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.

Having done youth theatre there are two very good reasons for doing a musical.

1. Firstly - they do sell. Do a straight play and you'll get the parents; do a musical and other people come too
2. Secondly - there is a chorus. So you can have as many or as few want to be in it. You have 50 keen kids after the main parts- split them in two and have two choruses for every other night. All feel involved, more parents/friends to watch, and the quiet child who was too shy to audition gains confidence (and maybe you spot them too so you encourage them to audition next time) and goes for a bigger role next time.

If you're that bothered offer to direct a play in addition to the musicals.

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

Nothing, since you ask.
And I'm puzzled as to why you are still thinking about this in such great detail, all these years later.

Not as puzzled as I am, trying to figure out why you’re responding to a thread when you think “nothing” about the topic.

It's the same at theatre schools.
Thankfully my daughter enjoys singing and dancing but her real passion is for acting and there is hardly any actual acting in most of their productions.
She does lamda and enjoys that but she is frustrated by the fact they never do plays

All performances always sold out when I was in high school. Seeing the plays was a social thing for other students, like going to the football games, and and seeing as the students came from two private schools, there were lots of very involved parents who’d come see the show and drag along Grandma, Grandpa, and the next door neighbors. Choruses were never split in two, so that’s not applicable here.

Can’t tell if you’re being facetious or serious about offering to direct a play, but that’s not feasible for me or anyone else. Even if I had the credentials, auditions for the next production start about a week after the end of the previous one (or at least they did when I was in school). No time or space for an extra production.

I have no idea what my secondary school are doing now. Nor do l care. And it’s got some pretty dazzling alumni.

I think the fact that this is coming up in your mind is perhaps a clue to where you might find pleasure in the future. Maybe you could start reading plays with your children at home and performing a bit at home? It might give you a whole load of pleasure.

I had a similar realisation about music at this age and started a new musical instrument and have really enjoyed it. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

You keep saying "when I was there it was like X" but that was over 20 years ago!

Things change, people don't spend money like they used to, neighbours don't support neighbours the same, kids don't care about plays (but do the right musical - like Six and they do)

People change too. The director might have mellowed and started listening to students differently

Or maybe this year the majority of those interested in theatre are more musically inclined (that person above saying about musicals not being acting is pretty rude tbh)

FWIW, one of my relatives by marriage used to direct musicals, and I got the sense that a) it was a very specific skill, distinct from running plays, and b) he was an unstoppable force and would have just done whatever he wanted to do. Maybe that was a factor at the school?

The thing that surprises me is that they replaced the dramatic play with a second musical, rather than fhe winter dance production. I would have thought it fairer to replace the dance production (as dancers can easily be accommodated in musicals).

I totally agree. Acting, dancing and singing at distinct skills and it seems that acting skills are not being cultivated

My DDs school has a Musical in the Autumn term (which is cast in May/June) involving actors, the dance team, a chorus and technical people.
On between Jan- May the Drama club does a play (alternates between Shakespeare and something else), the Dance team do their own production and the Choir does its own thing.

That seems to work well... some people do a mix of the three things.

I'd forgotten that this bothered me when I was at school, centuries ago. Auditions for school productions were purely musical, so you'd get decent singers taking leading roles, even when they were rotten actors. I think I might be over it now.

I’d imagine this is it. Musicals are far better!

Wouldn't it be better to post this on an American forum? How should we know what is considered the norm in US Schools?

Musicals = bigger cast, bigger audience.

OP if you are regretting not doing more plays, you could join a community/amdram group.
At my high school (UK) they stopped doing shows just as I got old enough to be in one.

I had a career in professional Musical Theatre before becoming a music teacher. My school experience was irrelevant.

I treat reading out loud like it’s a voice acting job. 😂

Some people cannot sing, nothing they can do about it. I am not being sarcastic or rude about anyone, being tone deaf some are born with it.

I am with the OP on this one, have one musical to give those who can and enjoy singing their chance, have other plays the rest of the time.

You have no connection to the school now and no insight into why particular shows were selected.

Very odd thing to be invested in.

I’m bringing up what it was like when I was there because box office was not a reason to start doing a fall musical in the first place. Is it now? Maybe, but I doubt it. These are expensive private schools and, like I said early in the thread, the theater department has resources beyond most American high schools.

If “biggest cast, bigger audience” was a priority back when they started the possibility of a fall musical, though, why on earth would the director decide, two years later, to do a dramatic play with only five people in the cast?

Sorry to hear you never got to do high school theater. I was burned out by senior year, but I do have a lot of fun memories.

There’s no norm in American high schools when it comes to theater, so this is as good a forum as any. 🤷‍♀️

I agree, there should be a variety to shows every year to suit different skill sets, different interests and to teach the young people about the many different styles of theatre.

If I'm honest I don't believe it should be as fixed as x amount of musicals, dance productions and other dramatic styles but if that's how the school organise it then it should at least be varied.

I studied theatre all the way through school and in my degree. Exposure to different stories, songs and acting styles are what helps young people learn about themselves and what they wish to pursue.

One of my fondest memories was being in my schools Shakespeare production. Whilst in my head I'm a fantastic singer/dancers, reality just hasn't quite caught up with that yet though 😅 saying all the above though, I really wouldn't get hung up on this now. You were in a show and you enjoyed it, I'm assuming you still have a love of the theatre now which is what's more important than the tally of shows you've been in.

Yeah, flogging through a serious play never did you any harm! Why shouldn’t they have to suffer too?

What difference does it make to you? Wind your neck in.

Oh, there’s no question this particular director is an unstoppable force. As for musicals vs. dramatic plays, she’s got a lot of experience directing both.