Portola Theatre

Check it out! Auditions are coming up for our first ever Broadway Night! Get involved and audition by yourself or with a group of friends to possibly be featured in our VAPA collaborative event!

Fall Play Audition Info, Sides, and Video Audition link posted to our website! Check bio for link! Come join us at a Certain School of Magic and Magic this Fall!

Sending so much love to our seniors! Class of 2024 is just two short weeks away from walking at Graduation. We are so excited to keep cheering you on through the next chapter(s) of your life! Thank you for everything- but most importantly, for being YOU!

Register now for this year's Musical Theatre Intensive! Get prepared for auditions, challenge yourself with a duet it solo, and explore more styles and genres of musical theatre!

Portola Goes to Segerstrom! Beetlejuice was such a fun show to see, and we got to attend a talkback with a member of the cast and a musician from the pit!

Highlights from our Spring Break New York City Trip! Thanks to all of the students who took a chance, parents who trusted us, and for the amazing memories created!

Congratulations to all of our Company. "We're All in This Together!"

Portola High School Reaches For The Stars With Disney's High School Musical: On Stage
written by Dylan Johnson, a junior at San Clemente High School

After a romantic night of karaoke, popular jock Troy Bolton and math savant Gabriella Montez return from winter break to find that their chance meeting and subsequent love connection disrupts the harmony of East High School's conventional social structure. The couple must defy clique rules and shatter stereotypical barriers to preserve their relationship, proving along the way that they are more than just a jock and a brainiac.

The chemistry between leads Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez is ignited by actors Dylan Chung and Rory Miller whose voices both complement and support one another, capturing the shared magic of teenage love. Each convincingly pairs with the other during romantic dancing and through beautiful melodies. Together the couple creates transformative love songs, pushing the urgency of the couple's desire to break free of their normative molds to be themselves, together.

For Sharpay Evans (Kody Lin), an upheaval of the status quo threatens her elite social position and thus she holds tightly to her status as the school drama club president and lead actress. Lin inhabits Sharpay's queen bee personality by spewing snide comments and casting devious smirks that hint at foul play and manipulation. Embodying the antagonist, Lin exudes mean-girl behavior as she strives to destroy Troy and Gabriella's relationship and desperately angles to maintain the spotlight.

A quirky drama teacher is certainly part of the cliched high school landscape. Alexia Choi achieves this archetype in her performance of Ms. Darbus, the eccentric drama teacher singularly focused on putting her stamp on Juliet and Romeo. Choi is effervescent as she flits about while her hippie bracelets and necklaces jangle, demanding a piece of the spotlight for herself. She is hilariously and unabashedly histrionic as she shrieks and screams demonstrating the portrayal of emotional range to her students.

High School Musical: On Stage comprises of a daunting twenty-two scene pieces and twelve scene changes. However, the Portola stage crew (Sofia Chaves, Kayla Henderson, Stella Draeger, Zhi Huang, Nathan Sue, and Stel Yan) manage their set seamlessly. Each transition occurred quickly, keeping a focused audience and a smoothly run show.

With heartfelt singing, charismatic acting, and coordinated stage management, Portola High School illuminates the triumph in embracing authenticity and friendship in their performance of High School Musical: On Stage. They remind us to reach for our own star!

Congrats to the Company! Cappies reviews are published!

Come Cheer On the Wildcats in Portola's High School Musical
written by London Braithwaite, a senior at San Clemente High School

When the new girl in town, Gabriella Montez, and the high school's star basketball player, Troy Bolton, catch each other's eyes, the landscape of East High begins to shift. Gabriella and Troy awaken a wave of curiosity amongst the students and staff as they step out of their typical high school stereotypes and try something new: auditioning for the school musical.

Dylan Chung as Troy Bolton exceptionally embodies the humble basketball sensation through his casual, relaxed physicality. His love for Rory Miller as Gabriella Montez clearly blooms as he becomes awe-struck, staring and gently smiling at her throughout the show. Dylan and Gabriella display vocal expertise as they blend their voices together with vibrato and supported tones to sing I Can't Take My Eyes Off of You.

Nithila Francis as Kelsi Neilson stands out on stage, even with her shy and meek character, as she develops her role. She portrays the introverted artist through her shrugged shoulders and minute hand gestures. As the show progresses, she displays her once-concealed excitement for the musical she wrote. She raises the levels of her voice and quickens her movements while directing Gabriella and Troy to audition for the lead roles against Sharpay Evans (Kody Lin) and Ryan Evans (Jay Shin).

The Performance Art ensemble yields mounts of passion through their vivacious, large expressions and interpretive movements as they explore their passion in Ms. Darbus (Alexia Choi) theater class. Each of the performance art kids embodies their own unique character, clearly seen through their eclectic auditions for the upcoming high school musical.

Sound (Ashley Sue) flawlessly executes their role to level out each of the cast members mics and allow them to be heard well. Although the microphone levels are difficult to hear over the orchestra in the beginning, they quickly recover and excellently reset the sound quality.

Stage Management (Jasmine Davis, Kevin Huang) deftly call over 41 cues, including 13 scenic changes with more than 27 scenic pieces, throughout the show. The show runs smoothly with their prompt guidance and direction.

The cast and crew of Disney's High School Musical on Stage! are Counting on You to join them as they recreate this Disney classic. So, Get'cha Head in the Game and get yourself over to see Portola's High School Musical.

Check out our website for audition info!
Portolatheatre.org