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Schools

The Creative Force Behind Gilroy High's 'Cinderella'

Patch spoke with the director, musical director and choreographer about the music, the dancing, the glass slipper.

Patch spoke with director Ethan Stocks, musical director Carol Harris and choreographer Meghan Carvalho about Gilroy High School’s version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s beloved musical, Cinderella, playing through Saturday.

Gilroy Patch: Ethan, do people compare you to Will Schuester (the teacher in television’s Glee)?

Ethan Stocks: Yes, people have definitely said that I remind them of him, but I've also been told I look like Ferris Bueller, so it's a toss-up. The weird thing is, I haven't seen much of Glee, and what I have seen I haven't liked. I think people expect me to be crazy about musical theater, because I do this job, but I'd much rather be doing Shakespeare or Thornton Wilder.

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Patch: Which is why the first production of the year was A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Stocks: Yes.

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Patch: What’s your background?

Stocks: I did my undergraduate work in theater at UCLA. I’ve taught at Gilroy High for about six years and always done plays here. I left to attend University College London and then returned after I got a master’s degree in film studies.

Patch: Is this performance a joint production of Gilroy High and Christopher High?

Stocks: Unofficially. About 90 percent of the cast is from Gilroy High, which now offers a seventh-period drama class. This means students get credit for being in the play. That’s not true for the Christopher High students, who are here just because they want to be. With every play we do, we see more students from Christopher.

Patch: It took some time for you to get that seventh-period drama class at Gilroy High. Eventually Christopher High will have it, too, right?

Stocks: I hope so.

Patch: Who chooses what play will be performed?

Stocks: I do. I try to choose a play or musical that accommodates the students I have. From A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I knew we had mostly girls this year and some great voices, so I looked for a musical with roles for girls and with name recognition. I try to choose plays that kids want to be in and that kids want to see.

Patch: It’s tough to get boys into drama?

Stocks: Always.

Patch: Why is that?

Stocks: I think it’s perceived as girl-oriented.

Carol Harris: Boys at this age are more shy than girls, I think. Plus many of the boys do sports, and that takes up a lot of their time.

Stocks: Every one of my students has time constraints. Prince Charming (Dylan Jensen) plays basketball. It’s a huge conflict. I was very worried.

Patch: But it’s worked.

Stocks: It has worked. Having a strong choir program at Gilroy High has really helped us.

Harris: Many of our students are very well trained in Phil Robb’s program, and we’re lucky to have them. They are our core singers.

Patch: Carol, you are well known to Gilroy’s fans of musical theater. I know you performed with the Limelight Theater last month.

Stocks: Carol is an icon.

Patch: Carol, when did you start working in musical theater in Gilroy?

Harris: I moved to California in 1983 and began directing kids’ shows with the South Valley Civic Theater in 1985. I sang in the Gavilan College Choir with Phil Robb. About 12 years ago, he asked me to help with an afterschool music program for kids. The children’s choir was eventually cancelled, but after retiring from teaching in 2000 and  living overseas for a year, I came on board to accompany Phil’s high school choirs. 

Patch: Where did you go overseas?

Harris: To Singapore. My husband had a job, and I sang with the American Women’s Choir, shopped and had fun! 

Patch: And when you came back to Gilroy?

Harris: I walked into a rehearsal for My Fair Lady, and someone said, “Carol, you’re here! We need a piano player.” And that was it. 

Patch: Right back into it.

Harris: Right back.

Patch: And for Cinderella, your job is ….

Harris: Teaching the songs, rehearsing the music and directing the orchestra.

Patch: I’ve seen a dress rehearsal, so I know that your piano playing links every scene together. I was amazed at how good it sounded with just the students’ voices and your piano.

Harris: It will sound even better during performances when we have the wonderful orchestra of high school students, which was organized and rehearsed by our band teacher, Greg Grant.

Patch: OK, Meghan, what’s your background? You look young to be a choreographer.

Meghan Carvalho: I’m a senior this year at Gilroy High.

Stocks: Meghan was in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She offered to help with dance.

Carvalho: I told Mr. Stocks, “If there’s ever gonna be dancing, let me know.” He let me help.

Patch: What’s your dance background?

Carvalho: I’ve danced pretty much since I could walk.

Patch: What style of dance?

Carvalho: Ballet, contemporary, jazz. I’m in a ballet troupe right now. I’ve been lucky to have danced with a lot of different types of dancers: Rockettes, Broadway stars, ballet dancers. It’s broadened my spectrum.

Stocks: For Cinderella, she used various styles in the choreography; there are waltzes, some contemporary dance, some jazz and some that are hybrids. Sometimes it’s just stylized natural movement.

Patch: Meghan, which do you prefer, dancing or choreography? 

Carvalho: I like doing the choreography, but it’s stressful.

Patch: Why is it stressful?

Carvalho: Onstage, I know what has to be done to convey the message I want to convey. When I’m not onstage, it’s harder. I’m relying on other people to convey my message, and it can be hard to communicate to them what I’m looking for.

Patch: Did you watch other productions of Cinderella to get ideas?

Carvalho: No. I had my own personal vision of what I wanted to see on the stage. I started with the audition piece to see what each person was capable of doing. 

Patch: Do you have many trained dancers in the cast?

Carvalho: I think only one or two people who have seriously studied dance.

Patch: So you used each person’s audition to decide which movements would work? 

Carvalho: Yes, to see what would work both for the music and for the person’s abilities. I tried to use movements that I knew could look good onstage even if the person dancing didn’t have much dance experience.

Patch: And that was the challenge?

Carvalho: That and the multiple personalities. Trying to find movements that worked equally well for different body types and personalities. And also the fact that I’m working with my peers. Sometimes that made the whole teacher-student part feel awkward.

Stocks: It’s actually worked out very well. She worked well with her peers.

Carvalho: I learned to break down the dance steps into basic components, and start from there. It was fun.

Patch:  Stressful but fun.

Carvalho (smiling): Right. 

Patch: Congratulations to all three of you. The music, the dancing and the sets are so well done. 

Stocks: The set was designed by Deborah Schwarz, with whom I've been working for years. I've known her since I was 8 years old; when I started directing plays, I immediately called her to do the sets. That was 12 years ago. She has a keen ability to take ordinary colors and shapes and turn them into something magical. Plus she can draw pretty much anything off the top of her head. I can't imagine working with anyone else. I don't want to.

Cinderella will play Friday, Saturday and March 17, 18 and 19 at 7:30 p.m. at Gilroy High School. This Sunday, there will also be a 2 p.m. matinee performance. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults.

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