ay 'S The
Thing

Rob Leider watches his drama students perform.

This is the first in a
yearlong series,
following student life
and interaction in
Rob Leider's introduction
to drama class
at West Bloomfield High
School.

LESLEY PEARL

STAFF WRITER

A

t 1:05 p.m. the
bell rings — last
call for 6th
hour. Rob Leider
stands in the
hallway holding a
book of tickets high in the
air. Several students race
frantically to the door. Mr.
Leider smiles wickedly.
The West Bloomfield High
School drama teacher has
recently implemented the
use of tickets for students
who are tardy to class, do
not bring their books or talk
during performances. Three
tickets and a student re-
ceives after-school deten-
tion.
Tough? Hardly. Mr. Lei-
der laughs with his stu-
dents, cracking jokes aimed
at freshmen, and slips in a
bit of liberal political com-
mentary between brief lec-
tures on the history of radio
and theater. His classroom
is a reprieve from the stress
of algebra and dating — a
place where students can be
themselves.
Sixth-hour Introduction

Posters decorate the theater room.

to drama, a class of more
than 30 students, appears
comfortable with Mr. Leider
and his techniques. They
simply call him Leider.
Walking into the dark-
ened, half-oval room known
as the forum, they bound up
the three levels of brown-
carpeted steps and sprawl
out. Wooden slats create the
walls surrounding their the-
ater. Laminated posters
from Rocky Horror Picture
Show, Hamlet and the Ren
and Stimpy Show adorn the
slats. Enormous comedy and
tragedy masks are painted
in the front of the room. Be-
hind the masks lies the
doorway to stardom —
props, costumes and couch-

es are stored in the small
secondary room.
Mr. Leider has been en-
couraging kids to dare to
dream at West Bloomfield
High School for nine years.
He previously taught at
Pontiac Central High
School. He still misses the
kids there.
"They were so remarkably
down-to-earth," Mr. Leider
said. "It was my first real
look at life. I taught kids
who came into class 15 min-
utes late every day because
they had just gotten out of
the overnight shift at the
factory. Those kids were
supporting families."
Sixth hour is the closest
experience to Pontiac Mr.

Leider has had since joining
the West Bloomfield staff. In
the last several years, West
Bloomfield has seen a large
influx of students from
Southfield — including
many black and Chaldean
students. Prior to this shift,
students from Keego Harbor
— a small, middle-class city
sitting on the border of West
Bloomfield, defined culture
shock for the West Bloom-
field kids, he said.
"Sixth hour is a diverse
mix. We have Jewish stu-
dents, Chaldean students,
Indian and Asian students.
They also have the energy of
the Pontiac kids," Mr. Lei-
der said.
By energy, he refers to the
extremely physical nature
of the students — using
their bodies to the fullest ex-
tent in performance and out.
Students shout out ques-
tions and statements con-
stantly. They get up and
change positions without no-
tice. In an atmosphere that
appears to be total chaos at
times, Mr. Leider has total
control. He knows his stu-
dents.
"West Bloomfield is going
to become a very different
place. That's OK. The West
Bloomfield kids need to see
a cross section of the world,"
Mr. Leider said.
He admits, though, the
cultural mix is difficult at
times. In the morning he
sees two tables of black stu-
dents sitting together in the

NO VEM BER 13, 199 2

Rob Leider
introduces
West Bloomfield
High School students
to drama
and each other.

