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Show Still Has Dynamic Attitude FomneifBHS Instaictor Teaches Drama In Hawaii Bryan Bowles, who by his own calcuation has spent over half of his life as a student or teacher at Bountiful High, has recently changed the setting of his impressive impress-ive career in theater arts. He is manager of Employee Education at the Polynesian Cultural Center in Laie, Hawaii. "I LOVE it," says Bryan, who lives in a Polynesian Center home directly across from the LDS Temple. "It's so beautiful here--and somewhat like living in the country. coun-try. We are a small, close-knit community com-munity of people from all over the world. I am surrounded by people who love what they are doing. It's exciting." WHAT IS it about not being part of Bountiful High? "1 miss it," Bryan admitted. "At this time of year, I automatically start quoting, 'Nothing great is ever ev-er accomplished without enthusiasm...' enthu-siasm...' (From a Ralph Waldo Emerson essay, traditionally memorized by all BHS speech and drama students)." FEW PEOPLE have internalized the Emerson-style enthusiasm as well as Bryan Bowles, BHS graduate gradu-ate who returned to ignite the spark in hundreds of students during the past ten years. In addition to directing plays of professional quality for his alma mater, Bryan's dynamic influence bolstered the efforts of numerous church groups, as well as the Bountiful Community Commun-ity Theater, Centerstage Productions, Produc-tions, and the Utah State PTA. But it was as veteran actor and director at the Promised Valley Theater that his unusual talents became highly visible. During the past ten years, Bryan has directed or performed in 84 full-length plays and musicals-and with indefatigable energy and commitment com-mitment sometimes worked concurrent con-current productions. In addition, he coached countless students who competed triumphantly in state, region, re-gion, and national speech and drama dra-ma events. A hallmark of his singular singu-lar ability to work with large groups is his care and concern for each individual. OF HIS new responsibilities, Bryan says, "I am still very much involved in education." As principal prin-cipal of the in-house school for the one thousand employees of the Cultural Center, Bryan's first chal- ' ' f J ' '-, i ' -' . t v i ' V ' J v 4 ,SS":.i BRYAN BOWLES lenge was to revise the textbook used in training those who work at the Center. The curriculum includes ongoing on-going management training for new managers and for those now in position. Bryan also teaches two orientation sessions per week to facilitate the high turn-over of the largely student-staffed Center. Those already employed at the Center also attend classes which enhance their productivity and performance. per-formance. ABOUT 50 percent of the employees em-ployees (470) are students at BYU Hawaii. The Center not only provides pro-vides work for students, but also subsidizes the University and provides pro-vides at least 20 students with full scholarships. In addition to teaching classes, Bryan also manages the Center's inter-communications, including "Update," the Center's in-house newspaper. But perhaps his most significant communication is his individual in-dividual work with the personnel of each of the Center's seven villages. Employees who come from 35 different dif-ferent nations receive critiques from an audience as one as Bryan works with everyone from the coconut husker, to the river guide, to the restaurant hostess-giving individual in-dividual attention to his "cast of a thousand." "OFTEN TIMES it's not necessary neces-sary to make sweeping changes in order to improve what we are doing," says Bryan. "A subtle change in how we perceive bur work and how we perceive ourselves can make the difference." differ-ence." Since Bryan became Manager of Employee Education, all em ployees are called "cast mer bers." The laundry center is th "wardrobe." Tourists arv "guests" or "audience." When "cast members" are at work, they are "on stage." Certain areas of the Center are designated as "backstage" where cast members relax until they are again "on stage." BRYAN IS responsible for the quality of the matinee and evening shows on the Polynesian Center main stage and has restaged part of the matinee, but he has also effectively effec-tively helped all employees to feel that each one is in the "limelight." The people of the villages are not "secondary." Each individual has a unique part to play in presenting the cultures of the island to the hundreds of thousands of "audience" "audi-ence" members who come from all over the world. "I am so touched by the richness of the heritage of these people," Bryan says. "And sometimes I am a little sad. I wonder, 'Who is preserving pre-serving my heritage?' I remember how some people moan when they have to read Shakespeare. In our tendency to modernize, we neglect important things. The arts of our heritage which preserves the past. We survive because the human family is drawn together by a legacy lega-cy we mustn't reject or forget. "THAT'S WHY Bountiful High has what no other has. It's like going from your own home to another home to learn. People are family. The living room is the foyer. Each year different people;, come and go, but the traditions are; the same. That's why BHS suc-j ceeds. We know who we are. We, expect so much from each other', and from ourselves." ; One of Bryan's innovations Ut the Polynesian Cultural Center is the wearing of metal name tags.' ' "All one thousand of us can call each other by our first name in' a feeling of friendship," he says. For some, the Center does become "home." AS FOR Bryan, "I sometimes5 hear myself saying, 'At home we do this' or 'At home we do that' --, so I guess Bountiful will always be' home. But in the meantime, I'm having one of the greatest experiences experi-ences of my life." |