Mr. Blaylock embodies all that is good about our school. His positive energy, boundless enthusiasm, deep commitment to excellence, endless creativity, and heart-felt dedication to his students all reflect the best possible qualities of a director of a program at an arts school.
Commitment to the development of students’ artistic talents is in Mr. Blaylock’s DNA. His father, James Blaylock, started the creative writing program at OCSOA. Both programs are modeled after graduate-level Masters of Fine Arts programs, and their depth and breadth are incredibly impressive. There are few programs like it in the entire country.
The creative writing curriculum developed by Mr. Blaylock has exposed students to a wide variety of writing styles over the course of the program. He brought in a wide array of writers for our master classes. He developed a relationship with Citrus College so that we could have access to college-level conservatory classes. He helped us produce an amazing literary magazine, Sugarpine, every year. Mr. Blaylock developed creative writing classes that served needs in the community– the Creative Nonfiction class connected students with their elders at a local senior center, and the Theatre for Young Audiences course introduced students to elementary school students. Open-mic nights gave students the opportunity to share their work with others, not just at school, but at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.
Mr. Blaylock has been loved by not only the creative writing conservatory students– he has fans from every other conservatory on campus. This is no accident. Mr. Blaylock has always been very intentional about reaching across conservatory lines, as is evidenced in the mini-musicals program and the Peter Pan class.
Students have been eager to share their fondest memories of Mr. Blaylock. One of Levvy Butler’s (CW ‘25) fondest memories with him took place after school,
I came in to talk to him about something he was working on and he explained it to me, and I didn’t feel like I was being talked down to at all. He mentioned a part that he was struggling to figure out, and it was really cool to see that he was a normal person who was looking for solutions to things in his writing, the same as me.”
Julia Pilch (CW ‘24) loved hearing about Mr. Blaylock’s childhood stories. One of her favorite ones was when he was talking about Mr. Fish, a character he made up.
He and his friends had passes to Disneyland and one summer they would go around saying “vote for Mr. Fish!” and then all of the workers would be confused. But eventually, all of the workers recognized him and would do a fishlike motion when he walked by.”
Sevana Zadoian’s (CW ‘23) favorite memory was the senior showcase she and her classmates put on,
He worked really hard to give us the best possible experience and send off in our last year.”
Samantha Thomas’s (CW ‘24) favorite memory of Mr. Blaylock was one of his classes–
Whenever I’m in a Blaylock class, there always comes a point where his lectures and our discussions take turns into more introspective territories, and this was especially true in our Peter Pan class last semester. I feel like Mr. Blaylock has such a connection and command of childhood and youth which were the central themes of the class. You can always tell how much he loves talking about how childhood and youth reflect so much of ourselves. I feel like we as teenagers often want to keep fragments of childhood with us, but also want to appear mature. And Blaylock really has always provided such a space to be mature and have beautiful conversations about life while also keeping this glow of youth about everything. I feel like Blaylock understands us. Never have I had a teacher that truly understands and emphasizes the process of growing up. You can tell how much he loved teaching that class and how much he wanted us to get out of it. From him letting us play dress up and create stories from photographs, it was the blend of fun, passion, and heart that made Neverland one of the most fun classes I’ve ever taken.”
Mr. Blaylock’s friendly presence as conservatory director is cherished by everyone, students and faculty alike. We all are thankful for the memories we have made with him and are so excited to see what’s in store for him in the future, whether here at CSArts or somewhere else entirely. Thanks for everything, Mr. Blaylock.
Senior VA Art Showcase