Palo Alto has always been an undeniably creative place. Silicon Valley is known for its rich history of innovation and technological pioneering powered by young entrepreneurs and engineers. But in a town always known for producing what is behind your screen — the code, the data, the computers — there also lies a culture of creativity, playing out on the screen instead.  

This innovation machine continues to churn out creativity today. Buzzing beneath the surface of startups and software is a community of actors, filmmakers, singers and artists. From Paly’s stages to Stanford University’s dorms, young artists are aspiring to break into the entertainment industry or already making waves within it — whether that means performing in local theater productions or working on New York film sets.

“[Palo Alto] used to be super rich in culture,” author and screenwriter Betsy Franco said. “It used to be the opposite of ‘Silicon Valley’ in the ‘60s. It was all these amazing musicians and all this amazing creativity going on. This place is just brimming with the history of it, and it keeps popping up.” 

One of Palo Alto’s most recognizable Hollywood exports is Betsy’s son: Oscar-nominated actor and director James Franco, best known for his role in the 2002 Spider-Man trilogy. James graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1996, and Betsy observed her son displaying an early interest in the arts as he walked through Paly’s halls long before the red carpets and Hollywood sets. 

“James got his first acting roles at Paly,” Betsy said. “His first lead roles, two of them, were through Paly Theatre.” 

James, along with his brothers Dave Franco (from 21 Jump Street) and Tom Franco (who currently has art on display at Paly), grew up in Palo Alto. Their mother preserves deep roots within the community, determined to spread and foster the arts among young students in the area. 

“James, Tom, Tom’s wife Iris and I put on a workshop at Paly where we made a feature film with 40 gifted film students from high schools all around the area,” Betsy said. “We made the feature film, and it went to a film festival, and many of those students have gone to film school now.” 

Betsy is aware that the success her family has seen in the entertainment industry is not easy to come by. But through ventures like her feature film program, she hopes to inspire a younger, local generation into pursuing arts despite roadblocks — especially those that present themselves to kids growing up in the incredibly STEM-focused Silicon Valley. 

“I like to help students in high school and college who are interested in the arts because I feel like they need a lot of support right now,” Betsy said. “Everyone is just always going, ‘tech, tech, tech.’” 

This clash between creative pursuits in the arts and the cultural emphasis on STEM in Silicon Valley is something that Paly’s theater director Sarah Thermond has experienced firsthand. 

“I actually wasn’t always determined to study theater in college and make it a part of my profession because I also grew up in Silicon Valley,” Thermond said. “Everyone always hears, ‘Get a more practical, STEM-based career.’” 

Years later, Thermond now watches her own students wrestle with the same roadblocks. Aashi Agarwal, a senior and Paly Theatre veteran, describes her experience navigating between practicality and passion, especially as college approaches. 

“Being someone who’s both Indian and living in Palo Alto, I feel like there’s a lot of pressure,” Agarwal said. “My parents are super supportive of me pursuing arts, but ever since I was younger, I’ve always kind of had this pressure upon me to not go into the arts.” 

Still, Agarwal’s love for performing arts has persisted, and she hopes to continue acting after high school. 

“I’d love to teach theater [in the future]; that would be really cool,” Agarwal said. “My plan for college is to try to double major, and if that’s not possible, [I will] minor in the arts because of how much I love them.” 

Many other students at Paly also pursue their dreams of stardom and nurture their talents amid an academically intense environment. One such student is sophomore Trevor Vaughan, an aspiring singer-songwriter. 

“I put music over everything,” Vaughan said. “Most people, when they get home, the first thing they do is rest and then do homework or just do homework immediately. I go to music immediately.”

Vaughan originally started his Instagram account, @trevorvmusic, as a creative outlet and a way to stay productive.

“I just dedicate 15 minutes a day or every other day to learning a song and making a cover,” Vaughan said. “I didn’t expect anything from posting. I just want to spend as much time as possible making music.” 

Now, he has amassed a large online presence and gone viral several times for his musical content, which ranges from his original music to covers of popular songs. 

This sentiment is supported by Betsy, who encourages young artists to focus on consistency and expression rather than online recognition. 

“Do your art, and don’t think so much about fame,” Betsy said. “Because of social media, everybody thinks about fame now. Don’t lose sight of expressing what you need to express.”

But cultivating a passion for the arts also requires a certain level of guidance and backing. No artist succeeds all alone, especially when wanting to forge an unconventional path. Betsy recognizes that support is an integral part of pursuing any career.

“You’ve got to be creative about how you make it work,” Betsy said. “If you don’t have support from your parents, find someone else who will support you, because it’s awfully tough to go it on your own.”

For some, like Thermond, that support came from home. 

“Lucky for me, my parents really encouraged me,” Thermond said. “They said, ‘Hey, look at all the time and effort you can put into this.  Clearly, it’s something you love. Give it a go.’ And I ended up studying theater in LA.”

If Palo Alto is seen as the epicenter of Californian technology, Los Angeles is its artistic counterpart. Actress Mirabelle Lee has seen the juxtaposition of both of these lifestyles firsthand, growing up as an actress in Hollywood before coming to Stanford University to get her degree in communications. 

“Everyone around me from where I used to live [Hollywood] was involved in some sort of creative aspect, whether they were an actor, a model, a singer or something like that,” Mirabelle said. “So, we all had that foundation of common ground with each other, but here, everyone around me loves engineering, loves computer science and has a STEM background.”  

However, that hasn’t stopped Mirabelle from finding her place in the Palo Alto community, and she encourages aspiring artists to do the same.  

“There are still creative hubs that you can join on [Stanford’s] campus as well, even though it might take a little bit more work to find them,” Mirabelle said. “Palo Alto might be more of a hard community to find creatives in, but they are out there, and I’ve met them at Stanford. They’re wonderful people, and you just have to find that niche, even though it can seem very daunting and hard.”

Mirabelle’s sister, Anais Lee, is a fellow actress and freshman at Stanford University. Anais, who starred in “The Baby-Sitters Club” as Jessi Ramsey, has some advice for aspiring actors. 

“I always say, ‘Do what you are passionate about,’” Anais said. “I know, especially in the Silicon Valley area, there can be just such a push to do what is kind of ‘standard’ or ‘normal,’ but if you pursue what you are passionate about, success will come.”

And, in a place defined by academic pressure and high expectations all around, Anais looks to remind others to stay sure of themselves and their abilities, even when specific roles or opportunities fall through.

“This is something that I still remind myself on a daily basis: Don’t take rejection too hard,” Anais said. “I know people always say rejection is redirection, but it really is true. [Rejection] has no reflection on your talent or your capabilities as a student, an actor or as a person in general.”

Those who put a spotlight on their passions for the arts exhibit a rare kind of dedication  —- one that is able to shine through despite obstacles. 

“My observation is that the kids who are still choosing to pursue arts even in an environment that does tend to have more emphasis the other way just shows how passionate they are and how serious they are,” Thermond said. “Because you know that someone has told them it’s a silly thing to do at some point.”