作者：Trine Gallegos

For the Contra Costa Times
Posted: 03/18/2013 04:56:20 PM PDT

尼克·加西亚和戏剧专业的学生一起工作

It was love at first sight, and Nick Garcia has been devoted to the relationship ever since.

Garcia was named drama department chair at Los Medanos College in 2009, and "I have been working tirelessly to build the program ever since."

He ventured from Iowa, where he ran the George Daily Theatre, and said the move was sparked to "escape the weather."

"I flew (to LMC) twice for a series of interviews and instantly fell in love with the campus and community. LMC is one of the most diverse campuses I have ever been to and I knew that this was the place for me."

加西亚在教学、表演、导演和设计方面有着广泛的背景。 According to LMC's site, he has performed, directed and designed for venues like the National Conservatory Theatre Center in San Francisco. He has also designed curriculum for multiple children's theaters across the country and was nominated for the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the University of Iowa.

Once he hit the Pittsburg campus, it didn't seem to take him long to win over this student body, either. A year after he began, he was named Student Club Adviser of the Year.

他在学校的第一个目标是增加表演机会。

"We tripled the number of productions each season and revamped the entire curriculum in order to optimize the training of students ... Once each course was rewritten and focused, the Theatre Arts and Associates in Acting degrees were constructed."

Garcia's list of responsibilities is long -- hiring staff, scheduling courses, overseeing courses, orchestrating program review, resolving conflicts, managing productions, handling budgets -- and, oh, yes, "guiding the vision and direction of the drama program."

Garcia also spends much of his time advising students in the drama and improv clubs and the college's Transfer Academy.

And, future stars can thank Garcia for creating an AA Degree in Acting and an Associate Degree for Transfer in Theater Arts.

Despite his long list of duties, Garcia said his vision is for the "drama program to be one of the premiere programs in the country.

"Students going to community colleges often feel discouraged because they are not at a university. 不应该是这样的。”

He plans to "invigorate the arts by celebrating the diversity of the LMC student body and create a premiere program geared toward student success."

As proof of this, he said this year: "We were able to secure nine full-ride scholarships for our students transferring out of our program. I would like every transferring student to pursue their academic dreams with financial support."

The department's lists of offerings is ample, producing four main stage productions, a New Play Festival (consisting of about 15-20 new works), and numerous children's shows, which are performed for free for the children from the school's Child Studies Center.

Waiting in the wings is Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of 在ishmaan" in April and the festival in May.

Garcia grew up in Southern California and Colorado, and always knew he wanted to act, but didn't fall for theater until college.

“从那以后，我从来没有停止过在这个领域的工作。”

艺术对加西亚来说显然很重要。

“艺术和体育在很多方面都是大学的社区方面。 These are the elements that bring the community to college and help bridge the gap between the two.

"The arts are also a celebration and study of what makes us human and connects each of us to one an天博. It also offers additional avenues for success for the students entering the campus looking for their passion.

To learn more about the drama program at LMC please 访问戏剧网站.