Lights…Camera..Action! Theatre has been a way for individuals to express themselves for decades. All the way from Broadway to a high school theatre, people around the world are telling stories through the arts. At Downey High School, drama students have continued to showcase their talents and express their desire to pursue a career in theatre.

The Downey High School Drama Department is run by Mr. Nelson who has directed all of the school’s plays and musicals for the past two years. Most recently, he produced this year’s fall play, “Our Town” and last year’s hit musical “Grease.”  Along with directing plays, he teaches drama for all students interested in the arts. Nelson’s drama class is where Saul Conde, 11, first discovered his love for theatre.

Conde first joined drama in order to improve his acting and, hopefully, later become an actor. However, drama made him fall in love more with live performances than acting on television.

“Being in the department actually made me decide to not do film, but straight up theatre,” Conde stated. “Live performances are always different and it feels much more special for the audience, and therefore the actors.”

Conde plans to major in acting in order to make it big on Broadway. Conde is not the only one who hopes to pursue a career in the arts outside of school either.

Michael Macias, 12, has always wanted to be an onscreen actor since he was a kid. Macias wanted to have more extracurriculars on his transcript as well as improve his acting skills so he decided to join drama.

“Downey drama has helped me a lot with my decision because it gave me a lot of experience within acting,” Macias said. “And how even onstage and backstage works and has given me a lot of tips and tricks on how to act so it could be something I want to pursue.”

Macias applied for a theatre as well as psychology major since he is still deciding what he wants to do. He also encourages all students interested in the arts to try drama or audition for plays even if they do not believe in their hearts that they can do it.

Similar to Macias, Giovanni Ferreira, 12, has wanted to pursue a career in acting since he was a little kid. When his private theatre program was disbanded he decided to join Downey Drama to continue showcasing his talents. Grateful for the opportunity to be part of theatre at Downey he specifically wants to thank Mr. Nelson:

“I owe so much to Mr. Nelson, he’s not only a great teacher” Ferreiria stated. “He’s a great friend.”

Theatre for years has been a way for individuals to become someone who they are not and tell stories through acting and singing. Although risky, people all around the world are willing to jeopardize not being a household name if it means doing what they love for the rest of their lives.