Kennedy High Marks Theater Renovation

John F. Kennedy High School’s theater program, like the rest of the school, was treated to a little more drama than it would have preferred in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

With its administration building destroyed and much of the rest of the school badly damaged, Kennedy was among the hardest-hit campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Forced out of its home theater by the temblor, the drama department was left to stage performances in the school’s indoor dining hall or at Valley College.

But this week at Kennedy, where construction crews and temporary classrooms continue to serve as everyday reminders of the slow process of recovery, the school community, and drama students in particular, are celebrating the completion of one piece of the puzzle.

On Wednesday evening, the school’s newly renovated Little Theater was inaugurated with a performance of the musical “Fame.”

“We’re all really glad that the theater is finally open, and ‘Fame’ is a great way to open it,” said 10th-grader Joe Andreas.

“This is big because it’s the first one we’re going to do in the new theater,” agreed classmate Sheila Molina.

Drama teacher Mark Stevens, who came on shortly before the earthquake struck, said a silver lining in the school’s troubles is that Kennedy students now have one of the finest theaters in the district at their disposal.

“Because they had to completely replace the theater, we’ve got all kinds of new stuff,” Stevens said. “We’ve got all new professional lighting and sound systems. It’s all state-of-the-art equipment.”

Another bonus Stevens attributed to the new facility was three times the normal turnout at tryouts for this semester’s production.

“There’s a great pool of talent here. It’s my job to try to bring it out,” he said.

The public is invited to productions of “Fame” at 7 tonight and Saturday night in the Little Theater.

Tickets are available at the door for $7.50.