Student theater has been resurrected at Point Loma High School. Aspiring student thespians banded together recently to form the Point Loma High School Thespian Society. The new group was spearheaded by student president Emma Nickel, who has had a passion for theater since seeing her first show, “Annie,” at age 3.

The first production of the school’s fledgling Thespian Society, “Inherit The Wind,” a 1955 play about the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, which resulted in John T. Scopes’ conviction for teaching Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution, was held Feb. 24 and March 3 in the high school’s campus theater.

“For generations of San Diegans, the culmination of senior year at Point Loma High School was the annual ‘Zeiger’s Show’ in which 60-plus students would take the stage,” said Robert Nickel, a Point Loma Playhouse board member who directed “Inherit.”

“Yet, for more than three years, the performing arts center at PLHS that bears Larry Zeiger’s name has stood dark. Three-fourths of the current student body has never seen a show at the school, leaving decades of tradition at risk of being lost forever.”

Zeiger retired from the faculty of Point Loma High School in 2007 after 33 years of teaching cinema arts, musical theater, and language arts. Zeiger co-wrote and produced 33 musicals, one for each of the years that he taught. His “Gotta Sing Gotta Dance” company may be the longest-running musical theatrical group in San Diego County schools, having had over 3,000 student participants, with more than 60,000 people attending the performances.

Kevin Mahoney, a PLHS instructor, overcame a stroke last year to help kick-start the student society and spearhead their first theater production. “I am the sponsor, I started this ball rolling,” Mahoney said, adding their new theater group has been well received. “Most of the teachers are so excited about the thespian group starting up,” he said noting ‘Inherit The Wind’ originally had 32 cast members. “But we did it with 12,” he said.

Mahoney noted “Inherit The Wind” was chosen because of its social relevance and historical importance. “Scopes does lose in the end, but he (actually) won; it was a victory for the culture-at-large,” noted Mahoney. “[Evolution] was out and talked about and most of the country supported him.”

Of the importance of theater, Mahoney said: “As human beings, we all have a commonality of suffering and desires, things that go right – and wrong – in our lives. When we watch it on stage unfolding, it allows us to examine our own lives from afar, and have deeper, more profound, thoughts about our own existence.”

Concerning PLHS Thespian Society, Mahoney noted: “Now that they’re spreading their wings and taking flight – it’s really fun to watch.”

Thespian Society president Emma Nickel talked about reviving a student theater tradition that had almost lapsed. “During COVID the program stopped,” she said. “But we made a strong comeback this year. I wanted to bring it back and do some shows.”

Asked about her interest in theater, Nickel responded, “It’s a really good bonding experience and good for making friendships because you are all in the same place at the same time working toward one goal: making a piece of art and doing something for other people. You get to spend time with interesting people and tell stories.”

Though uncertain if she wants to pursue theater as a career, Nickel intends to definitely pursue doing local theater because “it’s really good for building self-esteem and confidence. I’ve been doing theater my whole life and it has kind of shaped who I am.”

Do you learn something about yourself playing someone else? “I think so,” replied Nickel. “You find parts of characters that you connect to and integrate that into yourself. Then, there are parts of characters that are different from you, and you find that out by exploring the character.”

Of Thespian Society’s future Nickel concluded: “I want to get it back to its former glory. I want to do four shows a year and do a musical. I want to get students involved with directing and choreography. There are so many parts to the theater to explore.”