Orange County School of the Arts

History

Originally, this arts program began in 1983 as Los Al Players, a summer musical theatre camp for ages 4 – 16 founded by Terry Bigelow, Jean Parks, and Ralph Opacic in Los Alamitos, CA. Los Al Players grew into the Orange County High School of the Arts (OCHSA) in 1987 and reorganized as a public charter school on April 20, 2000. In the summer of 2000, Francis Ford Coppola served as a guest artist at the school, directing and writing a production of his musical, Gidget, with songs by John Farrar and starring Krysta Rodriguez (a student at the time) and Dermot Mulroney. During that time the school was relocated from its primary facility at Los Alamitos High School to the Santa Ana Unified School District.

OCSA is a tuition-free, donation-dependent public charter school governed by a board of trustees representing parents, the community, educators and the Orange County Board of Education. The school is supported by The Orange County School of the Arts Foundation which is a non-profit organization for the financial support of the school's tuition-free artistic programs as well as its ongoing expansion plans. The Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation governed by a volunteer board of directors.

In the summer of 2012, the name of the school was changed from OCHSA (Orange County High School of the Arts) to OCSA (Orange County School of the Arts). This was done to account for the grades 7-8 that are also in attendance at the school.

Academics

The Orange County School of the Arts students attend standard academic courses under a block schedule system with three academic classes per day alternating each day for a total of six classes. Honors classes are offered as well as many Advanced Placement classes. OCSA also has a selection of electives including Acting, Ceramics, Improv, Graphic Design, Zoology, Vocal Ensemble, Beginner Piano, Journalism, and Photography.

OCSA's 2012 Academic Performance Index (API) score of 908 ranked the school as one of the top five ranked high schools in Orange County and in the top 10 percent in California.

OCSA was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2006 by the U.S. Department of Education. OCSA was one of 250 Blue Ribbon schools recognized nationwide in 2006 among 35 schools in the State of California and five public schools in Orange County. OCSA was also named a California Distinguished School.

In 2021, 95% of OCSA alumni continued on to college, with 76% going on to a 4-year university, 13% going to a 2-year university with plans to transfer to a 4-year university and 11% going directly into the workforce. Students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA to continue participating in their artistic studies.

Arts

After 3:20 p.m., Monday through Thursday, the school focuses on arts education which is divided into 17 different conservatories based on different art forms. (Some conservatories may not be listed in this list): Production and Design, International Dance (was Ballet Folklórico), Classical and Contemporary Dance, Commercial Dance, Creative Writing, Film and Television, Integrated Arts, Instrumental Music (divided into Strings and Orchestra, Piano, Wind Studies, and Jazz), Popular Music, Musical Theater, Acting, Classical Voice (was Opera), Visual Arts, Culinary Arts and Hospitality, Digital Media, and Arts and Enterprise (introduced in the 2022-23 school year). Please note that each student only has one conservatory, but the conservatory can be split into different blocks and/or classes.

Notable students and alumni

• Nomi Abadi — musician and activist
• Kit Armstrong — classical pianist
• Scott Aukerman – writer and comedian
• Bae Sung-yeon — singer and member of Pristin
• Dante Basco — actor
• Dion Basco — actor
• Drake Bell — actor and musician
• Ashley Benson — actress
• Stephanie J. Block — Tony Award-winner
• Kara Crane — actress
• Chad Doreck — actor
• Susan Egan — actress (also former OCSA artistic director)
• Michael Fishman — actor
• Lauren German — actress
• Vanessa Hudgens — actress and singer (attended OCSA 7th grade only)
• Dinah Jane — singer and member of Fifth Harmony
• Allison Mack — actress who served 21 months for crimes related to the sex trafficking cult NXIVM
• Taryn Manning — actress
• Gavin Leatherwood — actor and musician
• Joe and Luke McGarry — twin musicians/graphic artists
• Grace McLean — actress and singer
• Lindsay Mendez — Tony Award-winning actress
• Emma Milani — actress
• Matthew Morrison — actor, singer and dancer
• Pedro Pascal – actor
• Monique Powell – vocalist
• Malia Pyles — actress
• Michael Repper — conductor
• Krysta Rodriguez — actress
• Matthew Shaffer — actor and dancer
• Columbus Short — actor and choreographer
• Justice Smith — actor
• Nikki SooHoo — actress
• China Soul — singer-songwriter
• Nicholas Urie — composer
• Anneliese van der Pol — actress
• Daniel Zolghadri — actor
• Ricky — singer and member of ZB1

Notes

References

References

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