My son just got the lead in his school play!- Page 4

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:28am

Ok you guys, you can take the hook out of my mouth because you reeled me into going down this path! Thanks, mom

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:31am

Actually s-mom, I used to work with a dance company where, at one point, all the women dancers shaved their heads. And you know what? They looked GORGEOUS. At first it was startling to see these women we'd known with full heads of hair completely bald, but once we got used to it, it was no big thing. They still wore makeup (in fact, they wore a little more than they used to), which accentuated their lovely faces.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 12:54pm

I understand that Miss P. Those were women, again, my daughter is just 13. When whe is a woman and if that's what she wants to do- then great. Two of my sisters have alopecia and my youngest one just finished chemo. I lost half of my hair in high school. Hair is a very sensitive issue in our family. mom

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:00pm

Hey, I'm not trying to convince you to let your daughter go bald. That's your business. You just made me remember those beautiful women who shaved their heads. I hadn't thought about them in a long time.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:15pm

I make wigs.

[miss pennywise]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:25pm

Diva, I used to style and sell wigs...when I was in college. I hadn't thought about that in a long time either.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:26pm

Sorry to be so defensive. It's just funny how this thread turned from being proud of my son for getting into a play to asking if my daughter would shave off her beautiful hair. thanks for understanding- mom

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:29pm

Mom-most threads take off on tangents. At least this one isn't delete-worthy. yet!

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:30pm

Would you support them if they had to do a nude scene?

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:35pm

NOT in middle school or high school and get your mind out of the gutter- they are only 13 and 15! mom

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:45pm

Send my congrats to your son and your whole family! You guys rock. Issues aside, bald heads are trendy now! Tell him he looks like Nigel Barker and to WORK that makeover.

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 1:55pm

Did you know that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found that nearly 20 percent of students have had at least four sexual partners by the time they reached the 12th grade?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 2:20pm

Sounds like those numbers have gone down since I was in high school.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 3:43pm

Thanks Mr. Matt- I know how much you loves you some Nigel! SOMMS- what am I gonna do with you?! mom

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 3:59pm

Shave my head and call me Nigel?

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:04pm

Okay SOMMS- I shall now call you Nigel! mom

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 5:28pm

I find it interesting that you seem more disturbed by the thought of your daughter shaving her head (which was a TOTAL hypothetical) than you were at the very real implication that his drama teacher seems to show signs of being a total control freak.
I know you said your son "wants" to do it, but what if he DIDN'T want to?
What would happen if he told the director he would not shave his head? Would it be recast? Did he have to agree to shave his head in order to get the role?

Oh, and remember, memorizing the lines is the easy part. Making sense of them is where the real work comes in.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 8:50pm

Sueleen- I knew you would get me on my double standard. That's okay. If I dish it out, I have to take it! My son was told at the audition about the head shave thing so he could have dropped out at that point. I don't think his teacher is a control freak- at least my son has never told me that. I guess he's really into method acting. My son said they would be bringing in prosthetics for their face so he will be very unrecognizable. Anyway, guys shave their heads all the time for sports and no one says anything. It's actually kind of cool and guys also shave their heads close. Yes, I would be more disturbed- even hypothetically- about my daughter shaving her beautiful hair. I guess that is a bit shallow. Judge me all you want. This is a discussion board and we don't have to agree on everything! This thread turned into something more dramatic than I ever wanted it to be. I hope everyone was amused! No hard feelings to anyone. Glad to see you all took such a keen interest in my family. Thanks! mom

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 9:58pm

mom, I think you misunderstood me. It is not about "shaving the head" specifically, and certainly not about a "double standard" about your feelings regarding your daughter and son's hair. It is about an adult (the teacher) requiring a student that age to do something so drastic (well, maybe drastic is the wrong word, but it as you pointed out yourself, kids ARE going to tease him)to be in a play. I mean who will your son turn to when the kids DO start teasing him? The teacher who will: "understand, but this is for your ART and they are just too immature to understand what art is all about. But I understand you and what you are going through..."

Have you MET this teacher? And with a role like that, which, although a great challenge, I believe it to be a little over a high school actor's (shaved) head, (but that is beside the point.) I can guarantee he will soon be requiring "extra" rehearsal time, afternoons to work on "the make-up" so "we can get it just right".
Just please, be as supportive as you can, but also be aware that based on what you have provided here, your son should never be alone with this man.
I hope that I am wrong, but speaking from someone who had this happen to a good friend of mine in high school, you can't be too careful and it is better to come off as over-protective than find out later what really went on at those special "one-on-one" rehearsals.
I did not mean to offend you, really, the word needs more parents like you. I just wanted to make you aware of something you might not have thought of.

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:04pm

I know I will probably get flamed for this in some huge PM campaign. It won't be the first time. But I just thought it was important enough to address on the board.
God knows, this kind of crap even happens here.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:14pm

Ok Suleen- I get what you are saying and I understand better because of what you went through. My daughter had a pervert gymnastics coach and she was smart enough to stay far away from the situation. My son is not alone with this teacher because there are others in the cast. I have been rehearsing with my son and this is a VERY difficult script. He is stressing because of his homework and the fact that he has to have 20 pages memorized by Sunday. Because this is a performing arts school, I guess the teacher feels like he has to go beyond the high school norm. The teacher has been at the school for a long time and there have never been complaints about him. I really appreciate you telling me your side of the story. The thing that took me aback about this whole situation is that the teacher didn't give the parents a heads up about the head shaving. I would have thought I should have signed a permission slip for such a drastic thing. My husband said, it's not illegal for kids to cut their hair. Sure it's not, but he's still in my protection. He has a great support system in his friends. Last year a kid shaved his head for See How They Run and everyone thought it was cool that he went that far. Maybe it's a good perk that it's a performing arts school and the other kids are used to seeing people look "different". Nonetheless, I will take your advice and be on even more guard than I already was (I do have a skeptical side). You did not offend me in any way. I like good dicussions. Thanks for taking the time to explain. mom

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:24pm

You are more than welcome. Like I said, you really CAN'T be too careful. OR SUPPORTIVE!

[SweetQintheLights]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:39pm

I'm not so much speaking about the topic at hand, I just want to say that we definitely need more moms like, well, mom!

You seem to have very good, but strict rules for your kids but in a positive sense. You are well grounded and seem very calm, cool and collected, but strict when need be. If only, lets say...2% of parents changed and had your attitude, we'd not only have better parents, but the school systems would improve- indirectly... as would students/children. Parents would be more interested in their children's education and the students will understand how important school is and possibly see a positive outlook on life and the future.

Mom, make sure they know how lucky they are to have you as their mommy.

Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent but do I do want to congratulate him on getting the lead!

[supportivemom]

Posted: 11/30/07 at 10:57pm

Wow Sweet Q! What a nice post! I am going to be so stressed until he gets this script memorized. The hardest part is to keep him from getting so frustrated. He is really scared about flopping. He does this to me everytime he has to memorize a script and he always comes out just fine. He is so hard on himself and so he gets frustrated if he doesn't have it right away. He has 10 pages memorized already and he just found out he got the part Tuesday. I told him he has not had days to memorize this, only a few hours when you factor in that he is in school all day, rehearsals after school, and homework at night. Honestly, he is amazing me. Ok, now I'm going on a tangent. I just finished rehearsing my daughter for her competition tomorrow and I'm sure I'll be going over the script with my son again. Anyway, thanks again for the very nice post! mom

[SueleenGay]

Posted: 2/15/08 at 7:42pm

Did we ever hear how this production turned out?