Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 11:57 am EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: Woke Students Shut Down A High School Production Of 'Hunchback' - mattyp4 04:37 pm EST 02/06/18 | |
|
|
|
| So, I know there are a few posters here who actually direct or otherwise work with students at the high school level, and I've always wondered how plays and musicals are chosen for production in the first place. I should say that I attended a very small (about 1000 students over 4 grades), mostly white, suburban public high school in the late '80's. In the theatre department (I say "department," but the reality is that we had one teacher, untrained in theatre, who taught a couple of acting classes, a couple of art classes, and a couple of English classes, who directed the plays and musicals), there were no minorities at all of any kind. When the school did FAME one year, they somehow recruited one black student to play Leroy, a guy who'd never performed before and likely never did again. Anyway, that's the sort of high school theatre environment that I came up in. The way that the school schedule was set up, a student could only participate in one after school activity because all of these things were happening at the same time, immediately after the end of the school day. So you could do the play in the fall or you could, for example, be on the football team. Doing both was not an option. So the population of "usual suspects" was not large. So, when you're a drama teacher at this level, how do you choose material for your students? Do you choose material that you know will be suited to the talents of the students you're sure to have on hand or do you choose more challenging material that won't be such a perfect fit, but that might attract students not otherwise interested in drama? At this level, I imagine few, if any, of the students have ambitions to go into performing arts as a career and are mostly doing the school play to have a good time and see what it's like. Does the idea of "let's all have a good time" factor into choices at all? |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: IvyLeagueDropout 12:23 am EST 02/08/18 | |
| In reply to: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - JereNYC 11:57 am EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| I think I have nowhere near MistressAndy's experience, but here a few of my thoughts. 1) Boys. There is usually a lack of boys. Generally, I have had ample numbers of girls try out for shows, sometimes just a few boys. Thus, nearly every boy gets cast, and I have to cut girls. I try to pick shows where small and ensemble parts can be played by girls. 1776 is a near impossibility. 2) I will generally have a few show "meetings" before auditions (or even announcing the show), to hear the group of kids sing & dance, so I get a gist of what I'm working with. Usually, I will have it narrowed down to 3 or 4 shows before the meeting, and then I will pick and announce the show when I see that, for example, we have a lot of kids who can dance. Then I conduct auditions. 3) I have worked with several schools that had very few minority students, which led me away from doing "South Pacific" on one occasion. 4) In terms of subject matter, I would never choose something like "Cabaret" for a school to do. Not that it is too mature for the high school kids, but that because a good chunk of the audience for school shows is even younger kids. For the record, I love "Cabaret" and have taken high school kids to see it. I just don't want to open any cans of worms when their 9 year old siblings are asking their parents about Nazis, drugs, bisexuality and abortion. 5) I try to pick shows that have an element in either history or literature that I can open kids up to. I recommend "further reading" to the kids, and will discuss books with them, both individually and as a group. I've discussed Grimm's Fairy Tales with kids while doing "Into the Woods" and Sholem Aleichem while doing "Fiddler." Mostly, I try to remember through the whole process what a high school show is to the kids: bonding time with other kids, learning about the show and theatre in general, and a time for them to come out of their shell and feel comfortable being creative and fun. I don't care if the show is great art (although I try to make it good), or if anyone pursues a career in show biz. I want them to look back, as I do, on their high school show as a time of opening their eyes and hearts. High school shows were hands down my favorite thing in school. |
|
| reply to this message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: MusicalsForever 01:55 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - JereNYC 11:57 am EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| Several years ago a high school near where I live was denied doing GREASE because of the unmarried pregnancy thing. But yet, they were given approval to do ONCE UPON A MATTRES. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 02:16 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - MusicalsForever 01:55 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| That is hilarious, especially considering that Rizzo isn't really pregnant, but Lady Larkin is. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 02:57 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - JereNYC 02:16 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| True. Except that I tend to think that given the more comic angle in Mattress, vs. the edgier way the pregnancy issue is dealt with in Grease, it seemed less threatening, even though it truly is a plot point that drives the show. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 03:43 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - Chromolume 02:57 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| I wonder if including an unmarried pregnant character in MATTRESS in 1959 would have been considered shocking or edgy? As you say, this unplanned pregnancy really drives the plot, although I wonder if the fairy tale setting would have dulled the shock for the original audiences. Or maybe Lady Larkin's focus on rectifying her "mistake" by helping the other characters figure out a way to circumvent the law so she can land her man made up for it. |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre | |
| Posted by: Chromolume 11:34 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - JereNYC 03:43 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| Was "dulling the shock" really part of the original plan, though? I mean, the show is full of sex jokes right from the title itself, and the opening number ("no one is getting any...younger..."). Perhaps time has now made some of the lyrics and situations in the show seem less edgy, but in 1959 I think audiences were certainly used to bawdy musical comedies lol. And I'm sure that Mattress was far from the first show to deal with unplanned pregnancies on some level - maybe not always as a major plot point, but for instance, the punchline of "My Mother's Wedding Day" comes to mind, and that was 1947... (Or, West Side Story's "they didn't wanna have me, but somehow I was had...") | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| When I choose a production... | |
| Posted by: MistressAndy 12:18 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: Question for Posters Who Work in High School Theatre - JereNYC 11:57 am EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| When I choose a production I factor in many things. I have a hierarchy, so I guess I'll list them in the order that I think about them. 1- WHAT HAS THE SCHOOL DONE PREVIOUSLY? Yes, I am a director. But I am first and foremost and educator. If I'm in a NEW situation or a situation where I've been directing in the school for a while, I look at the last three (minimum) shows the school has done. If they're all contemporary (after 1970-80 MOSTLY?) I'll look for something more "classic". If they've only been doing Rodgers and Hammerstein, I'll look for something newer. Kids will have fun WHATEVER you choose, and if they fall in love with a show they've never heard of, wonderful! 2- WHO IS LIKELY TO AUDITION FOR THIS SHOW? If I'm working in a school with a white population (with only one or two students of color if any), I'm not going to choose Ragtime. Similarly, if the school has a population that hasn't taken a dance class in their life, I'm not going to choose A Chorus Line. Most schools have a mix in terms of student skills, so I often favor shows that I can break up according to strength. For example, when I did "Curtains" I had students who could dance, but weren't very good tappers. Some students tapped very well. Some students could barely dance at all. So EVERYONE did "Show People", allowing students who didn't dance to get better. Students who could tap did "Tough Act to Follow". Less dancer women did "Kansasland" (except Bambi who was the best dancer I could find). The best singers I put into "In the Same Boat Complete", the better dancers did "Thataway". Each student was in a smaller group that allowed them to shine but still learn rather than putting every kid in every number. 3- IS THIS SHOW APPROPRIATE FOR THIS AUDIENCE? Some schools are just more conservative than others. You can push the boundaries a little. But why get yourself into trouble before you start? 4. DO I HAVE AT LEAST THREE PEOPLE THAT CAN PLAY ANY GIVEN ROLE? This I had to learn the hard way. If you've only got one kid and you're choosing a show for that kid, you're making a mistake. I can't tell you the number of times a kid ended up doing a sport instead, or started failing something and wasn't allowed to audition, or... name a thousand reasons kids decide not to do something. If you don't have at least three kids that can conceivably play the roles (even if it's a stretch), I don't pick it. There are hundreds of shows. I can usually find one. 5. SET AND PIT DEMANDS. Do I have no kids that want to be in a pit orchestra? How will that sound? Guess I better find a show that will sound ok with a small band. Is the stage MASSIVE? Do I have stuff that can fill it? Usually I can work with someone to design something clever no matter what, but it definitely factors in. 6. WILL I STILL WANT TO WORK ON THIS IN TWO MONTHS? This is at the bottom of my list but it's still there. If I don't want to work on it I won't pick it, BUT I have to say I've often picked shows I don't like because they're just RIGHT for the kids I have. Eh. You suck it up. I'm sure there's more but if there is I'll add it later! |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: When I choose a production... | |
| Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 12:45 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: When I choose a production... - MistressAndy 12:18 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| This is really interesting, MistressAndy. Thank you very much! If you are new to a school, how do you find answers to some of these questions? I guess it's easy enough to find out what shows they've done in the past few years and get some guidelines about how conservative this particular school is, but how do you determine who's likely to audition or that you'll have enough choice for any given role? |
|
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
| re: When I choose a production... | |
| Posted by: MistressAndy 01:08 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
| In reply to: re: When I choose a production... - JereNYC 12:45 pm EST 02/07/18 | |
|
|
|
| I ask the people from the production team that have done the show previously. If it's an ENTIRELY NEW production team, I'll have "workshop days" where the choreographer will dance with them, the vocal director will sing with them, and I'll play drama games with them. You'd be amazed at how useful that sort of this is, especially since I can read right away who is REALLY dedicated, who is "up for anything", willing to be silly, who has great body control... etc. | |
| reply to this message | reply to first message |
Time to render: 0.027804 seconds.