Stockton—Priyal Kulkarni is a former Lincoln High School student, but Lincoln is her current host school. She takes online classes at ICL Academy. She is by far one of the most interesting Trojans that Lincoln has had the pleasure of teaching, and she will continue to go on to great things. She is graduating this year and will attend Chapman University to study Film, Television, Video Production, Cinema, or FTV Prod. Cine.
Priyali pursued acting after being cast as the lead in Mary Poppins when she was a 7th grader. She stated she “really enjoyed acting and decided to do it professionally for fun”. Funny enough she said that acting was never the original plan, she wanted to be a doctor for a long time. Priyali grew up in a small town in Texas, which unfortunately lacked the opportunities to pursue acting even if she enjoyed it. Luckily, upon moving to California, she found herself being able to pursue her dreams, and her parents were incredibly supportive. Acting, while seemingly ideal, comes with many hardships, especially for starting as young as she did. Priyali said, “Pursuing a career at a young age requires a lot of sacrifice. I would say I traded away a part of my childhood for what I have today. I missed out on opportunities to get closer to my friends and to get a solid education in academic subjects; you’re forced to assess your priorities. It’s also not for everyone because 99% of professional acting is rejection, so most of the time you’re training rather than being on-set, which can be disappointing until you can get used to it”. Many teenagers can relate to at one point in their life thinking, “what if I was famous?” or “what if I was an actor or singer?” Not everyone will attempt to pursue these dreams, but she did, even if it did require a lot of sacrifice and will. Priyali has acted in five films so far and directed two and is working on her third right now.
If acting is something that interests you, Priyali currently has her teaching program called The ABCs of Indie Film-making, where you learn pre-production and in-production aspects of film-making, screen acting, casting, directing, producing, screenplay writing, set/production design, and cinematography. She describes her course as “an opportunity to work hands-on writing scripts and operating cameras and lights. The goal [being] to shoot a film at the end of the course”. The Instagram page that contains all the links to sign up is @abc_film_pk if you or someone else is interested. She got into directing and cinematography from her experience acting. Priyali made it a mission of hers to introduce more opportunities, in regards to film, available to those in Stockton since there were none available, and in her words “bring film to Stockton’s backyard.”
Current senior Eliot Waldvogel is a close friend of Priyali’s and has worked on her films before. Eliot worked as a camera assistant on her short films Pardesi and Sunny Side Up. Along with her films, Eliot noted her roles in Lincoln’s Drama department. Such as her roles in Almost Maine, The Odd Couple, and her tech roles in spring productions. In addition, she’s helped out with Lincoln High School’s Haunted House for the last 3 years. When Eliot was asked to describe Priyali and his experience with her, he stated “She is one of the most brilliant people I know. She has such an active mind, both creatively and intellectually, and she works unbelievably hard. She’s extremely dedicated and productive, but she’s also empathetic, kind, and so much fun. Her creativity and excitement came across in every interaction I’ve had with her, and we can talk for hours without getting tired. I take so much inspiration from her commitment to bringing her ideas to life and the fact she does it all herself.”
Another close friend of Priyali is Lucia Patterson, who is a senior at Lincoln. Lucia also helped with her film “Paradesi” by being her assistant director and described her experience as “absolutely fantastic”. Adding to Eliot’s comments regarding her help in the Drama department, Lucia mentions how she always comes to every show and supports the students in the program even if she isn’t technically in the program anymore. She also mentions how many of her students are people in the drama department, further helping them pursue their dreams and love of film. Lucia goes on to say that Priyali is “one of the most hardworking people I know. She is an incredible teacher and knows what she is doing. She is not only one of the most creative people I know, but she is so unbelievably kind, smart, and insanely humble. Priyali is the type of person who puts everyone before herself and is always one of the first people to help anyone in need. She truly wants what is best for everyone, and it’s so evident that she is genuinely just a goof person on the inside and out.”
There are not many people who have been to Lincoln who are as talented as Priyali, and if you ever get the chance to meet or work with her, then you definitely should. You will be met with kindness and talent which you haven’t seen before. On that note, a piece of advice from Priyali herself. She said, “Take action! Nothing is going to happen in your career if you don’t take the leap and start it; nobody will offer you a future in film on a silver platter. It’s important to be driven and take the responsibility for your future into your own hands, take the opportunities you can get, and remain humble. Be the person that you would want to work with.”
