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| 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 | |
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| 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! |
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| 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 | |
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| 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? |
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| 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 | |
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| 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. | |
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