theatre in public schools

[child_of_the_pen]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:48pm

My theatre teacher is always telling me that i am not alone in my love for theatre, even though my school is primarily sport oriented and my city cares little for the arts. I am looking for someone, anyone who can tell me that i am not alone because when i walk the hallways at school that is all i do feel.

sincerly desperate american

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:52pm

Are you kidding?

You're definitely not alone.

[Alex LaVelle]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:59pm

You definitely aren't the only one. I started doing lighting for plays and musicals in the 6th grade, and by the time I got to high school, I was really, really into it and was doing lighting design on a semi-professional level. In high school, I was in very much the same state you are with the sports obsession. We had this absolutely horrid principal (the teachers there still call her Atilla, and she's been gone for three years now) who took all the funding out of everything extracurricular not sports-related and dumped it into football. I helped my drama club become financially independent of the school and ran it for basically two years on at least some level. By the time I graduated, I had done work on Sondheim and Wildhorn shows produced locally as well as scores of other productions (while it's not theatre, I have even been hired to do work for things like qualifying rounds of the Miss America pageant), all because of what I have done in theatre.

Rambling as all that is, it boils down to this: I've been there and done that. You aren't alone.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 10/13/05 at 11:59pm

are you a first time poster?

just read around. you're definitely not alone. at all. i know the feeling though, believe me.

just the other day my roomates friend came over. i was being my usual self (dancing, singing showtunes...etc.) and he goes "i will never understand theatre people."

but at least there are other "theatre people" that you can talk to! we're all here because we love theatre. so you're not alone.

...no one is alone.

(yes i just quoted sondheim in a most cheesey manor)

[child_of_the_pen]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:05am

is that from into the woods?

[alli2]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:05am

the theatre program in my high school was FABULOUS. we did 8 shows a year, 5 of which were completely student put on.

fall one acts, musical, children's show, student written one acts, drama, murder mystery dinner theatre, comedy, and an Evening of Comedy (think SNL).
Updated On: 10/14/05 at 12:05 AM

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:17am

yes child, it's from into the woods.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:24pm

my school only does a musical when we have left over athletics money... we haven't done a musical in 7 years according to the drama teacher. i'm so excited that we're finally doing a show this year!

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 12:30pm

Did you just describe my school?

[bebe de broadway]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 1:39pm

Some schools are very theater oriented, my friend went to floyd central in Indiana and they have an aMAAAAZING theatre dept.

However, while I had a large contigiency of theater kids in my school, the politics were so disgusting. I was only cast in one show, and now, I'm one of the few theater kids who are theater majors. It was all about who the directors liked.

I would have rather gone to a school where the theater crop wasn't that big so I could have gotten some more on stage experience before college. lol

but you're definitely not alone. This board alone tells you that much. ^_^ ::theater love::

[DramaDork925]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 3:31pm

You are not alone by any means. My school doesn't take theatre seriously so I found a theatre company outside of school. Try that, it worked for me!

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/14/05 at 7:01pm

maybe BW!! but i go to school in Texas so there is an explanation for it all!

[nychick9876]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 9:42pm

there are a LOT of high schools like that-mine included. but we put on killer musicals and we eventually began to get more respect from the school and the community; unfortunately, no money.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 10:58pm

yeesh...that's so sad to think that there is someone out there who is sitting there thinking that there aren't people like himher who share his or her love of theatre. I can't even imagine.

THEATRE IS MAGIC.

[Broadway_Baby2]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 1:45am

You're not alone, and this message board should give you just a bit of a hint. We all love theater enough to sit on here and talk about it with random strangers until 2 in the morning. I know high school sucks, but you've just got to get through it and once you get to college you'll discover a whole world of people just like you that are now the "cool" people. Also, I don't know where you live, but you could try looking for theatre schools, acting classes, voice lessons etc. in your area. It'll help you create a circle of friends with similar interests. If you haven't already seen it, check out the movie Camp. All the characters are struggling with the same thing you are.

[Stage Addict]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 1:51pm

"My theatre teacher is always telling me that i am not alone in my love for theatre"

At least you HAVE a theater teacher. you arent alone. trust me. my school does have a theater department..but a very bad one. we dont even have theater classes. we baisically just throw together 2 shows a year with the few dedicated people we have (which is baisically 3 of us who recruit our friends to do the shows). so yeah, you arent the only one.

[LilMiZBroADwaY23]

Posted: 10/18/05 at 8:59pm

Sweetheart, think how hard it is to be interested in theatre... then times it by ten.

I mainly sing Opera, and have such a passion for it. But I also love Musical theatre. In my school, I'm mocked for singing a song in Italian and am called WORSE then a girl who pronounces every single word wrong. I am MOCKED for having a vibrato in the choir, and am hated by the Soprano section because I can't blend with their tiny, meak, voices.

I'm sixteen years old, I have a voice of a mature Opera singer, and I have no idea what it's like to be accepted for my talent. I wouldn't wish it away, I just wish that other people would understand it.

The misunderstood Opera singer

[stylinbohemian]

Posted: 10/23/05 at 10:08am

Hey your not alone, theater = life, im used to feeling like an outsider mixed in with all the football freaks, ghetto kids that you dont wanna look at wrong in fear of being hit I can remember walking down the hall last year and hearing one of my EX friends go, "Oh no here comes the theater kid"

Im just so lucky for having such a wonderful theater program, different kids coming together for a similar passion, its like our own little family. Cept I still see the weird looks, or can tell how they're tunning me out when I start to ramble on about shows, broadway, music, etc.

Now whenever someone mocks me I just shout back, "You have no culture" then run

[babygiraffeboots]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 4:21pm

Our drama club gets no money from the school, we raise the funds for our show by ourself. It basically costs us money to want to participate in thetare in my school but we have a strong little group of us that works hard and are passionate.

You are certainly not alone. Are there any local programs you can participate in.

a bit random but- is anyone here going to NYSTEA?

[ikmbway]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 4:40pm

No, you are so not alone. My school has a good drama program. I think we are doing Seussical this year. I am very happy my school is into these things. Then again they try to make so many clubs!! SOrry to hear about other schools not having the same.

[Broadway_Baby2]

Posted: 10/24/05 at 6:24pm

I wish I could tell you it gets better once you leave high school. But I still deal with the same things in college, it is better than high school, because most people have grown up somewhat. But it's always going to be there, even when you're older. There are people who's only "joy" comes from putting others down. You just can't let it get to you. There's a great book called the four agreements that you should read. It helps you learn to let go and not give other people the power over you.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 7:20pm

The theatre program is very political... it's all about who the director likes. I hate that because he doesn't base the auditions and leads on talent.

Also, the people at my school are just not into Broadway. It's weird for me, because this is my refuge... people have never heard of Piazza, DRS, Bee or even Spamalot: to me that's weird. Kids think they are so great for knowing a couple of Wicked songs... yay for them? I'm not saying that I'm better by any means, I just wish there were more students that had the same interests in Broadway like I do. I wish there was someone in my school I could just talk to about Broadway, not just a bunch of fake Wicked fans [who are even worse than the fans on this board sometimes].

[Piazzaslight]

Posted: 10/26/05 at 9:22pm

Hey, there is almost no one in my school who likes Broadway like I do. I can't talk to anyone about Piazza, Phantom, Woman in White and Caroline (Okay, I just have the cast recording, but still...)

Updated On: 10/26/05 at 09:22 PM

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/29/05 at 12:14am

AH! CAROLINE! brilliant.

ok, im done.