secondary school drama productions

It is very frustrating though when your dc have been told that some parts will be cast with a particular age group, and then they're not.
Her school is putting on Oliver and Y8 were told that dodger could be male or female, but would be a Y8 student. In the event, they've given the part to a Y11 GCSE drama student. In fact all the main roles have gone to drama students.

In this case, I think expectations have been badly managed by the drama department.

If your DS is keen to be involved in the production, perhaps he could be a crew member?

I do a short production of Julius Caesar with my Year 7 every year. There is a part of some kind for everyone. Yet for 3 years I didn't do it as one particular year I was inundated with phone calls complaining about the casting which was done via audition. My father was seriously ill at this time and the rest of the department took the calls on my behalf. It was a stressful time. Year 7 parents also complain about their children not getting on the first rugby team. Yes, the best people get the big parts and places on the A team. That's how it works

Yes, normal.

They do try to give minor/chorus/non-speaking parts to those who were not successful in the auditions for major roles.

Pretty normal but frustrating from your ds side.

The school productions were big at our school and renowned for being extremely good. The main parts always went to the same people and normally 'older' kids too (Y11 and 6th form) and their favourites they made a big cock up on year giving a part to a popular girl who turned out to be a diva.

My advice would be to prepare for the audition - practice lots and ask if the music teacher can coach him for 10 minutes one lunch time. A good audition and showing dedication to improve and commitment to the part, should get him principle part.

Well yes to be fair we have a pool of about 10 really strong vocalists and another 10 strong soloists I dont tend to stray from these ten. Its not as bad as a neighbouring school who would put on the 'David and James' show every year highlighting only their top two students.

I think it would be nice to believe that everyone could have a turn at a main part (or even a minor part) but there are all kind of negatives to that as well. The school wants to put on the best production possible and it serves no-one well to stage something which is below par. What kind of message does it give out to those who are genuinely talented if they think that they can only get a role maybe every third year or that although they are the better singer/actor they have to give way to someone who doesn't do the role justice and who takes longer to learn the part? Given the numbers in an average secondary school and the number of parts in the usual school musical, even if you decide to rotate roles, there are still going to be people who are disappointed - on top of an audience who come away with the perception of the music/drama department as average.

I'm a secondary music teacher. For our concerts we always try to change soloists every year. Some are better than others but its important to give everyone a chance I believe.

Very normal. Life isn't about getting your turn, it is about being the damn best at your job in order to fly.

Sorry. In my experience like sports teams , it has always been open audition with parts going to the "best" auditions. It's not an all must have prizes deal.

As an 'am dram' lover and having participated in many a high school musical if you want the thing to be watchable I'm afraid it's the best person for the job.

Most schools pick ensemble type productions (think Oliver, West Side Story) where there are several main roles and big choruses.

It's completely normal. They don't pick the school sports teams on the basis of those who haven't been picked before in my experience.

It's not an easy lesson to learn sometimes but that's life in my opinion.