Amazing High School productions

Can I take a guess at what high school you attended (attend?)

I'm going to steal this one from the bad high school productions thread because, aside from the Engineer, this is still the best looking high school production I've ever seen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4_am2KDIqA

Aida - Parkland High School - Allentown, PA. STELLAR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ul3JjOtWNY&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SGQ5nMPo5A

Updated On: 9/8/12 at 09:41 AM

My HS productions of Ragtime and Pirates!

Coalhouse Demands
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=Mmsis241dcg

Pirates Act I Finale
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=3xzckD63tSw

^It's kind of cheating when you rent a set from a professional company.

If a HS can afford to rent, why shouldn't they?

My HS rented sets for every major musical production. We only built our play sets.

(On a side note, I will never forget our set for RUMORS. Looked great from the front but oh so dangerous from the back. Lots and lots of duct tape!)

The use of a rented set gives talented youngsters a real taste of a professional production. One of the best performances I have seen of MY FAIR LADY was a high school production at Danbury High School (CT) in the 1970's, with a rented set and (more importantly) rented Ascot costumes. Phenomenal.

I was addressing CATSNY comment that they were cheating. S/he was the only one that seem to be negative about it.

My set designer gets mad whenever I even suggest renting a backdrop!

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It depends on the school. Were I went to HS, stagecraft was as important as any other class, so it would have betrayed the point to have a rental set. But I imagine many schools aren't in the same situation.

This girl is phenomenal. High school.....amazing.
Never - On The Twentieth Century

High schools that cast everyone who auditions don't usually do so because they think everyone is extremely talented, but everyone deserves the opportunity. While it's rewarding to put on a fantastic show, the main goal is for students to learn. If that makes the stage look a little too crowded, so be it. The video of Phantom I posted had a cast of more than 90 people, although their stage was huge, and they had a 2,000 seat theatre. And, besides, at many schools, a cast of 50 can be quite selective. When my school did Chicago, almost one hundred people auditioned, and about 40 were cast, and the stage was very crowded. There are many reasons for a school to have a large cast.

I also work a few different "cast everyone" high schools. They view educational theater as just that: an educational opportunity. Some have large budgets and can rent out sets and costumes. Most build their own and do the best they can.

The reason I like working with cast everyone high schools is that they encourage students to explore their interests in theater. The students are encouraged to show up on days they're not rehearsing and help build sets, sew costumes, organize props, or even go out and solicit advertisements for the playbill or donations from the program. If they decide they'd rather play in the pit or do makeup on show nights, we let them. I had one student that wanted nothing more than to help organize the box office. He wound up creating a new ticketing system that the school is still using for large events.

Are there times where there is a clear difference in skill onstage? Yes. Does that mean that, in a district encouraging students to explore the arts through the production of live theater, that students who are struggling to keep up in ensemble numbers should be cut or not cast at all? That's up for the program to decide. And a smart director will know how to cast a show to best showcase the students involved.

I prefer everyone who wants to be in the show to actually be in the show. The caveat is actually showing they want to be in it. Miss too many practices and I have no problem reassigning solos or featured roles to students who actually show up and put the work in.