Diploma Showtime : Students Strut Stuff at L.A. Arts School’s First Graduation

Few June high school graduates can boast that their commencement featured dancers, singers, musicians and Barry Manilow.

But this being the first graduation for students of the 2-year-old Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, no one expected anything less than the creatively unconventional ceremony held Tuesday on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles.

Los Angeles’ equivalent of the New York performing arts school popularized in the television series “Fame” bestowed diplomas on 65 aspiring visual artists, musicians, playwrights, dancers and actors who, as one commencement speaker said, “turned an experiment into a success story.”

In place of the usual valedictory speeches, members of the first senior class treated themselves to student performances of dance, theater and choral music, including an original theater piece and a senior song composed by one of the graduates.

And, this being Hollywood, singer Barry Manilow was present to be honored as “Artist of the Year” for his generous support of the school, which relies heavily on private contributions to supplement its state funding. Manilow announced the donation of $25,000 worth of musical equipment from the Yamaha music company. He also donated one of his own pianos.

‘You’ve Made It’

“I probably don’t have to tell you this but (it) looks like you’ve made it,” the singer said, drawing applause from those who recognized the message as a line from one of his hit songs.

Judging from the rundown of senior class accomplishments offered by a school official, a number of the fledgling artists appear to be well on their way to promising careers.

Pamela Mshana, 17, of Ontario, was the recipient of a Young Playwrights Award from the New York Dramatists Guild for a two-act play entitled “Ebony.” Her work will be published this year by Dell Books.

Another graduate, Marc Murai of Monterey Park, missed graduation in order to perform at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. Murai, whose talent is pantomime, was named one of this year’s 140 Presidential Scholars, the nation’s highest distinction for high school seniors. He was one of 20 winners chosen for superior accomplishment in the arts.

Eighty-five percent of the graduates have been accepted to four-year colleges, Assistant Principal James Cusack said. The school, which is tuition-free, draws students from all over Los Angeles County, from the inner city as well as from affluent suburbs. Students provide their own transportation to the school, and some endure daily bus rides of an hour or more.

The majority of the graduates entered the school as 11th graders two years ago when the special high school opened its doors on the Cal State campus. After several rounds of rigorous interviews and auditions, about 300 10th- and 11th-grade students were admitted. The enrollment will rise to 400 next year, Principal Charles Stewart said.

The school lacks many of the trappings of a regular high school. There is no gym, for instance; no clubs, no football team and no cheerleaders. But it does not skimp on academics. In fact, the students attended school an hour longer than their counterparts at regular high schools in order to receive the five hours of required academic courses. Each student also took three hours of arts instruction.

While many of the seniors said they worked harder than they expected to, all said the extra effort and long hours were worthwhile.

“I found a great group of people here,” said Mshana, who plans to study drama in the fall at the Tisch School of Performing Arts at New York University. “We all loved what we’re doing and work hard. People care about how you’re feeling and can accept you however you are,” unlike the more constraining atmosphere of most high schools.

Tops in Academics

This year’s senior class also distinguished itself academically. On the California Assessment Program test of basic skills, which is given annually to 3rd, 6th, 8th and 12th graders, the school scored higher than any other high school in the county, Stewart said, surprising those “who feel that arts schools don’t have strong academic programs.”

“It has been a good year,” he said. “The students have risen to the occasion and discovered they have a great deal of potential.”