By Mary O’KEEFE

Crescenta Valley High School has welcomed new staff this school year including a teacher who is taking on theatre stage arts.

This is the first time CVHS will have a teacher dedicated to the art of stagecraft. According to Merriam-Webster, stagecraft is the effective management of theatrical devices or techniques.

That sounds simple enough, but anyone who has been backstage or in the lighting booth during a performance knows it is so much more than that.

Ondina Dominguez has taken on the responsibilities of teaching and running stage arts as part of the CVHS’s Theatre/Drama Dept.

“We are creating the program,” Dominguez said.

In the past, stage arts has been a class, but was instructed by drama teachers Brent and Kathi Beerman. The two instructors divided their time between drama and stage arts, which meant directing actors and also painting and designing sets.

Dominguez, along with her stage arts students, will be in charge of designing sets and lights for the plays, including this year’s musical.

Dominguez’s father can be attributed to her starting on the theatre path. He is a production assistant for film, and she would go with him to work. She worked with him and learned the business. Then she found live stage theatre and discovered her calling.

She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from CalState Fullerton, and is certified as a theatre technician. She is presently working on her masters in theatre arts.

In addition to her classes, she is also responsible for management of the MacDonald Auditorium. She is excited about the new program and working with the kids, but admits that stage arts is lacking in tools, like drills and other construction equipment.

She is working with the school to start a gofundme page to get the items needed. Anyone who would like to donate to the stage arts program to help them get tools for their classes can contact her at CVHS at (818) 249-5871.

  Mary Okeefe