Staging a Comeback

The lines flowed smoothly. The voices carried. The set changes came without a snag.

And best of all, a large and appreciative audience turned out Friday night to watch as Luther Burbank High School gave its final performance of "She Stoops to Conquer."

Beyond the stage, dramatic changes were also playing out as a community came together to support and applaud the rebirth of Burbank's drama program.

Over the past few days, many offers of help -- from costuming to stage production to vocal coaching -- have been rolling in to the school after people read about the play in a four-part series in The Bee earlier this week.

The articles chronicled the up-and-down journey of drama teacher Miki Sanders and her fledgling company of teenage actors as they put on Burbank High School's first full-scale drama production in a decade.

The drama behind the drama was a roller coaster. Four of the seven leads in the play had to be recast because students kept dropping out. A female lead role went through four casting changes. The students had little or no stage experience and struggled to learn their lines. The teacher encountered numerous problems, including not being able to rehearse in the auditorium because other groups were renting the hall.

On Friday night, the young actors were stunned as an audience of nearly 300 showed up to cheer their efforts. On opening night a week ago, only 51 people sat in the enormous theater, which seats 900.

The actors had been working hard over the past few days to better learn their lines and cues and to project their voices after the fairly ragged performances of last weekend.

Their efforts paid off in the form of a smooth and polished production that earned them alternate rounds of laughter and applause, and a hearty standing ovation at the end. Among those in the audience was Gary Hart, former state senator and the founder of the Institute for Educational Reform at California State University, Sacramento.

"This was an 18th century British play that's very hard to do," Hart said. "It was impressive to see what they could do."

Sitting near the back of the auditorium was Tiffany Capello, one of the students who had to leave the play midstream because of a change in her living situation. She brought an armful of roses for Sanders.

The show capped an emotional week in which Sanders received many offers of help and support.

Bruce Ragle, a history teacher at Burbank, offered to donate cash and painting supplies to help the drama program. "This is a very good first step toward making this a better school," he said.

Several people donated cash. Others offered to help backstage. One man offered free video-taping services. A Burbank student said he would help with makeup in future shows.

Luther Hanson, a director and theater arts faculty member at Sacramento City College, called to offer assistance, including researching royalty issues.

Dorothy Ramon, whose daughter Cheree is a Burbank freshman, wants to help secure grant money from nonprofits and businesses to pay for sound and lighting improvements.

Dave Christianson, who has been active for years helping his daughter and other children taking part in the River City Theater Company, called saying he would help with future set construction. Putting on a theater production involves a tremendous amount of work and energy, he said, but is worth it because of the benefits to young people.

"What they accomplished is nothing short of amazing," he said. "It's great to see a school emerging after all these years. I'd like to encourage it as much as I can."

Peggy Peters and her husband Mike Durkin, of south Sacramento, offered to help with costuming and stage production. They have two grown daughters who have been active in the theater and are foster parents to two young children.

Peters sews costumes for theater groups and Renaissance fairs, and offered to make costumes for free for Burbank's upcoming productions. Durkin is a special education teacher who said he would help in whatever way was needed.

"The need is obviously so great," Peters said. "Our hearts just went out to this teacher and her students."

One of the most touching communications came from Tom Wittsche, who wrote to Sanders and offered a shoulder.

Wittsche taught drama at Burbank between 1962 and 1985. He guided 25 musicals and plays onto the stage those years. Wittsche, who lives near Burbank, hadn't realized the program had faded away until this week, when he learned of the comeback efforts. He offered to have lunch with Sanders and to meet with students to share his experiences and thoughts.

"I identified all the way with what she was going through," Wittsche said.

Sanders was gratified by all the concern and support. "It means a lot," she said.

With "She Stoops to Conquer" conquered, the school is turning its attention to the next planned production -- the musical "Grease."

Principal Bob Sandoval ordered new sound equipment, including wireless body microphones, to arrive in time for the spring show. On Thursday, Sanders passed out song verses and dialogue passages that students must learn for auditions.

All week, kids popped their heads into her drama classroom to ask about the musical. Judging from their comments, competition promises to be stiff for the "Rizzo" part. Watch your calendars: The curtain will rise on Burbank's next big play in mid-March.

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