<p>Lots of interesting comments, thanks! Just an FYI, our school has a winter play as well, and it often has edgier content (they did the Laramie Project a year or two ago, for example). Most members of the school community know that about the winter play, and it is usually pointed out on the advertisements for the show if the content is intense or graphic in some way. So there is an avenue for edgier theater at our school.</p>
<p>Here is another question. D1 was talking to a college friend who is involved in theater, and she commented that there are some different “choreographies” available for Cabaret, and it sounds like our theater director picked the racier one (sorry, she told D1 the choreographer’s name, I just don’t remember it). I don’t much about how they choreograph a musical… does this sound right to those of you with theater experience, esp. Cabaret?</p>
<p>An earlier poster commented that the girls could have opted out if they were uncomfortable. But just like with varsity sports, the girls know that if they bow out once they are selected, their odds of getting future roles are diminished. So I think they feel pressure to stay even if they are uncomfortable. And the costuming often isn’t settled until fairly late, I think (although obviously not true for the choreography). I have no quibble at all with the girls involved, I just think the theater director made some poor choices, and for whatever reason (there are mutiple possible reasons) no one from the school administration stepped in to correct them.</p>
<p>intparent, sounds you are getting a lot of disagreement from others, but I agree completely with you. In some communities, these hs musicals are really considered community-wide events that are looked forward to by families, grandparents, etc. With so many wonderful musicals available from which to choose, I don’t know why they pick the racier ones to begin with. And when they do, I don’t know why they can’t use a little judgment about costumes and dancing for school-age girls.</p>
<p>Our school would most likely not be allowed to do “Caberet”, a shame because it is such a great show and I would have no problem with it done in H.S. Saw “Chicago” done at another school (different school district) a few years ago and loved it. I took my (then) H.S. freshman D, but would not have (didn’t) take my (then) 9 year old son. I think you have to use your judgment on this type of thing.
Of course with D in dance and both kids in theater, my views on this might not reflect those of others.</p>
<p>Directors typically hire someone to do the choreography. This is probably the one area where directors/choreographers have the most leniency. 95% of high school kids cannot do the choreography that is presented on Broadway/regional theater, etc., so it is up to the choreographer to create movement that the students can do, that has the best impact on the show.</p>
<p>intparent, the issue of ‘choreography’ is a tricky one. It is up to the director to determine his vision for the show. The choreography and blocking are, generally speaking, within his domain to determine to a certain extent. That type of thing is not mandated by the licensing company in most cases. There are certain parameters which must be followed but different companies do the same show in different ways. It’s hard to explain this properly in text on a forum but to answer your question, yes, there are different ways that the same scene can be presented. In the same way, costuming is up to the individual production. I agree that it sounds like whomever made the costume decisions for your production probably didn’t make the best choices, which was unfortunate because, as in Susan’s D’s production, those decisions took away from the many positive things that can be garnered from this show.</p>
<p>I agree with Teri that these h/s productions are first, and foremost, an educational experience for the students involved in every aspect of them. This should be the focus, not how the community will receive them, although the communities in which we’ve lived and in which my Ds have performed extensively in theatre are just as anxious to see shows like Cabaret, Chicago, Rent, The Laramie Project, as they are Fiddler on the Roof and Guys & Dolls. There is value in being exposed to all types of shows, and a good h/s drama program will do that. :)</p>
<p>Well, Teri, maybe so. I do believe it is a school’s function to educate, whether it is the kids onstage, this kids backstage, or their 8 year old brothers and sisters. Rogers and Hammerstein et al. can teach a few things, too. So, yes, there is educational experience involved in that. But how are the messages in the classics any less valid than the messages in Rent? And is delivering these messages really the job of a high school drama club?</p>
<p>As far as people being crammed into the auditorium, well, there is some realism that needs to take place here. As a public school, our drama club is self-supporting. To continue from year to year, they MUST have people in the auditorium. And lots of them. The publicity of their excellence goes a long way in the community, especially if the community is actually there to see it. Public schools rely heavily on the good will of the community, particularly in school budget voting time.</p>
<p>And vice versa. Every play will teach something different. If the only plays that could teach kids to perform, etc. were controversial ones, that would be one thing but that is not the case. I’d like to add one other thought to the ones already listed. As I said, my daughter was in Laramie Project – it was either 10th or 11th grade – not sure which but one or the other, probably 11th. It was a spring production coinciding with the pressure of AP exams, etc. What I remember is that she was very upset for many weeks while the play was going up. She was already under academic stress but, rather than theater becoming a release and an enjoyable part of her life, she was thinking about this very heavy and upsetting material for hours every day after school and it started to affect her. She told me it was very upsetting. How healthy is it for young people who are already under stress to be spending all of their spare time thinking about something that is emotionally difficult? How trained are drama teachers to spot a kid who is getting overwhelmed by the material and what training do they have to deal with it? It’s not like the students are going to see the play and having their consciousness raised, they are living it over and over again every day. My kid is very well-adjusted but she was not a fully-formed adult when she was in this play and the drama teacher didn’t know how to help the kids manage their feelings. Not all kids are emotionally equipped to handle hours every day of traumatic material, especially when they are going to come home exhausted to hours of homework. They are not professional actors who do this for their job and then have the rest of their day to decompress.</p>
<p>We really think alike. I was going to point this out as well. Our school depends on those ticket sales. A previous drama teacher wanted to only do thought-provoking stuff with no name recognition. Nobody came. The kids would work for weeks and the theater would be empty – totally demoralizing and it was a big problem in terms of funding. The kids really hate playing to an empty theater. They deserve an audience.</p>
<p>oh yeah, also, the show at our school was choreographed to be particularly less racy than the originaly, while still being suggestive enough to complement the show.</p>
<p>Our school has a matinee (Fri night, Sat afternoon, and Sat night are the show times). Typically a lot of the families with younger kids go on Saturday afternoon. No idea if they had much turnout this year, though.</p>
<p>Anyway, ours is a private school, but we definitely depend on these ticket sales. Enrollment is off due to the economy, and one of the parents we ran into on the way out who was also leaving during intermission was musing about sending her daughter down the street to the nearby Catholic high school next year. This is a parent I just met on the spot who is new to our school this year, so it didn’t seem like a casual joke between long time school supporters… No idea if they will do it, but a private school can’t afford missteps that alienate their students, parents, and donors in this economic environment. Not that this would have been appropriate in any economic climate, but it can hurt us more now. I also thought there were more empty seats than usual (went Saturday night).</p>
<p>There will always be people who have differing opinions about creative material, whether it’s being presented in high schools or community theatre or professionally. Through the years, due to many family friends being in the show, we have seen Rent dozens and dozens of times. It’s not unusual for some people to leave at intermission. It’s a shame because they have prevented themselves from seeing the totality of a wonderful show about love, family, friendship and what each of those things should mean. That’s their prerogative but I feel sorry for individuals like that who choose to limit themselves, to censor what they allow into their lives, for they miss out on much that is valuable.</p>
<p>It’s a shame when there are communities who will not lend their support to high school theatre regardless of what show the kids happen to be doing in any given year. I’m thankful that the communities we’ve lived in have been happy to come out and support our kids for each and every show, whatever the material. The arts h/s that some of my Ds attended sold out every show, and they did 40 productions a year. This year, their spring mainstage musical was Urinetown which I know has caused controversy in some places simply by people having crazy objections to the title! The other traditional h/s where my other Ds went did two mainstage shows a year and they were fairly typical h/s quality productions, and I don’t remember a show that also didn’t sell out. Maybe we’re just lucky to have lived where we have!</p>
<p>mimk, I don’t think that anyone has said that only “controversial” plays can teach kids how to perform, nor do I think anyone believes that. My point, and I think it’s shared by others who have contributed their experiences and opinions here, is that there is value in kids being exposed to many different kinds of theatre. </p>
<p>It makes me smile, actually, that so many think of Rent as controversial. I’m not sure what is so much more controversial about it than say Guys & Dolls, or Fiddler on the Roof, or The Sound of Music, or West Side Story, etc. In any case, I have to encourage everyone to go out and support your local schools’ drama efforts, in addition to other theatre opportunities in your towns and cities. There’s nothing better than live theatre!</p>
<p>alwaysamom, I agree that exposure to different kinds of theater is good for kids. But the adults that supervise it have a responsiblity to enforce appropriate boundaries for costumes and choreography, especially when younger girls are in the cast. As other posters have indicated, there are a range of options for Cabaret, and the theater director chose the racier path. Interesting that she chose to put on Cabaret this year, the year after our previous administrator (who was not shy about enforcing appropriate clothing boundaries in any place or activity at our school) retired. The kids have a ton of intellectual freedom at our school (in fact, I think our kids get more intellectual “stretching” at our school than most high schools). But blatent displays of sexuality have been discouraged. Maybe the theater director figured she could slip one in under new administration…</p>
<p>I do have some theater background (both performance and pit orchestra in high school and college). I don’t recall anything that felt like it exploited the kids like this (certainly not Gypsy, which I played for )</p>
<p>I disagree. To argue that, is to say that all literature should be appropriate for 8-year olds because surely high school kids are bringing controversial literature into the home (most likely, at least, if they’re a public high school). As a parent, it is our job to protect younger ones from inappropriately mature material, and every parent needs to decide what that is for their own child. High schools do not owe it to 8-year olds to present only shows appropriate for them. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, I think a good drama program offers a diversity of plays, not all ‘safe’ plays, and not all ‘mature’ plays. Our director definitely mixes it up because there is much to learn from all kinds of productions. As I said, they just did Fiddler this weekend. </p>
<p>Before auditions, our theater teacher makes the scripts available for the students to read through. Students should never audition for something that they might be uncomfortable with; it is their responsibility to educate themselves about any play they are interested in. I know a girl who did not audition for Chicago because she is very modest. However, she had many other opportunities throughout the year to perform since our director mixes it up.</p>
<p>HAHA that is nothing compared to the shows my high school puts on.</p>
<p>Over the last 3 years we have done Laramie Project, Never Saw Another Butterfly, Chicago, Rent and Les Mis (in addition to less racy Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors, The Wiz and many more non musicals I can’t remember)</p>
<p>Chicago- Very little was edited from the actual show. Some of the “costumes” were so racy they contained critism in several editorials in the newspaper, but the majority agreed it was so well done, that it didn’t matter.</p>
<p>Rent- Not much to say about this. Took out ONLY the one or two F words and the sex song (can’t remember the name) but left everything else. Also very well done, was said to be one of the best shows we have done in a while.</p>
<p>Les Mis- Certainly not AS racy as the other shows, but still has prostitution, child abuse, etc.</p>
<p>All shows most language is left uncensored, but no one ever opjects</p>
<p>Basically, I think as long as the shows are done well and the students do it maturely, it is fine.</p>
<p>SmallCollegesFTW, check back if/when you are the parent of a 14 year old girl. I am pretty sure you would have a more nuanced opinion. You still might be allow your daughter’s participation, but I’m pretty sure “as long as the students do it maturely” won’t be your primary concern.</p>
<p>See this is where there has to be some education on a part of the people attending. I think Into The Woods would be much more traumatic to an eight-year old than Cabaret, Rent or Laramie Project.</p>
<p>I understand the thought behind that, but I can’t agree that is equal. A book is a book, a performance is a performance. The comparison would only work if you were to read the book to the 8 year old (or, act it out!). And, I think high schools do owe it to the community to present shows that are presentable to most of the community. But, clearly, we need to agree to disagree on this. </p>
<p>So given that I won’t change anyone’s mind on this topic, how old is old enough to perform in these “controversial” shows? At what age is the line to be drawn? And why?</p>
<p>Oh, and inparent, yep, Gypsy raised many eyebrows at its announcement. Surprisingly, not as much with the parents/grandparents as with the kids. They heard it was a show “about strippers” and they went into tizzies (on both the pro and con sides, mind you). The show itself was pretty tame…</p>
<p>The point is, as a parent, it is your responsibility to screen material that you think is inappropriate for your child. If the book is laying around the house and the eight year old picks it up and starts reading it, are you going to blame the high school’s English teacher? Same with plays, you have to be diligent because not every parent holds the same standards for their younger children in regards to adult material.</p>
<p>Hey, my kids were some of the last to see PG-13 movies, so I’m not as liberal as it sounds, but I do think if you judge a whole performance on solely one aspect (costuming/language, etc.), then you lose so many learning opportunities.</p>
<p>I’m also the first to say, that although I limited my kids’ choices of movies for the most part, there were less than a handful of R-rated movies I allowed them to see, prior to giving the green light on all PG-13 movies. Schlindler’s List was one of them. In fact, I do believe they showed in to our 8th graders as part of their social studies class, toward the end of the year. I fully supported it. Yet, when our show choir would go on long bus trips, our choir director would not allow any movies beyond PG to be shown on the overhead screens. I did think that was a little ridiculous, but understood that there were parents that had issues with some PG-13 movies, even for their high schoolers.</p>
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