Am I wrong to feel upset?

EmmyBet
Sun, 06 Jun 2010 12:13:16 +0000

Thanks, Snoggie!

Yes, community and professional theater - they can do what they want. And actually I have no problem whatsoever with someone choosing a production based on who’s available, even having their casting in mind ahead of time. That’s just smart. When I was in HS, we had a Latin teacher retire after decades and she was a Gilbert and Sullivan fan, so our (usually brilliant in choosing and casting shows) theater guy HAD to do the Mikado. Too bad he had NO leading man tenor, nor really anyone who could sing operatically (in those days he was tending toward Godspell-type shows because he didn’t have the voices or the numbers needed even for classic-era musicals). That was a painful show to watch, and NOT a learning experience for anyone. Probably it killed off G&S forever for the several hundred parents who might otherwise have found they liked it.

I also absolutely agree that as rehearsals go on, the same people who cried, “What was she THINKING?” often end up saying, “I can’t imagine it cast any other way.”

My D, being the outsider this summer who came in and “stole” a part that someone local surely had coveted, is aware that someone somewhere was saying “Why HER? She hasn’t even paid her dues yet.” She plans to be very humble to those kids. She understands. (This show WAS open to anyone in the area, by the way.)

I will continue to hope that my D finds a place in a school that respects #4 on your list. AND I will continue to nourish her understanding that everything is a learning experience, that no role is unimportant. And, of course, “Dignity, always dignity.”