Ramona High School | Helland, Bobbie

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Theater Productions Class
will resume Fall 2012

There was once a young lady by the name of Jen. She started her life journey in Connecticut. After finding out that she had a passion for keeping actors' lives together, and making directors' jobs much easier, she graduated from the University of Iowa with a Master's Degree in Stage Management.

She heard of a family in San Diego where she could live and grow and be nurtured, as her own family is not able to provide that for her. She asked if that family would take her in, and let her establish herself in the San Diego theater world. The family was delighted. That family is mine.

Jen immediately found work at the Lamb's Players Theatre as a House Manager and Box Office person. She was also hired by the Long Beach Opera to be their Stage Manager. The California Youth Conservatory also approached Jen to Stage Manage one of their shows. It looked like Jen's career was taking off, and that she would easily become established here.

On December 3, a young man who was drunk entered the freeway going the wrong way. He hit Jen head on, on the freeway, while he was going the wrong way. Her car was destroyed, as was her life so far. While she only suffered a broken bone in her foot, it is her driving foot.

The dilemma arose for my family: would Jen have to give up all of these jobs she had found? Could we possibly step in and be her transportation and support system for the next six to eight weeks so that she could keep these great opportunities? Wouldn't losing what she'd gained hurt her more in the long run? Wouldn't the loss of these building blocks in her career allow this careless young man to take more than what he already had?

We have committed to getting her back on her feet, literally and figuratively. I will be caring for Jen for the next six or eight weeks. Right now she needs transportation, since she can't drive. She is on crutches, so she needs everything carried for her. She can't stand for long periods of time, so I fix her meals and anything else she needs. The Lamb's Players Theatre has moved heaven and earth so that she can continue to work there - they love her, and they want her to heal and come back. The Long Beach Opera has provided her with assistants who can help her handle whatever physical aspects of her job are not possible for the moment. They love her too, and want her to heal and stay.

What does that mean for us as a theater class? It means that we will have to put our spring plans on hold. We will continue our class in the fall of 2012. I realize that this is hard for a lot of you, and that, as some of you are seniors, you will not have an RHS theater class for your last semester on campus. It means I cannot continue to love and enjoy you right now. As you can see, this young drunk driver has taken away more than just Jen's mobility. He has cost us all.

I know you will understand, because you are the most compassionate and caring of students.

If you ever needed another reason to not drive while you are distracted [read: texting or fiddling with your ipod] or drinking, please let this be a warning to you. Jen was blessed to come away with only a broken foot. The entire engine of her car is in the passenger seat. If she hadn't been able to swerve slightly at the last moment, she would have died.