Bright’s legacy carried on by a few of his ex-students

Above all, their mentor taught them the value of hard work — how it elevates talent, forges relationships, helps ease hurting hearts.

This past weekend, generations of the late Ron Bright’s students worked to restore the theater named for the beloved teacher and director, taking up paintbrushes, sanders and power washers with the energy and intention Bright inspired.

The plan started the day after Bright’s memorial service in August, when a group of his former students gathered at Castle High School to reminisce. They couldn’t help but notice the theater was showing its age. “The dressing rooms — I don’t even have words,” said Dr. Ligaya Stice, an ’84 Castle grad.

Word got around through friends and Facebook, and the work weekend was organized. On Saturday and Sunday about 65 people came to scrub, paint and plant in the heat. The owner of a mold removal company heard about the project and showed up with three trucks and five power washers. An alum brought plants to spiff up the landscaping. A crew ran weed whackers across the lawn. People who never did theater but still loved everything Bright stood for stopped by on their way to soccer or surfing to drop off food for the workers.

“Mr. Bright used to vacuum the entire theater. He would scrub the toilets himself.” Stice said. “We used to come out here and pull weeds. He told us, ‘This is your home. You need to take care of it. If it’s not up to your standards, then you do it yourself.’”

JP Tai, director of Paliku Academy of Performing Arts, brought 25 kids. His students are preparing for a touring show but wanted to use their rehearsal time to help with the project.

Everyone looked to Jack Hufstetler for what to do and how to do it. As a teen, Hufstetler acted in four shows with Bright before he realized he preferred working offstage. He was Bright’s technical director for many years and countless shows. “He was so detail-oriented,” Hufstetler said. “What we’re doing here — scraping everything down, making it better — this is what he would do.”

Actor and educator Len Villanueva was trusted with the delicate job of painting between the brass letters fronting the building. “Mr. Bright wasn’t just about theatricality and technicality, though he was brilliant that way. He was about the whole thing, and the magic starts when you drive up to the school and see the outside of the theater.”

Off on their own, several of Bright’s grandchildren diligently brushed a fresh coat of paint at their eye level. The wall stretched up at least two stories above their reach. It didn’t matter. They did their best.

Michael Bright, the youngest of Bright’s children, looked at the newly shiny letters that spelled his father’s name above the theater entrance. “We could do this forever because there’s so much to do,” he said, and the prospect of all that hard work — all that teamwork — made him smile.

Reach Lee Cataluna at 529-4315 or lcataluna@staradvertiser.com.