High School Theatre - What's appropriate and what isnt't?

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:27am

I go to a private school, and every year there is a struggle to find a show that is "appropriate" for us to do. I want to see what people (other than the head of school) think. What constitutes as appropriate for a high school production?

[all that jazz]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:51am

Well, as president of my school's (private as well) drama club I can tell you from my experience people will nearly always find something "inappropriate" in a show, unless you're doing Disney. It also depends on your school, is it conservative? Is it a little more liberal? Over the years we have covered pretty much the whole Disney Princesses catalogue, Grease, Hairspray, Bible stories, we almost presented Cabaret and Cats, but most of our shows are revues. Our last big controversy was a number I choreographed from Burlesque which had the more conservative teachers, including the drama teacher, raging. The administration still keeps a close eye on us, but we manage to get away with most things.

I don't think high school productions should be censored, I believe in creative freedom and I'm always looking for opportunities to showcase it. Of course, this attitude has gotten me into a LOT of trouble, but I'm wiling to take risks for my art.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 7:12am

My daughters went to a "Arts" HS several years ago and one of the big events of the school year was the spring musical at the Bluementhal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte NC. Over the years I remember the school doing shows like "42nd Street",
"Pippin", Hello Dolly", "Ragtime", "Les Miserables", Crazy For You" and "West Side Story". BTW - this school was the first HS to perform "Color Purple" with Oprah Winfrey's permission.

IMO - Public schools have to be careful and should be censored. If you want artistic freedom, then wait until college or professional productions. Seriously, HS should not do shows like "Spring Awakening" for example due to language and sexual content.





Updated On: 4/14/13 at 07:12 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 7:25am

Well they have high school versions of shows like Spring Awakening, Rent, Avenue Q, etc.

But I agree with you Yankee that they really shouldn't be done. Not because high school students can't handle the thematic material, but because there are so many great shows that can be done without any edits why settle for an abridged or censored version of a show?

If Legally Blonde can cause a ruckus, I can't imagine what Spring Awakening would reap.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 7:34am

Tazber- I agree, so many good shows that can be done in HS without being censored. Heck, I remember when the tour of "Spring Awakening" played in Charlotte, they had warning labels over everything about the language and content of the show. I will also point out that old time musicals (exp. Guys and Dolls) are perfect for HS show because of content and they are cheapier to get the rights to perform them.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 8:16am

It really does depend on your community.

There are things I would never consider (Spring Awakening, Ave Q) and other things I think are worth fighting for.

I agree that if you can't do a show without editing it, then don't do the show. I've done a number of shows that have raised eyebrows within my community, but have always had the support of my admin and parents. (Well, the vast majority of the parents.)

There is no blanket statement that covers every school/every community.

(But if I ever direct Guys and Dolls again, I'm likely going to retire.)

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:10am

I'd say stick to the classics like Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, Hello, Dolly!, etc. No one will bother you about those, and since they're a zillion times better than any of the more recent stuff, you'll be treating your audiences to a better time, too.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:13am

And only producing the classics doesn't teach them anything.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:20am

"I agree that if you can't do a show without editing it, then don't do the show. I've done a number of shows that have raised eyebrows within my community, but have always had the support of my admin and parents. (Well, the vast majority of the parents.)"

Just curious. What were the shows that raised the eyebrows within your community?

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:23am

^

How so? I would think it would teach them more than anything else.

I mean, wouldn't having young people read Madame Bovary be more educational and enriching than having them read something like Game of Thrones?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:27am

Sweeney Todd, August: Osage County to name a few.


Let me rephrase that, After Eight, only doing the classics doesn't teach them enough. And audiences are waning for the classics.

[Kad]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 9:54am

I went to a performing arts high school as well. While I was there we did Hello Dolly, Me and My Girl, The Crucible, The Runner Stumbles, Twelfth Night, The Civil War, Metamorphoses, and more- pretty diverse and relatively mature without being inappropriate.

Since I left they have done Streetcar and Sweeney. Not appropriate, in my opinion, for many reasons- content being one of them. The situations are just so out of a high schooler's depth, and what the roles demand just aren't present in young actors.

[theatergeek3]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 10:14am

Like Tazber said, MTI makes School Editions. In the School Editions collection they have: Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Avenue Q, Rent, Aida & Ragtime. Then there's also MTI's Broadway Jr. which has many shows! Here is a full list:
http://www.broadwayjr.com/
R&H also makes their own collection called Getting to Know which has Once Upon a Mattress, The King & I, Oklahoma!, Cinderella & State Fair but basically every R&H show is appropriate for HS so I don't know how helpful that would be. Samuel French makes a more kid-friendy version of Grease. And Bway Musical Home has a list of kid friendly shows.http://www.broadwaymusicalhome.com/shows/kid-friendly.htm And I know some licensing companies have ratings so you could look at that. Hope this is helpful!



Updated On: 4/14/13 at 10:14 AM

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 10:50am

"but basically every R&H show is appropriate for HS so I don't know how helpful that would be"

The Getting to Know You and Broadway Junior collections are not intended for high schools to be performing. They were created for middle school and younger where many of the edits are done to bring the show to a more manageable length for young performers (as well as their audiences).

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 10:52am

I actually saw the first high school production of SPRING AWAKENING and I thought it was great. Nothing was cut or censored from the original production (except the nudity, of course). I saw no problem with the material being performed in this setting and it was even a high school.
The Little Black Box That Could

[chinto1984]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:31pm

I disagree that only doing the classics won't teach them anything. It will teach them a lot. The students would actually have to act and sing. R&H, Lerner and Lowe, and Bernstein have some solid musicals. However, only do classics will not keep your students excited about the program and won't add variety.

I recently saw a high school do In the Heights. They kept the language in. The kids loved doing it. It was hip hop, got to dress cool, but I did feel the some of the content was a little mature. But this was at a public school, veteran teacher with an established program.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:34pm

I push teachers I music direct for to do a mix of classic and contemporary shows. If they just do modern shows, they're not learning the history of the form through performance. If they just do classic shows, they're not being prepared for where musical theater is now. One school around here did Idiot's Delight in the fall and Little Women in the spring. That was a great mix to show the range of theater.

[givesmevoice]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:40pm

I was just talking to a friend about a school district in her area doing Parade as their summer show and I was thinking that that seems like a great show to choose to stretch talents and abilities of performers without going too far. It's certainly a challenging show, but I don't think it's beyond the scope and talent of actors that age.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 12:57pm

Note: I already ammended my comment about that as my original statement was not fully what I intended. Yes, of course they can learn a great deal about theater and theater history -- however, by ONLY doing classic shows, they aren't learning the full scope of musical theater.

Just like I would not only do Neil Simon plays, or only do Shakespeare or only do any other type of show. I want my students to be well rounded and experience many different types of theater: contemporary, classic, experimental, comedies, dramas, melodramas....and just about anything else you can think of.

However, doing those shows don't equate learning how to sing and act. Performance and technique are two different things. They have to be taught those things regardless of the material.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 1:53pm

My school has even had trouble putting on Little Shop. We had to fight to keep in the handcuff references.

The Head of School trusts us to choose the show, but if a parent complains, all hell breaks loose. They freaked out over Wedding Singer. It makes me a little upset, because there are shows that aren't even THAT bad, but we still have trouble with them. We are doing Brighton Beach Memoirs, and I'm sure that someone will complain.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 1:58pm

Another problem that we have is (like many high schools), we have virtually no boys other than myself, and we have nobody who could even come close to playing a character who isn't Caucasian. The parents then get upset when we explain that our choices are limited.

It's all a big mess.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 2:05pm

Well, since most shows are pretty caucasion, that isn't really a big deal. (Sure, it does take some shows off your list...but not really all that many.)

Given what you just said, it does sound like you really do have to stick with the classics -- but without men, you are pretty well sunk. This, however, has nothing to do with 'appropriate'.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 2:09pm

I was just saying that it adds to the complications of finding a show to do. I've been trying to figure out a way to bring it up to the Head of School and ask if we do a show that isn't technically rated G, if he would actually support us. I was just interested in hearing other people's thoughts.

We just did Oliver, which ended up okay, but with me as Fagin and the only other boys as Oliver and Mr. Bumble, it was almost a disaster. I've been wanting to do Addams Family (when the rights come out), but people are already anticipating pushback from the community.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 2:18pm

Shows aren't 'rated'. And yes, doing a predominantly male show, when you have almost no males is a recipe for disaster.

I am lucky that my program attracts a good number of boys, so I have more freedom than many HS programs. Are these also student directed? Do you have no faculty member providing input? Or a parent that knows anything about theater?

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/14/13 at 2:22pm

Well we have the director who is also head of the arts, who chooses the shows, but he asks for our input and lets us help him decide.