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School Spotlight<br />
By Phil Gilbert<br />
What a Difference<br />
a Decade Makes<br />
How Westlake High School’s fine arts facility<br />
changed its focus and found a purpose<br />
All photography by richard cadena<br />
The end of a dance number during the<br />
popular annual show Zenith.<br />
Westlake High School technical<br />
theatre teacher David<br />
Poole briefs the entire crew<br />
before the show.<br />
Ten years ago, the theatre at Westlake High School was<br />
like so many others. Built during a period of growth<br />
in the Eanes Independent School District, the theatre<br />
looked much the same as it had when it was built almost<br />
20 years before: same reel-to-reel, same light fixtures, same<br />
speakers, same dimmers and same seats.<br />
School assemblies, band/orchestra concerts, choir and<br />
dance shows were run by a small group of students, most of<br />
whom had taken the technical theatre class as an easy elective<br />
— an hour when they were assured of little responsibility<br />
and even less homework. Then something changed.<br />
Old Haunts and New Beginnings<br />
David Poole didn’t ever think that he’d be a teacher. After<br />
graduating from Westlake High School and earning a degree<br />
from the University of Texas, he had spent time as a touring sound<br />
engineer and then as a realtor in Austin. During this time, he’d<br />
never really lost touch with his alma mater, returning annually to<br />
provide a sound system for the school’s spring dance show.<br />
In the mid-1990s, Poole convinced a friend at Austin-based<br />
High End Systems to loan the school a dozen automated lighting<br />
fixtures. With a little help from this friend, Poole gave the students<br />
their first glimpse into the modern look of staged events.<br />
It was near this time that Poole did something he had promised<br />
would never happen: he went back to school. Returning to<br />
the University of Texas, Poole dove into the required coursework<br />
that would let him teach in the state of Texas. Within a year<br />
of graduation, he was hired by Westlake as technical theatre<br />
teacher and fine arts facility director.<br />
Left to right: Olivia Vescovo, primary Wholehog III console<br />
op, Chad Garyet, the backup Wholehog III op and Lewis<br />
King, the audio console op.<br />
A New Direction<br />
Under Poole’s supervision, the focus of the program was soon<br />
turned on its head. Students could no longer get by just by showing<br />
up. A spirit of learning, a sense of pride and a drive to do the<br />
best work possible was not only expected — it was demanded.<br />
Amid all of this, an organization was formed to support<br />
the students’ extracurricular activities. Dubbed the Technical<br />
Entertainment Crew, or TEC, the organization became an<br />
outlet for hundreds of students over the years.<br />
The students would eventually coin the following mission<br />
statement: “The Westlake Technical Entertainment Crew<br />
works together to put on professional-level productions<br />
while promoting leadership, camaraderie and fun.”<br />
As the program grew, the composition of the group began<br />
to quickly change. Formerly a small band of students who<br />
shared only a lack of direction, the Technical Entertainment<br />
Crew began to attract boys and girls who already were actively<br />
involved with programs as diverse as choir, football, dance,<br />
cheerleading, computer science and lacrosse.<br />
While working with the students to constantly improve<br />
themselves and their program, Poole worked tirelessly to justify<br />
larger budgets to the school district. By staffing the outside<br />
events solely with TEC students, he offered the teens a<br />
way to earn money with what they had learned in class, gave<br />
them an outlet for their spare time and showed the district<br />
that increased operating budgets were directly benefiting<br />
the students and community.<br />
By 1999, TEC had grown four-fold. Since then, the program<br />
has doubled in size again, with roughly 100 members currently<br />
involved with the program. Under Poole’s tutelage, the<br />
students have expanded the technical capabilities of their<br />
workspace, moving beyond the theatre and having a direct<br />
impact on almost every student organization on campus, as<br />
well as many more throughout the district.<br />
Progress<br />
On any given day, the students of the Technical Entertainment<br />
Crew handle just about any kind of event. While they get gen-<br />
26 September 2007 • www.stage-directions.com
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