SAVE VICKY SILVA

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Vicky Silva, esteemed educator and nationally recognized instructor in mime, movement, and theatre, has been a Theatre Department faculty member since the opening of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts in 1985. She served as Theatre Department Chair from 1988 to 2001. Until a year ago, Ms.Silva taught 1st Year Theatre Movement, creating the very foundation upon which artists spring, as well as a morning elective, Advanced Physical Theatre, for those individuals seeking a professional training in developing their own sense of artistry and purpose. However, due to unclear reasons from the administration and current Theatre Department Chair, Ms.Silva was, in 2008, deprived of teaching her morning Advanced Physical Theatre class, which composed of the most willing and dedicated students from all departments. She was also forced out of her teaching position for the 1st Year Theatre Movement class. The apparent "compromise", if you will, was to allow Ms.Silva to teach Advanced Physical Theatre as a 3rd Year Theatre Movement class, an outrageous decision that not only deprived Ms.Silva from guiding her multi-department ensemble in a professional "company"-style manner, but also blatantly forced all 3rd Year Theatre students to take a very particular course that was based mainly on the individuals' interest and dedication. Despite these unreasonable circumstances, Ms.Silva passed on the same wisdom and insight to these skeptical students, guiding and inspiring them to push past preconceived limits and truly discover their creative and artistic conscious. The class ended very successfully, due solely to the unwavering passion of Vicky Silva and the hard work of the students; their Advanced Physical Theatre showcase in late May received critical acclaim, once again displaying Ms.Silva's role as the most inspiring director at LACHSA.

Now, a year later, instead of making up for past mistakes, the Theatre Department has once again forced Vicky Silva into unacceptable conditions:
Supposedly "due to budget cuts", Ms.Silva has been forced out of her role as a core Theatre course teacher. Instead, for the upcoming school year of 2009-2010, she will be only teaching TWO HOURS A WEEK, a mere Friday elective class that meets for under two hours once a week on Friday afternoons. This has gone too far.

Having been with the school since the day it started, Vicky Silva has more seniority than any other teacher in the LACHSA Theatre Department. It seems outrageous that while Ms.Silva, the most esteemed and respected teacher in Theatre, and perhaps all of LACHSA, is being demoted on the unacceptable excuse of "budget cut", many of the new teachers have maintained their positions as core theatre course teachers. What's more, the Department is currently in the process of hiring new teachers for the upcoming year. Money seems to appear magically in all areas EXCEPT preserving Vicky Silva's position.

This disgusting decision is not only a blatant insult to Vicky Silva, but also completely deprives most students from a most amazing and rewarding learning experience and environment: as she will be teaching only one Friday elective class, that guarantees that no more than 30-some students will be allowed to grow under her guidance, due to class size limitations and student involvement in other programs.

Vicky Silva's Movement classes are the epitome of what theatre is about. To discontinue them would mean destroying what's left of the Theatre Department magic.

For current students, parents, and alumni: you know Ms.Silva's merits. We need to fight for her once again.

For incoming and aspiring students and parents: There is no need to come/send your kid to LACHSA without this instructor. Or her core classes.

SAVE LACHSA THEATRE. SAVE VICKY SILVA.

*A brief biography of Vicky Silva is posted on the Arts High website: www.artshigh.org

167 Signatures

  • Michelle Sui
    • Comments
    • В
  • Pat Lentz
    • Comments
    • Proud to sign this. ALWAYS proud to sign this. It's getting ridiculous how many times this needs signing!
  • keenan reilly
    • Comments
    • i love vicky silva, she made my freshman year unforgettable.
  • Donniel Smith
  • Margie Levy
    • Comments
    • We left LACHSA last year because of poor decisions like this. It has been heartbreaking to see this program destroyed.
  • brendan stampley
    • Comments
    • vicky silva is the true spirit of the theatre dept at lachsa and to reduce her to only a two hour elective is not only wrong it is an insult. mrs silva is an inspiration, a creator, a visionary, talented, amazing person, and it makes me sad to see her value go so under appreciated. we love you mrs silva!
  • Spencer Doughtie
  • James Ferrero
    • Comments
    • I simply cannot believe this has come up again. The most growth I made as an actor at LACHSA was when I studied under this magnificent teacher. She helped transform me into a better actor in a way that no other teacher has been able to get near since. Not to mention she is also one of the sweetest, most caring people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Nobody cares about their students like Vicky Silva does. This cannot stand.
  • Lauren Lewis
    • Comments
    • If I had not had ms. Silva's class, I would not have been prepared to receive all the new ideas being brought forth in theatre today. She needs to stay on at LACHSA because I've yet to find another teacher who provides her level of creativity and ingenuity.
  • Isabella roland
    • Comments
    • I respect her very much as a teacher and it would be a pleasure to have her in my years to come at LACHSA.
  • Coby Getzug
  • Rebecca N. Law
  • Samantha Martin
  • Elizabeth Goodrich
    • Comments
    • Why are we having to fight for everything we love?
  • Alyson King
  • Mike Lion
    • Comments
    • What is happening is absolutely outrageous. We should not be deprived of a full proper class with Ms. Silva, one of the most brilliant teachers at the school.
  • Kendall Davis
    • Comments
    • save silva!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  • Lily Ali-Oshatz
    • Comments
    • I will do whatever it takes to save her.
  • Ethan Larsen
  • Erika Varela
  • Kyle Poole
  • Siobhan Martinez
  • Jamie Nelson
  • Madison Shepard
    • Comments
    • LACHSA Alumni (Class of 2005)
  • Mick Donovan Feinman
    • Comments
    • Silva is one of the most loving, creative, inspirational, and motivating teachers in the drama department! To remove her from the school would be detrimental! And extremely stupid!
  • Jessi Quinlan
    • Comments
    • It seems the ones worth keeping are the only ones in danger.
  • Merin McDonald
    • Comments
    • It sickens me that this has happened even once before, and now it seems a regular occurrence. This is disgusting, deplorable and downright tragic.
  • dillon Bush
  • Cody Gould
  • Jesse March
  • Stefan Haves
  • Arianna
  • Connor Kelly-Eiding
  • Ryan Jackson
  • Stevie Dominguez
  • Paul Eiding
    • Comments
    • If this her idea of "theatre for the 21st century" LACHSA will be left in the dust by the new Arts High School. Once again, the drama department head shows how little she knows about THEATRE.
  • Joshua Jacobson
  • Cella Mariani
    • Comments
    • This woman changed my life. If this heinousness persists you will be depriving her of doing the same for countless other students. Please understand - without her, you may as well dissolve the Theatre Department all together
  • david nathan schwartz
    • Comments
    • Does Hunter even CARE about the students and curriculum or patronage? For ONCE do what's right FOR THE STUDENTS NOT YOUR EGO!
  • Philip S. Schaffer
    • Comments
    • Ms. Silva has honestly changed my life. In her class I realized the true importance of theatre, which has helped me decide what I want to do with the rest of my life. Every year for my four years at LACHSA, I have seen her forced into a smaller and smaller hole. Whatever the reasons, this is the worst possible decision our school can make. I am disappointed to see such a genius forced into such a terrible position every year. Please, for the sake of the students of LACHSA, Ms. Silva MUST remain at LACHSA. She is the most talented, inspiring teacher we have and an integral part of the school.
  • Baxley Andresen
  • Michael Chacon
    • Comments
    • STICK IT TO THE MAN!
  • Elizabeth Parra
  • Sadie Schwolsky
  • Adrian Ayala
  • Alan Rice
  • Bronwyn Reed
  • McKenna Kelly-Eiding
  • Jeff Gardner
    • Comments
    • I had a chance to sit in on one of these classes last year and the students were doing anything they could to be in Vicky's class. This is an outrage, Vicky is incredibly nurturing and really cares for her students.
  • Karen Hansen