To think that if a high school theater department can do three shows a year, one should be a dramatic play and there shouldn’t be two musical plays?

I do agree. My dcs school and drama group just did musical plays, no straight theatre where non singers could have a chance.

I'm sure they did this based on numbers. They could have more kids in the production- as the chorus line , dancers in the background etc.

We did a musical in the christmas term, theater in easter term, and showcase for the end of the summer/prizegiving.

The non-singing roles are often not particularly big, though. And I can understand why someone who is interested in acting, not singing, wouldn’t want a chorus part in a musical even if they can hold a tune.

I think if there is a school with an actual theatre program then they should offer opportunities for both musicals and plays.

Did you leave school very recently, OP?

Otherwise, I do think that ‘musicals’ have become (to me, weirdly) synonymous with ‘theatre’ for many people, particularly those who are not regular theatre-goers. In London these days, the most bankable West End shows are virtually all musicals, and for many people, going to London for a weekend and ‘seeing a show’ automatically means a musical. Now that many US shows are starting in London rather than NY, I imagine the same is true in the US.

So I suspect that ‘theatre’ departments are changing their emphasis to match.

(I can sing but can’t act at all, so used to get cast a million years ago in school musicals with the directors groaning and saying things like ‘You’d be perfect as Maria or Eliza Doolittle if they didn’t involve you having to do anything except stand and sing — can’t you just try?.’ and then sourly casting me as the Reverend Mother in TSoM and Nancy in Oliver!. I was an excellent Reverend Mother, because I only appeared for one scene, looked vaguely spiritual, had one great song, and vanished again apart from one line.)

Not true... There are non singing roles in musicals.

Also more kids can be involved in musicals. And often more technically demanding for the actual production so needing more backstage team

Also if you can hold a tune there's always chorus work

Musicals are much more enjoyable to most, so sounds perfect.

I totally agree with you, but this is a very niche AIBU! My school did some fantastic straight plays, often things which had recently been on at the Royal Court, which parents were largely horrified by. It meant that the drama department had an amazing reputation and that non singers got to enjoy drama and take part.

Read the title of the thread and thought this was going to be about your child currently at school.

In the kindest possible you really really really need to let this go if happened 20 plus years ago.

A musical EXCLUDES those who can't sing but maybe amazing actors.

Our school musicals always had 'dance only' parts. And most people can carry a tune in a chorus, if not as a lead singer.

But I think that comments from PPs about how the chorus group can expand as needed in a musical, to enable wide participation, is probably it. In a Broadway musical, the chorus of sailors and the chorus of sea creatures (or whatever) will be the same performers if the groups are in different scenes - in a school production, you can have different kids in each also.

I think it might well be a change in audience tastes. I have been with DD to see a couple of musical/operetta performances lately. A theatre near me has a yearly festival with a variety of things on offer. The big musical this year sold out very quickly as did the one last year (went to a London theatre for it's next season). The next production is a play offered is much more serious and for me, dated and I didn't bother going as it's not to my taste at all. I wonder if we are representative of audiences generally?

Name changed for this,

I think I probably have a little more insight into this than the average British mother, as I live in the US and I'm the mother of a daughter who was heavily involved in theatre in high school. This wasn't a private high school, it was a public magnet arts school with a well known and well regarded theatre program.

Our school did put on at least one straight play every year as well as a musical, which I think is a good thing. There were also various other performance opportunities, including student directed pieces, and one act plays/musicals.

People here keep talking about ticket sales, and I agree with the OP that this probably isn't a concern. My daughter went to a public school and there was never any issue selling out the performances.

I think there are several factors which go into the decision as to whether to produce a musical or a straight play. Most musicals involve more students than straight plays do. Straight plays often have a cast of only a handful, whereas musicals can accommodate many more with the ensemble members, and the school orchestra can be involved.

A lot of high school students want to be musical theatre performers rather than straight actors at that age. Musicals get them excited. (Not all, but the majority.)

Even actors need to have a grounding in all three disciplines (acting, singing, dancing) and musicals provide that.

Having said all that, I am glad that our school did produce straight plays and introduce students to that artform, even though as a talented actor my daughter didn't always get roles in the plays. I agree with you that serious theatre programs should feature straight plays as well as musicals, but I don't know that there's much you can do about it, especially as you are no longer connected to the school.

My daughter ended up going to one of the best theatre schools in the country for college and got her BFA in acting. She is now a working actor (which means tending bar and teaching on the side!) But even in her acting program she had to take classes in voice and movement - it's all important. Some of the plays she gets cast in now involve playing music, singing, and dancing, even if they're not "musicals", and I know she's glad she has that 'triple threat" background.

I don't know where you live, but you could look into magnet performing arts schools rather than private schools for your kids. My daughter could not have got a better education, and certainly not a better arts education, in a private school, even a prestigious one.

Not everything has to be upbeat and "fun" in an obvious way. I think it's terrible that a school would decide they're ONLY doing musicals. Ok so you include the orchestra, but then you're excluding the non musical actors. Why is that ok?

For us different year groups had different show seasons, lower years tended to be in the sprint/summer term and upper years in the autumn term (away from exams).

Always a musical because it included musicians and could have a larger cast. They tried a play once I seem to remember as a 3rd show one year, it was poorly attended and wasn't done again.

It was always drama, musical, comedy.

i was in the orchestra for the musical. Daily multi-hour rehearsals for weeks on end for one musical a year are enough. By the end you are barely holding on. The orchestra has plenty to keep itself busy without another musical.

I think it is a personal thing I was a fairly competent school actor but a horrid singer I only got really decent parts when it wasn’t a musical and I was very grateful the final performance was Pygmalion rather than My Fair Lady

I joke that one of the reasons I married DH was because he is an ex choir boy and I wanted mine to be able to sing and thankfully both can

Get a teaching degree and go and teach drama and spend the many unpaid and thankless working hours organising a school production needs, or stop whining about productions you have no vested interest in.

Those are hardly the same

And around here all the local am dram groups will do plays as well as musicals - or they have dance roles and ensemble roles where singing ability doesn't have to be high

It's a different time. Schools are dealing with tight budgets. Maybe musicals are more profitable.

There is also more widespread poor mental health. Music and dance are generally more uplifting and cheerful than dramatic plays. That could be another reason.

Or maybe the pupils had a vote. I'd rather do the Pirates of Penzance than The Tempest if I was 15.

I agree with you, @OP . Only two of the three productions should be a musical.

There does seem to be a demand for 'triple threat' talent these days, but at school level I'd expect there to be one production that the non-singers can audition for.

I genuinely don't understand why you are so invested in somewhere you left at 16.

Are you a governor?

Join a theatre troupe! My DD does dram out side if school, and they do ‘plays’ but honestly? The standard there is high, but it can still be cringe to sit through 16 year olds doing ‘serious’ acting.
youre also underestimating the drama side of musicals, just. Because there’s a dance number half way through doesn’t t mean the drama parts aren’t still hard.

Ours are usually entirely musicals because it allows the dance students and musicians to join in as well as drama students.
Musicals often have many more parts and as a parent - what do you want to go and see? Something up beat like Matilda, or The Crucible? Bearing in mind it’s a school production and the acting standard isn’t going to necessarily be that high??? B

I think op has raised a really good point, which I have been mulling over for a while.

I can't think of any schools near us that put on plays any more, whereas they definitely did plays when I was at school. It's just musicals now. This means there is minimal opportunity for acting full stop and no opportunity for acting on stage for those who may be brilliant actors but cannot (or don't want to) sing

And it's the same with all the local theatre schools.

My daughter enjoys the musicals but her passion is acting. She does Lamda exams, but she'd love a chance to perform in an actual play.