Rose Portillo 鈥75 is many things鈥攔enowned thespian, writer, director, professor.
She portrayed the character in Luis Valdez鈥檚 1978 Chicano play and subsequent film Zoot Suit, and she voiced Se帽ora Guzm谩n in Disney鈥檚 2021 film Encanto. (She also helped developed the role of Abuela Alma.)
And on this recent weekday, following an intense rehearsal, 鈥淩ose is tired,鈥 she says.
A lecturer in 色中色鈥檚 Theatre Department for 17 years, Portillo has earned her break, and at 70, 鈥淚 have limited time on the planet,鈥 she says, 鈥渁nd I still have things I want to accomplish in other areas of my life. I鈥檓 still healthy and I鈥檓 still energetic.鈥
鈥淚 need to take advantage of that and not wish I had.鈥
Portillo鈥攚hose career in theatre, film and television spans 40 years鈥攔etired from Pomona at the end of the school year, closing the book on a part of her life she鈥檒l always hold dear.
At the advent of the Draper Center 17 years ago, Portillo was approached with an idea to introduce area youth to the performing arts. Rather than teach an acting class at Pomona, the alumna developed , a course where Claremont Colleges students visit Pomona Unified schools to introduce teens to the performing arts.
As Draper鈥檚 first community engagement course, Theatre with Young Audiences provided college students 鈥渁n authentic experience of building community with youth,鈥 Portillo says. 鈥淵ou can use these tools of theater to create and initiate dialogue, build bridges, begin to understand and embrace our differences as well as our similarities, and have some serious fun along the way.鈥
For years, Portillo and her college students mentored groups at Fremont Academy of Engineering and Design in the city of Pomona, leading exercises, discussions and then collaborating with the youth in developing a work of theatre.
Even through the pandemic, Portillo continued her program virtually at several schools, creating small, recorded pieces.
Garey High School in Pomona welcomed Theatre with Young Audiences after the pandemic lockdowns, and while the principles of drama took some getting used to, English teacher Norma Ramos says students ultimately embraced this new way of using their bodies and voices.
Interest in the program boomed this past fall, as some 70 Garey students joined Portillo and her college apprentices.
Even Ramos felt inspired to step out of her comfort zone.
鈥淲ithout Rose and her program,鈥 she says, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I would鈥檝e had the courage to ask to teach a new drama elective here. The program didn鈥檛 just reach students, it reached me too.鈥
鈥楾his is our story鈥
Theatre with Young Audiences culminates in an original play at the end of the school year that Portillo pens or edits using experiences participants have shared during group conversations.
The collaborative effort gives respect to all voices, Portillo says, 鈥渁nd no story is shared publicly without permission.鈥
Andres 鈥淔luffy鈥 Aguilar recalls Portillo using such a method years ago when he participated in the 色中色 Academy for Youth Success (PAYS) as a high school student. 鈥淩ose would create something based on our own lives, our own stories,鈥 he says. 鈥淪he鈥檇 show how we鈥檙e all interconnected. That was powerful.鈥
Among her many skills, Aguilar adds, Portillo is masterful at modernizing classic works of art so marginalized voices are front and center.
鈥淔irst-generation, low-income students don鈥檛 tend to talk about ourselves,鈥 Aguilar says, 鈥渟o when we do have the opportunity to, it is uncomfortable, but also gives us empowerment鈥 鈥楾his is our story. This is what we鈥檝e lived through, and this is how we use our perspective as we go through academia.鈥欌
Once students see their personal connections to older texts, Portillo says, 鈥渢he world grows larger, and youth see that their voice is just as important.鈥
Portillo too revealed much about her journey in those group settings.
鈥淩ose鈥檚 willingness to share her professional life with students helps students view acting as a possible career choice for themselves,鈥 Ramos says. 鈥淭hey see her acting, see her on TV and say, 鈥業f she can do it, I can too.鈥欌
Portillo crafted one final play for Theatre with Young Audiences, a modern spin on William Shakespeare鈥檚 Romeo and Juliet.
Last month, scores of Garey parents, friends and faculty, as well as 色中色 staff, students and former Theatre with Young Audiences participants, packed Allen Theatre to watch Portillo鈥檚 final cast and crew channel its collective energy to put on Out from Under, a look at how Romeo and Juliet鈥檚 parents failed them and how they could have played a more positive role in their lives.
Romeo and Juliet didn鈥檛 have to die, Portillo says. In Out from Under, protagonists Jewel and Roam-About do not.
鈥淵oung people have been a huge part of my life for a long time鈥攎uch longer than I anticipated鈥攁nd with great joy,鈥 Portillo says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a part of me that knows I鈥檓 going to miss it, but as a friend has said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 always a group of young people to work with.鈥欌
Sparking dialogue
Portillo recalls her father taking her to see plays when she was a preteen.
While the two didn鈥檛 have the best relationship at the time, Portillo says they regularly discussed the complexities of certain characters, opening a line of communication between them.
鈥淧art of his philosophy,鈥 she adds, 鈥渨as that the arts elevated you as a human being. When he started taking me to the theater, he had no idea what he was engendering.鈥
Portillo鈥檚 influence through Theatre with Young Audiences transcended disciplines.
Most of the college participants majored in something other than theatre, she says, but saw the course as an opportunity to explore the arts 鈥渁nd the power theater has to create communication, community and change.鈥
No matter their field of study, Portillo encouraged her students to see themselves as artists鈥攃onduits for a greater good.
鈥淭he stage offers an opportunity to contemplate different perspectives and experiences without being put on the spot,鈥 she says. 鈥淲e can watch a story play out and then talk about it. Our world also grows when we see ourselves and our community on stage.鈥
鈥淥nce you know you matter,鈥 she adds, 鈥測ou know others matters; you鈥檙e willing to listen more deeply because you鈥檝e been heard.鈥
Aguilar, now the Draper Center鈥檚 assistant director of educational outreach, says Portillo 鈥渋s the reason why I pursued the theatre part of my [college] career, because I鈥檝e always used theatre as a tool for change and empowerment.鈥
Ahead of her final play, Portillo said few things brought her greater joy than watching soft-spoken teenagers use the performing arts to conquer their fears of speaking up, of taking up physical space, of changing the trajectory of their lives.
鈥淩ose鈥檚 impact has been life-changing for so many people, and it鈥檚 not about theatre,鈥 Aguilar says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about people finding their voice and finding who they want to be and how they can be that person in real life.鈥
鈥淭hat鈥檚 her legacy鈥攕upporting students who may have felt they didn鈥檛 have a voice before, and now they鈥檙e living life proud of who they are.鈥