<p>I thought my fellow theater lovers would get a kick out of this article that I just read that was in the London Times:</p>
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<p>I wonder how they acted out the story when everyone was Snow White and there were no dwarfs or witches? :eek: 
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<p>I wonder what the Japanese term is for âMama Roseâ??? :D</p>
<p>Thank you so much for making my day! This is the BEST article I have seen in ages. (Or is it the worst?) I work in community theatre and I have seen it all⊠or have I?</p>
<p>Did the article include a photo?</p>
<p>^^^^No, it didnât include a photo but can you begin to imagine one? I mean, how do you act out the story?? LOL</p>
<p>Wow! Youâve got to give them credit for being able to motivate and mobilize the masses of parents. Just think, if parents here could apply those techniques with equal effectiveness, there would be an end to cut systems 
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<p>In the US, we have what are called âhelicopter parentsâ and I guess in Japan, they have âmonster parentsâ! :D</p>
<p>(they are not quite the same of course but the terminology is funny)</p>
<p>When my MT D was in middle school (a non arts school), a sheet came home with each kid who planned to audition for the musical. Parents were asked to sign a form saying that they understood that casting decisions were made by the director and that they wished they could cast every kid, etc. It also reminded people that Michael Jordan had not made it onto his high school team when he first tried out, etc. Parents all signed. That said, I know that the poor drama teacher always had to field a bunch of phone calls from angry parents whose kids either werenât cast or did not get the parts that the kids wanted. I felt so sorry for the director, who is truly a nice woman and very competent and always tried her best to cast as many kids as possible. But man! It made me glad that I wasnât a drama teacher.</p>
<p>I truly canât imagine contacting a drama teacher or director or program with a complaint about my kidâs casting. Casting is just part of what this field entails. In any case, I think complaining would also be such a bad mark for the record and affect future casting (not to mention the message it sends the kid). But I guess people must complain!</p>
<p>HA - donât get me started on stage-parents - I could write a book of stories from grade school through high school. Although Iâm not convinced it ends in college (for some).<br>
Interesting article Soozievt -
Also in todayâs NY Times I read that in Korea some parents separate to get a leg up on the english language but also to get away from the overly competitive situation in Korea. I.E. the mother brings the child to a place such as Australia, New Zealand or the U.S. leaving the father behind.</p>
<p>What drives me nuts is that so many of these hyper-intensive, aggressive, hyper-driven stage parents donât realize the potential there is for their behavior to cause real damage to their kids. I watched one particular H.S. parent literally push her 2 elder daughters into serious eating disorders among other emotional issues. One dropped out of Tisch during or after her sophomore year after rebounding from emaciated to extremely obese and the other spent a month of her senior year of high school in a residential program, blew all of her college auditions, and still has not recovered her health and stability. The third daughter is mortally obnoxious, nobody likes to work with her and everyone in our high school theatre community is holding their breath waiting to see a medical train wreck develop with this daughter as a result of her motherâs behavior. This mother has been overheard to say that she could have made it as a performer and sheâll be damned if one of her daughters doesnât.</p>
<p>Wow, Michael, that woman sounds like a real Momma Rose, for sure! Remember at the end of Gypsy, where Momma Rose admits that the reason she did everything she did for/to Louise and June was because she, herself, was âborn too soon and started too late?â That line jumped into my mind when I read your account.</p>
<p>I am a director of Childrens theatre and I have had my share of crying and screaming phonecalls from parents. I always tell the Children if they are unhappy with the part, I do not want to hear from the parents but the child should call me. I have had some wonderful conversations with the children giving them advice on what to work on. Once I did get a heatrending phone call from a child who had tried out for 5 years and never got a part. I did let her get into the play as chorus. It made her 8th grade year! If her parent had called I would of never cast her in the play.</p>
<p>NMR - It was interesting. This parent really felt like she was breeding a MT dynasty at our high school and was constantly making her presence known to directors. When in 9th grade (jr. high) my D was cast as Kim McAfee opposite her D #2 as Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, the parent didnât like that suddenly there were 2 strong female leads in the pipeline for high school. When in 11th grade my D was cast as Maria and hers as Anita in West Side Story, the parent stopped talking to me notwithstanding that the 2 girls felt the casting really matched their respective vocal ranges and performing strengths, were excited to be working with each other because they each had a load of confidence in and respect for each otherâs focus, commitment, and abilities, and were very supportive of each other. It was so very sad when in 12th grade the daughter was not even cast in the musical, in any capacity, because of the impact her health problems had on her voice.</p>
<p>Michael, how uncomfortable for you and your daughter! And how ridiculous and petty! I had a sort of tangentially similar experience when my D was cast as one of the soloists in Godspell and another womanâs D was not. She ranted and raved to the director and then called me to gripe. She actually said âI have to tell you that I think that the kids who got the leads were the kids of people who contribute a lot of money to the school.â She seemed shocked when I said âWell, I donât know about that. We get financial aid to send our daughter to this school and are not able to contribute to annual giving.â There was a long silence and she said, grudgingly, âWell, I suppose they have to throw in a few really talented kids for good measure.â :)!!! She later said she was âpullingâ her D out of doing any drama or musicals because âshe doesnât have the cut throat temperment you need.â</p>
<p>I donât understand what the parents who behave this way think that they could possibly be accomplishing. Aside from the abyssmal example they are setting for their children, do they think that their complaints would REALLY change a casting director (or teacherâs) mind?? Shaking my head in disbelief (and real sorrow for the daughters in the story Michael related)âŠ</p>
<p>NMR, talk about hostility and envy! Some parents really have a penchant for turning what should be a positive experience into a negative because of their own egos. I also saw it when I was a little league coach for a team my son played on. Rarely had behavior issues with the kids, even in hotly contested games. It was always the parents that acted like louts. I even had to âescortâ one father off the field when he came charging out to take issue with one of my players.</p>
<p>I had to shake my head about the âcut throat temperamentâ comment. Thatâs a prime reason that certain schools never appeared on my daughterâs list or got knocked off early on. She much prefers a collaborative environment where students can enjoy and support each others successes. How can you even do honest work with a partner in acting studio if all you are concerned about is whether your partner will be competing with you for a role in the next show. It was very revealing last April when my daughter had auditions for next fallâs shows. There was one musical with 4 female roles that she really wanted to be cast in. She got a call back and discovered that one of her classmates also got one and was dying to be in the show. The show requires some duets and ensemble singing in addition to a load of solos. So my daughter and her classmate decided to practice together to help each other nail the solos and ensemble singing. They got 2 of the roles as freshmen competing against more experienced sophomores and juniors. Interesting lesson for them about the collaborative process!</p>
<p>I can sympathize with the recent posts. We had an ugly incident at my Dâs school this year where major donor/parents actually went into the Headmaster to protest a casting decision made by the director! I subsequently stumbled across this written audition policy posted online for Harvard-Westlake and think it is wonderful: </p>
<p>"Q. What are your Audition & Casting Policies?
A.<br>
At Harvard-Westlake we serve the play itself first, last, and always.</p>
<p>Casting is inherently undemocratic, even unfair.</p>
<p>The person who is cast in a role is in the opinion of the director the best choice for that role, having nothing to do with previous experience, grade level, personality, friendship, the number of theater classes taken or the number of âthanklessâ roles taken in previous productions. </p>
<p>Talent has a lot to do with it, but a very talented actor might not get cast in a role if she or he is not right for that role. On the other hand, a very talented actor might find herself or himself cast several times in a leading role. (The starting quarterback is a good analogy.) </p>
<p>A person who auditions for a role or a play and is rejected must never consider that rejection a personal matter. In fact, the reverse is often true: in spite of a high regard for the person, the director might choose someone else - someone he might not have previously known - for the role simply because he or she was a better choice. </p>
<p>Taking an acting class is your right and privilege. Presumably you will receive training which will help you in auditions, but being in the class in and of itself does nothing to enhance your chances of being cast in a production. </p>
<p>Casting is highly subjective and we cast with little or no regard for anything other than what will best serve the play. To do otherwise would teach an insidious and pernicious lesson, viz. that there are other ways (like influence, friendship, and patronage) to get roles, and thatâs not how we make decisions here. </p>
<p>In your audition be prepared, be cheerful, and have fun. And remember this: itâs only a play! "</p>