The Chatsworth High School drama program boasts an illustrious list of movie alums: Oscar winner Kevin Spacey, action hero Val Kilmer and Emmy Award-winning actress Mare Winningham.
But a look at a recent school newsletter shows just how far the program has fallen since Spacey and Winningham played the leads in "The Sound of Music" in the school auditorium 30 years ago.
The school's December bulletin offered kudos to the band, drill team, girls golf and volleyball squads; announcements about the tutoring schedule and college visits; and solicitations for a poster contest.
It ended with this line: "Due to unfortunate circumstances, CHS Drama production of "Quilters" has been postponed. . . ."
Translation: The drama program was so broke that the fall play was canceled for the first time in the school's history.
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Walt McDowell has taught drama for 21 years, 15 of those at Chatsworth High. He's weathered budget troubles before.
You scrap the popular, big-ticket shows, with their $1,500 royalty payments, elaborate choreography and costumes. "No 'Snoopy,' 'Bye-Bye Birdie,' 'Annie,' " he said. "I haven't done a big musical in eight years."
But when he couldn't afford to pay the custodian to lock up the campus after weekend rehearsals last fall, he knew it was time to throw in the towel on the show.
His annual budget -- which includes putting on a spring play, a variety show and transporting students to two drama competitions -- is only $600.
"I know every other school is in the same situation," McDowell told me. "And it's not just a question of dollars."
He's right. A cavalcade of circumstances has pushed drama programs to the bottom of educational priorities.
In elementary schools, the narrow focus on math and reading means fewer school plays and less time for the arts. In middle schools, budget cuts have eliminated theater field trips.
"So kids grow up with no exposure to live theater," he said. And though his five drama classes are full, "the audience for our work is dwindling. We used to have sold-out shows. Now we average about 100 people a performance."
On Wednesday, I visited McDowell's class, on the edge of the San Fernando Valley campus, near the athletic field where the school's best-known commodity -- its nationally ranked baseball team -- practices. Needless to say, that team's spring games are packed.
