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Evolution

Issue Five

April 2021

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Table of Contents

New OCSA Park

Emily Buschelman, Tabitha Finamore

Have you seen the new containers on campus? Well, those containers are the first step in a new direction. Our Campus as we know it is about to change. 

In the August Board meeting, The OCSA Board of Trustees announced a new renovation to campus, hoping to create an inclusive and safe environment for OCSA students. After converting and converting the campus for the past 20 years, they plan to celebrate the 35th anniversary with an urban student area providing nature and facilities for the people on campus. By doing so, Steven Wagner, the Chief Operations Officer of OCSA, tells Evolution that, "We [the board of trustees] have spent the last 20 years here in Santa Ana, really growing the school, expanding our conservatory programs. And we've done it by acquiring [local and urban]  buildings and converting them into our campus. And in all of that time, there has been one major piece of the campus that we've felt has been missing.”

What Wanger’s 'green area' was missing, he describes as a safe place for students to rest and relax. This new part of campus will replace the tower blacktop, and it's thought to stretch from the annex to the white boarding wall between the Tower parking lot and 10th street. 

Construction on this campus makeover is going to start soon! The containers we have all seen on the black top hold potted trees that will soon be spread out along the blacktop, and shade cloth tied from the shipping containers to the tower for the remodel will be brought to campus in the next two months. More disruptive construction will take place during the summer of 2022. 

Once full construction is complete, the blacktop in front of the tower will be fully transformed into a unique student lounge consisting of lawns of grass, shaded areas, trees, and additional food areas. Six shipping containers will be placed in the tower parking lot until complete construction begins. 

Not only will the blacktop be transformed, but the intention of creating an outdoor staircase that leads up to the second-floor cafeteria and redecoration to 10th Street will also be a factor in creating an attractive, inclusive environment. The modernization to 10th Street will include coverings for the concrete and more seating areas for students. The outside staircase is not the only upgrade to the second-floor as they are also planning on creating an additional student center with the old cafeteria on the balcony. While they are building it, they plan on enclosing it with glass.

Intending to raise enough money to start construction by summer 2022, they plan on finishing the project in a year where it will be completed by summer 2023. Most construction will be completed throughout the summers and non-school hours so that it will not disrupt classes and students on campus. The estimated cost for this new area will be around "three to five million dollars," Wagner states, planning on raising the money through donors and naming rights to certain facilities.

Not only is the staff excited for the remodel, but students are already looking forward to the change in scenery. Others, seniors are a little disappointed they will not get a chance to enjoy the new additions to campus. Beyond that, many students hope for the makeover to start as soon as possible, in order to reap the benefits. As of now, it seems this change is an extensive one that will require a lot of investment and time, but it will be well worth the wait. 


 Mural- The DMS

Selah Sanchez

Perhaps you have seen it on the far side of campus, settled on the wall of the DMS, right next to the VAC. Though it might not be outright conspicuous, to the students who work on it, it is more than just another mural. 

Every Friday after school, a group of seniors in the Visual Arts conservatory meet up at the VAC. Once they arrive, they set up their space and work close together, painting on the side of the DMS, tracing palm trees out in red pastels and chatting under the sweltering sun. They are led by Brooke Hunter,  new Beginning Oil and Landscape Painting VA teacher, and Emma Han (VA ‘22). In fact, the wall might still be empty if not for Han’s effort to bring back a senior tradition.

Most of the murals students see in the tower corridors, and even the koi fish that swim up and down the DMS stairs, are courtesy of the senior mural-painting classes from prior years; however, that class was not offered during this school year, due to the previous teacher retiring. The prior attempts by Han and her peers to bring it back had unfortunately not gone through. However, that changed during this past summer, when Visual Arts Director Paige Oden opened up to Han about a potential Welcome Week project. As Oden retells it, “Emma reached out and said, ‘Hey where are we with the mural project?’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s Zoom.’”   

 At this point, the site from the DMS had been approved, and eventually, the mural evolved into a solely senior-led composition. Han agreed to assist in designing and planning along with Hunter, who had had previous experience in murals from her father’s business. Throughout the summer, the two exchanged ideas via email and Zoom. As Hunter recalled, “We had known from the start that it was going to be like a vintage postcard, so from there it was just trying to figure out how we can incorporate all the conservatories.” They swapped ideas back and forth, helping each other with color, design and type. The final graphic became that of a bright view of the tower, surrounded by palm trees with large lettering at the center, inside which every conservatory would be incorporated. “We wanted the mural to be centered around welcoming the new OCSA students,” Han elaborated.

Whether they heard of the project from friends or if they were emailed directly, the volunteer students gathered as the starting date approached. Though they varied in their experience on murals, all were enthused to be a part of the new project. In the days that followed, the group met once a week and got to work alongside one another on the project, learning much about the process and composition of murals and being able to leave a legacy like many other classes have done before them. As Han summed it up, “I’ve been a student at OCSA, and I’ve loved the experience, and it’s kind of cool to have something permanent on campus when I leave… It’s just special.”

Celebrating Culture Through Art

Isabelle Tran


If you’ve been to The Source OC located in Buena Park within the past few weeks, you may have spotted the brightly colored bus stop embedded in the wall with paint. Step closer and you might notice the QR code in the lower right corner, leading to a visual essay celebrating Korean culture, written by Isabel Hahn (CW ‘22) titled “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings”. Over the summer, Kristie Lee (VA ‘22) and Hannah Kang (VA ‘22) reached out to Hahn inquiring about a collaboration. 

The Source made its debut as a predominantly Korean-branded mall in 2006, built by a Korean family-owned real estate company. Through its opening, many Asian brands were introduced to the United States for the first time. As a Korean-American, artist, and student based in Southern California, Kang spotted other murals created by students, which “inspired [her] to work with Kristie and also represent OCSA outside of the campus.” With more than fifteen murals around the OCSA campus, bringing the iconic artistic element to an outside wall where there is a blank canvas is an opportunity to represent a unique perspective on the Korean-american experience. Visually, there are various elements incorporated into the mural such as “the choson folding screens, cranes and pine trees, the transitional architecture on the bus stop, and also the little posters” which represent Korean culture. While these are typical elements of Korean culture that many people can relate to and recognize, Isabel delves into her childhood and takes the small, intimate moments, turning them into beautifully articulated memories. “Red Bean Shaved Ice and Other Musings” starts off with the memory of disliking the taste of red bean shaved ice but then growing to like it over the years. This reminiscing evokes a nostalgic feeling with the longing of childhood, the celebration of a uniquely Korean experience, and the wisdom that comes with growing up.

As a last word from Isabel: “when you’re writing or creating something, what you create doesn’t always have to be big, inspirational or monumental events and anything can be created into art. Look into your own culture and own identity, and you'll see that there’s a lot of different really special things in your life, and you should celebrate that through your craft.” Arguably, celebration brings people together more than anything else, and the unifying of art and writing presents this joy in an empowering way. 










Conservatory COVID Protocols

Lara Bilgore and Jamie Lee

After being shut down on March 13, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, OCSA is finally back fully in person. OCSA has taken many precautions as to how they are operating during a pandemic; such guidelines include requiring masks indoors, offering weekly testing, and providing updates through a COVID-19 Dashboard. Following the COVID guidelines from administration has been a particularly difficult task for certain conservatories such as Musical Theatre, Acting, Classical Voice and Instrumental Music, where students and teachers are dependent on the use of their mouth or voice; however, conservatory directors have each found a way to operate their arts classes while simultaneously practicing COVID guidelines and providing a quality arts education. 

Conservatories within the School of Theatre, such as the Musical Theatre and Acting conservatories, are reliant on facial expressions and the voice, both of which are unfortunately inhibited by the use of masks. Knowing masks are required in class, Sophia Madrigal (ACT ‘22) described the social distancing restrictions as “a bit lax,” adding that the “protocol definitely hinders actors’ abilities to perform.” With this said, this may have been a learning curve for students such as Sofia Ciro (MT ‘24), who said that students had to “learn to show emotion in a natural way” and “it was something [they] had to adapt to.” Both Madrigal and Ciro concluded that while it may have been initially hard to follow the new protocols, they believe that the quality of their education was not affected, especially with teachers who have been more lenient with difficulties that could arise. 

In conservatories like Wind Studies, students are needed to use their mouths to play their instruments. Teachers have had to support their students throughout this entire process. According to Kylie Heidal (IM-WS ‘23), these protocols have affected “the overall hearing of music and not being able to project as much sound as we used to be able to… I feel like it makes it more difficult to focus on learning new musical skills.” Despite this, Heidal expressed that the conservatory teachers have been understanding, adding that “they gave us a notice on what to bring, such as bell covers. And later on, they're [going to] provide us with a pass that will cover our bases... They’ve been really understanding about it and have helped us learn how to adapt with it.” People like Heidal have felt that, “we’re always focusing on being able to project more and not fully being able to play together and learn together as a cohesive group.”

These new guidelines have definitely been a learning curve for everybody, and while it has been a major adjustment, students and teachers alike are looking forward to a school year back in person.