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?

[YankSplaining]

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.

Do they sell tickets for these productions? Maybe they've found that musicals pull the crowds in whereas plays are less popular.

I think you’re hugely over invested. This is a school you have no connection with anymore? Your kids don’t go there??
I can’t even begin to understand why you would care what their production choices are? It’s a shame you’re disappointed but it really doesn’t affect you at all.

They do sell tickets. When I was in high school, every performance sold out, regardless of what the show was, because it was a small auditorium and the people who sent their children to these two schools were very involved parents who’d bring along extended family, neighbors, et cetera. Plus it was a standard social thing for other students to come see the play at least once per production.

Both schools charge a lot of tuition, and the theater program has resources beyond what most American high schools have.

My daughter's school produces musical theatre productions, because it allows the school orchestra a showcase, along with actors and singers. It gives more pupils a chance to take part, not just a handful.

Musicals tend to be able to accommodate bigger casts plus involve musicians too so more can be involved. A play may be just a few people. My dd did one play but mostly musicals because they struggled to sell tickets for the play

I know what you're getting at. A musical EXCLUDES those who can't sing but maybe amazing actors. A dramatic play is in fact open to anyone interested in stage performance. My DD falls into the first category (she can but prefers very much not to sing). By having a variety of shows, it widens the options. I don't think ticket sales should come into it for a school theatre .

I went there from kindergarten through to the end of high school, and it’s a school with a strong alumni culture. As I said, I usually don’t spend time thinking about this, but seeing the announcement on social media brought it to mind again.

Aside from my personal experience, I’m also just curious to see what people think about the situation in general.

The orchestra thing is a fair point.

I don't see the issue at all, nor why it should bother you so much.

If you like the production then buy a ticket/s and go, if you don't then don't.

I don’t know about now, but when I was in high school, none of the productions ever struggled to sell tickets.

It gives the music students a chance to shine aswell.

Do your kids go to this school? I'm confused why it's a problem if they don't...

Maybe this is what the kids want to do.

Thanks for seeing where I’m coming from. As I said before, I wasn’t owed any roles, but I did want the chance to audition for the fall plays, and the fall play being a non-musical was a decades-long tradition before I started high school. Ticket sales weren’t a problem when I was in high school, though I don’t know about now.

I just couldn’t be arsed one way or the othe

I think the time to do something about this was when you were a student and could have raised this with staff. You would have had a fair point I think. However that ship has long sailed and as a random unconnected member of the public you have no stake or influence. The public who buy tickets may well prefer musicals so you would possibly be a lone voice.
Can you not join a drama society now?

This director never consulted students about what shows we wanted to do, and I can’t imagine she’s changed now. She was a professional theater actress before taking her current job, and she runs the department with a high professional standard. You don’t complain to her about costumes, rehearsal times, or anything else.

There was one year where a couple of the more frequent actors complained about the show she’d picked, and she told them in no uncertain terms that if they weren’t interested inputting in that show, they were free to skip auditions.

They get their chance every spring and always have.

I’m smiling to myself, because believe me, this was not the sort of theater department where you “raised issues with the staff.” The show was what the director picked, the rehearsal times were when they were, your role or lack of role was what you got, your costume was non-negotiable, and if you were unwilling to meet the standards, you were out. She was a professional theater actress before taking the directing job and she ran the department like a professional theater.

I don’t expect to be able to influence anything, and I’m not going to try, but I was curious what other people thought of the situation.

No time in my busy schedule to join a drama society now, unfortunately.

Well given the state of drama and its chronic undervaluing and how it has disappeared from many state schools in the UK…that they have specialists to undertake these projects is something to celebrate.

Now, on to musicals vs straight plays. Invariably musicals have choruses and so you have the chance to include many people which means guaranteed ticket sales and guaranteed atmosphere plus making money to plough into your next production.

Straight plays have much fewer parts.

But the workload is not much different- set design and making is the same, costume, sourcing props, being in a rehearsal space for an hour afterschool three times a week. You might as well have as many students as possible in the space for that hour to inspire and positively impact as many people as possible.

On to your point about opportunities for non singing people to get a chance. Potentially they do this as part of their curriculum work.

Also you have to let the teachers choose according to their passions when it’s extra curricular. Teachers move on rapidly and so if someone loves musicals you will get the best overall result if you let them lead on that, they might not be there for long and the next teacher might have a passion for straight plays.

So that’s all the drama teacher reasons but it doesn’t take away that you feel sad because you recognise how important a time was for you.

Drama and its opportunities are important. It’s so upsetting that it’s being strangled out of the British educational experience. 40% less students take Drama GCSE since 2010.

I’m partly just curious what people think about the situation in general. My kids don’t go to the school, but it’s a distant possibility that we might send them there for high school when they’re old enough.

Unfortunately with the price of rights nowadays ticket sales often have to come into it. Although if they pick the play carefully it can come out much cheaper so there's more than just straight sales numbers involved.

There’s no “curriculum work,” because theater was/is solely an extracurricular at these schools. The director has been there since the mid-nineties.

I was indeed very lucky to be at a school with such a good theater department - and even if the department had been crap, hey, I still met my husband. 🙂

They might, but both private schools whose students form the department have high tuition fees, and when I was a student, at least, every performance sold out.

It’s harder to find decent straight plays that have big casts, particularly ones that are appropriate for children. Musicals can include many more people both in the cast and also the orchestra. The different skills needed also means the often long rehearsal periods are kept engaging as you can have separate dance and singing calls. Additionally, and it might sound harsh, if a straight play is badly acted it can feel interminable but with a musical the musical numbers keep it moving!