OCSA Parallels on Television

Angie Kidder

Image courtesy of Ashley Kim

OCSA doesn’t quite fit in with the stereotype of other typical high schools across the country. While we operate like a normal school and take the same classes as other high school students from 8:30 to 1:35 each day, the atmosphere completely changes once Office Hours come to an end. Math classrooms turn into Musical Theater rehearsal spaces, English classrooms turn into studios for visual artists and the DMS becomes a hub for dancers across multiple conservatories. The only thing missing in our unique atmosphere is a lack of media that accurately represents us! But, there are a few TV shows over the years that have shown parallels to OCSA, and might help us glamorize the experience a little more (and show our non-OCSA friends what our school is really like)!

  1. Glee (2009)

Glee is a staple of television from the early 2010s, following a group of students from different backgrounds all joining together for their love of performing. And yes, the school that Glee takes place in is considered to be a traditional American high school. But by the end of the series, the school is transformed into a performing arts school, similar to OCSA. The TV series also features an alumni from OCSA, lMatthew Morrison (MT ‘97 who plays their teacher). There are some speculations that Glee was also inspired by OCSA at its origin at Los Alamitos high school due to parallels in the plot, but there is no clear evidence that confirms this rumor. Nonetheless, students all across our student body have watched this television show, possibly without realizing the parallels it has to the OCSA experience.

2. Victorious (2010)

Probably the most similar to OCSA out of any of the TV series on the list, Victorious takes place at Hollywood Arts, which (unlike Glee) specializes in all different forms of art. In fact, the fictional school even specializes in arts that OCSA doesn’t offer, like ventriloquism! Although we don’t have nearly as much fun with our locker decorations, Hollywood Arts has a similar class structure to OCSA, with the chance to learn about different forms of art that we otherwise might have never been exposed to.

3. Fame (1982)

The original art school television series! Fame follows the lives of students at the elite New York Academy for the Performing Arts, and unlike other art school shows, also follows the lives of faculty. Although it was a very popular series, especially in the UK, it was cancelled after only two seasons due to poor reviews. But if you ever want motivation for art school activities, I definitely recommend this title.