20+ years ago when I was a teenager, I did theater through my school, which is an American private school. (It was a joint theater department with another private school nearby.) I follow the theater department on social media, and I saw that this year, they’re doing a fall musical, a winter dance production, and a spring musical. The fall musical is based on children’s books that my kids like, and although ideally I’d like to take them to see the show, I feel frustrated and a little angry that they’re doing two musicals.
When I started high school, it was understood that the fall play was always a dramatic one without singing roles. I have absolutely no vocal talent, but I was excited to have the chance to try out for the fall productions.
My first year of high school, I was called back for the second round of auditions for the fall play, but the part I was being considered for went to a senior (last year of high school). That was okay with me. I joined the set crew. My second year of high school, the director broke with decades of tradition and announced that we were doing a fall musical as well as a spring musical. I was disappointed, but, once again, was on set crew.
My third year of high school, we had a dramatic play again and I was cast in a supporting role. Three scenes, two costumes, chance to do an accent - great experience and fun memories. (I even started dating another cast member who’s now my husband of thirteen years. 😁)
My fourth and last year of high school, the dramatic play had a tiny cast with only five roles. As with my first year of high school, I auditioned, went through to the second round, and was not cast. Prior to that, I’d been involved in every show but one, but I just felt burned out with the whole thing. I sat out any involvement with the fall and winter shows, though I came back to do set crew for the spring musical because it was my last chance to work on a production with my friends.
I was not owed any roles, but I joined high school theater with the understanding that I got four chances to try to be in a fall play. Instead, I got three, which felt more like two and a half because the cast of the senior year fall play was so small. (The other fall plays had casts of a dozen or more.) Am I wrong to think that if a school theater department has the ability to do three productions a year, there should be one dramatic play and not two musicals? It’s a different skill set, and even if I didn’t “make the team,” I wanted the chance to try for it. The adults who ran the department while I was in high school are all still there in their same jobs, FWIW, and have a lot of experience putting on dramatic plays.
I don’t usually dwell on things from high school, but, as I said before, they’re doing two musicals this year and that’s brought all my old feelings up to the surface.