have been recognized as Las Virgenes Unified School District Teacher of the Year, Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year, and Los Angeles County’s Most Inspirational Teacher.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
We had to completely shift our approach to education during the Covid-19 Crisis. I am proud that our program kept providing opportunities during the crisis. I spent a lot of time researching how to broadcast our productions. For our fall play in 2020, we used 16 classrooms. Each room had 1 actor, 1 technician, a camera and a green screen. We had our student technicians run a live switchboard and edit the backgrounds through opensource broadcasting software. It made it a much greater experience than just watching a Zoom conference screen. For our musical, we had to pre-record several of our musical numbers, performing the numbers outside with cameras. We then switched between live monologues and the pre-recorded musical numbers.
During the crisis, I knew that everyone was hungry for social interaction. I did my best to give them creative opportunities to work together and create performances they could be proud of.
Pricing:
- our tickets are $15 each
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chstheater.com
- Instagram: @chstheater
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chstheater/
Image Credits
Mily Cooper
