My love and loyalty to Encinal High School comes from many heartfelt connections. I was fortunate to be hired and mentored by the legendary Katrina Staten, who taught me how to be a high school English teacher. Her brilliance and significance was matched by Bob Moorhead, the equally legendary drama teacher and director at Jetland. Twenty of my 23 years there were when Bob was making magic on stage. Both of my sons performed for Bob many times—my younger son was in a record 19 plays at EHS—and I had the good fortune to act alongside them once, a forever treasured memory. Bob also supported me and my shows, both as technical director and advisor colleague. The courage he showed in directing A Chorus Line and RENT inspired my Angels in America.
So when Bob retired, and me a few years later, the challenge was to find someone to carry on the great tradition of drama at 210 Central Avenue. There were ups and downs, starts and stops, and one year the kids stepped up and did a show worthy of applause. But now, I’m happy to declare, the glorious mantle of magnificence that Bob made and shared with me has been passed forward to two exceptional people and the new drama directors—Lachelle Morris and Megan Taylor. Here are their answers to 5Q4 Megan Taylor & Lachelle Morris.
At what moment did you discover that you wanted to be an artist?
Megan: As a child, I spent most of my time at home, reenacting Disney movie scenes alone in my living room. During middle school I learned about a community theater in my area and, despite my shyness, I felt compelled to audition for one of their shows. I don’t have a particular moment, but joining the theater showed me that there could be a space where I could act out scenes, no longer alone, but alongside castmates, sets, lights, music, and all the other moving parts of the stage.
Lachelle: Being born in a big Samoan family, I was subjected to a lot of singing, dancing and playing instruments, as the culture highlights telling stories through the arts. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an artist and, gratefully, my parents truly fostered this in our home. Music would blast throughout the house. My parents, siblings, and I would sing along. Karaoke was a rite of passage in our household.
The moment I discovered I wanted to be a director was much different. I always looked at myself as a performer, never the one calling the shots on stage. I didn’t go to school to be a director or have any special training, but I did have many ideas and knew how to execute them. A parent reached out to me about two years ago and asked if I wanted to help revive the arts at Encinal. I was so scared. I was a new mom and teacher, finishing off my last year in my master’s program. I had every reason to say no, but I couldn’t help giving an emphatic—yet scared–YES. Sure, I didn’t have the training or experience like so many others I’ve encountered, but what I did have was familial and community support, and immense passion for this work and providing opportunities to youth like those that were presented to me.
Who was the most influential person who helped you achieve your goal?
Megan: The most influential person who helped me pursue performance was my childhood piano teacher. Growing up, I took piano lessons and was always intrigued when I would hear the singers rehearsing down the hall. My piano teacher, who also was a vocal coach, knew how much I loved to sing and started integrating vocals into my lessons. She helped me develop not only my voice, but also the confidence to perform.
Lachelle: The most influential people who helped me achieve my goals in the arts were my parents, my high school drama director Bob Moorhead, and high school musical director Bonnie Nelson Duffey. I never had any professional vocal training nor was I in theater activities after school like other kids were. I was very intimidated by this, but when time for musical auditions came around in my sophomore year of high school, Mr. Moorhead, who was my English teacher, encouraged me to audition. Participating in the musicals really got me out of my shell and Mr. Moorhead and Ms. Nelson Duffey were amazing guides in the theater world.
Tell about the best or a best experience you had as a performer.
Megan: I don’t have a particular experience to share, but my favorite experiences have always been ones where I am challenged with a character who is very different from myself. The times when I have been pushed out of my comfort zone—and into roles I didn’t think were possible for me to pull off—ended up being the ones I grew from and enjoyed the most.
Lachelle: First was participating in our high school production of RENT. At the time, it may have been a bit controversial for high school students to do a play with that content, but the messages that it highlighted were so important, and I felt so grateful to be part of sending that message.
Another experience where I felt elated as a performer was singing “O Holy Night” at my church’s Christmas program a few years ago. If you know the song, you know that the only place to practice privately is in your car, and I knew from past experiences that if I really wanted to do this song justice I had to practice and prep my voice. I was accompanied by a wonderful member of our congregation and we found the time in our busy schedules to practice a few times. The day of the performance, I prayed like crazy to not mess up. Great news—I didn’t, and the feeling in the room is something I can’t describe.
Conversely, tell us about a pretty bad experience.
Megan: While at UC Santa Cruz I was involved in Barnstorm, a student-run theater company. As I was gearing up for opening night of a show, we found out just a few days before that our show would be canceled due the onset of the pandemic. At the time it was a mix of emotions. However, the next quarter we ended up being able to put together a virtual performance with pre-recorded videos and streamed it on YouTube, which was pretty cool.
Lachelle: I’ve had a few bad experiences, all that I’ve learned from because mistakes are a part of growing. But here’s one that I can finally laugh at—I was performing with the cast of Seussical at a Senior Center. I was so busy in the week prior that I wasn’t able to make all the rehearsals, but I convinced myself that I was “fine” because I “knew the music so well.” Wrong! I was so confused about some blocking, which was really only a “me” problem. Because I hadn’t been singing throughout the week to practice, my voice was not prepared to sing the ending high note in the song. I played a bird in the musical. Why did I growl/bark like a Chihuahua when I realized I would crack my voice to reach the high note? It was so awkward. People laughed, I think because they thought it was funny. I did not. I felt so defeated for the rest of the day and promised my director that I wouldn’t miss rehearsals again for as long as I lived. I totally understood then why my directors always said to practice like it was performance time, even when you’re at home. Moral of the story: Go to your scheduled rehearsals and practice, practice, practice!
Any advice to folks out there hoping to pursue a life in the arts?
Megan: I don’t think I am qualified to give advice, as I feel I have a lot to learn about “life in the arts,” but I would say to just keep doing it—whatever it is. Even if life gets in the way, don’t stop, just stay connected however possible, no matter how big or small.
Lachelle: If you even feel an inkling of pursuing a life in the arts, go for it! Even if you feel you are a beginner, you’ve got to say to yourself that you at least tried. Join your local theater group, hit up the local schools or camps and see if there are volunteer or employment opportunities. We are always looking for support from the community at Encinal High School, so come on by.
See collaborative efforts of Megan and Lachelle in the spring show, Mean Girls – The Musical, on March 22, 28, 29, and 30 at 7 p.m., and March 23 at 5 p.m., at the Encinal High gymnasium, 210 Central Avenue. For more information, visit the Encinal Drama Club website or check their @encinaldrama Instagram page. Tickets are available online.
Gene Kahane is the founder of the Foodbank Players, a lifelong teacher, and former Poet Laureate for the City of Alameda. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Gene-Kahane.
