As the 2023-24 school year dawns on Bowie High School, the campus is alive with excitement and fresh faces are scattered throughout the halls. Among them is Cory Bluemling, who this year made his first appearance in Bulldawg territory. Bluemling is a new addition to the theater program’s staff this year, and he is already eager to put his unique skill set to use.
“To come into theater again and kind of revisit that part of my past, it’s been a lot of fun,” Bluemling said.
Before teaching at Bowie, Bluemling worked as a tech director for several other schools, including the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles where he worked on large-scale fabrications and designed several props.
“I taught ceramics at a six through 12 high school in Los Angeles, all-girls school,” Bluemling said.
Blueming graduated with a degree in television film, and while earning his master’s in ceramics and public art, he did some extra work on movie and television sets.
“I got to be in a bunch of different TV shows and movies, so I got to see how things were put together,” Bluemling said. “One of the things I’ve had the most fun doing in my life professionally is hearing what other people want to do and then trying to make that work.”
It’s a skill that Bluemling is bringing to Bowie.
“He knows how to create and bring to life these ideas,” Senior Elizabeth Gilbert said.
Bluemling works to communicate with many of the tech student leaders here at Bowie, Gilbert is among those who have gotten to work with Bluemling so far.
“It’s been nice to have somebody who actually knows what’s going on and is involved,” Gilbert said. “Somebody whose complete focus is on tech and somebody who has a lot of experience with making new sets.”
Along with the students, other theater staff have welcomed Bluemling to the team.
“He’s a really really great, super creative, and experienced guy,” theater teacher Colton Perry said. “He really knows his stuff.”
In his first weeks, Bluemling has come to realize that theater at Bowie is about working hard, giving your all, and joining together to accomplish a common goal.
“I was amazed at how many productions Bowie puts on,” Bluemling said. “To watch students join together, get it done, has been pretty cool.”
An important part of being an educator, especially in the arts, is encouraging the growth of students.
“Watching people take inventory of who they are and how they approach their role in the theater has been a very warming thing to see,” Bluemling said. “There’s a lot of energy. A lot of really good energy.”
With the upcoming fall productions coming together, Bluemling is eager to see what the future holds.
“As this year unfolds, I’ll find my place. Hopefully, [I’ll] maybe be directing some stuff in the spring,” Bluemling said. “I’m just really excited, this has been a lot of fun. Next week is gonna be a big week.”
