Rising Stars: Meet Curtiss Philipsen of Huntington Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Curtiss Philipsen.

Hi Curtiss, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Los Angeles and raised in Inglewood and eventually OC as well. Art was my scholastic focus growing up, with an AA in Studio art from El Camino College. A BFA in Digital Media from Otis College of Art and Design. And an MA from CSU Dominguez Hills.
I was raised by my mom and my uncle. My parents divorced when I was young. My dad is Dutch, and for the most part has resided in the Netherlands.
As a single mom, my mother worked very hard to provide a good home for us. My uncle, Keith Funk was a lifelong educator and administrator for LAUSD and was a practicing artist. He greatly influenced my perspective of art, music, and the cultures of Los Angeles. We would go on adventures together, exploring the sights and sounds of Los Angeles’s underground art scenes, as well as exploring its cultural richness of diversity, tragedies, and triumphs.
I eventually would follow in the footsteps of my uncle, becoming a teacher and eventually an administrator, which has been my career now for almost 20 years.
However, I still feed my artistic appetites with collaborative filmmaking with individuals such as Bruce Chapnick (AI8RFilm) and Alecia Venkataraman (Streamlly). I am currently a represented actor, performing in commercials as well as on streaming platforms (Streamlly and YouTube) and doing voice overs.
My most treasured artistic vice though, is under the guise of Professor P, I enjoy going out to music venues, large and small in which I bring canvas, poster board, and oil markers. I capture the music, atmosphere and sound of the environment around me into a visual piece of art. These adventures keep me connected to Los Angeles and her surrounding areas. Most importantly, it keeps me connected to my uncle (who I lost suddenly in 2009) and our adventures together, exploring what makes LA one of the most artistically influential places in the world.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My life is balanced with highs and lows, like anyone else. I was born with an eye condition that required three major eye surgeries at a young age. The final one being at 11 years old, a frustrating condition, considering how much I love to explore, see, and create art, well, My eye condition has improved greatly, but still makes me insecure when making eye contact, in fear that someone will see the flaws that I have struggled with.
I would have to sat though, that losing those closest to us always has a major impact upon the directions we take in life. Losing my uncle so suddenly and without preparation, interrupted my life. Many things that I took for granted disappeared. Marriage. A home. Healthy relationships. And a desire to create art. I found myself sinking into depression with no answers to slow my descent. However, one day a good friend of mine, Steve Rodgers (no, not “that” Steve Rodgers) reached out to me and encouraged me to seek faith in my life. Because of this profound moment, I found a new course, one that brought me health, happiness, a new love to heal my heart, and a renewed passion for the arts.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am passionate about education and I am proud to serve my school community. I am an Assistant Principal, specializing in student services for a Title One school in Santa Ana. With that said, working within education today though can be a difficult prospect. It is under attack from many external and internal factors, which weigh heavily upon three main stakeholders. One, a student’s experience and mindset. Two, a parent’s perspective of the school system and what it can and cannot do for their children and their family. And three, an educator’s commitment to exist within a career field, with an ever changing landscape. So, what can I as an administrator do to bring something to the table, that can unite all stakeholders and give hope and faith in the education system? My answer is art and music.
As a practicing actor and artist, I am always looking for opportunities to incorporate the arts within a student’s educational journey. For many students, their foray into the arts is either limited or nonexistent at all. I find it vitally important, that all children and adolescents have at the very least, an opportunity to explore these avenues of creativity. Due to personal and professional experience, I believe and know that art and music contains the ability to unlock academic potential, by allowing the mind to incorporate the arts into a STEM minded system. I created some acronyms to assist in explaining to staff and student alike, how academics and the arts compliment one another from a perspective of study and creativity:

ART = Artistic Reasoning through Thought
MUSIC = Math Utilizes the Subconscious Incorporation of Composition

I have had many breakthroughs with this approach with students who struggle academically, yet display vast amounts of focus and patience while producing art, And I have also seen students produce high quality work and focus while listening to music.
I am still refining this particular method, but I must say there is nothing more satisfying than combining the two worlds of my passions of education and the arts, to help students excel and discover limits they never thought they could reach.

What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was rather introverted (it didn’t stay that way), but my imagination and fascination with creating something out of nothing, kept me company. My parents divorced when I was around 5 years old. My dad moved us around. I think he attributed a location with his happiness. I’m not sure he ever found it. My mom re-married and as I got older, I became rather bohemian in my appearance and engagement. I was an outcast in high school (Cypress High). I was a theater and art student. I lettered in Drama (imagine THAT on a letterman jacket). I grew my hair out and looked like a metal-head hessian, but my musical palette was accepting of all genres. I was a frustrating puzzle for most of my teachers, due to a volatile persona with the appearance to match. I loved to act and to create sets for school plays. I clashed with some students. Yet, found comfort and companionship with others. I was from LA and I stood out in an Orange County culture. Everything I was not supposed to watch, I watched. And it influenced me for better or worse. I needed fuel for creativity and there was no lack of it within the media, music, and the art scenes of the 80’s, 90’s, and 00’s of Southern California. I was immature about real-world concerns and mature about fantasy, art, and music when I was young. I’m “normal” now I suppose, for better or worse.
Ultimately though, what defined me as a teenager was one specific interaction, in my favorite place. I loved art class in high school. I greatly respected my art teacher. I took art all four years of high school. One day in art class, I was looking at a poster advertising Otis College of Art and Design (located in Los Angeles). My art teacher told me that I should consider another school. He didn’t believe that I could gain admission there. Hearing that broke my heart. However, after graduating from Otis College of Art design years later, mended it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Streamlly.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pro_fess_or_p/
• Facebook: Curtiss Philipsen
• Youtube: Streamlly.com