They Killed it- Page 2

[kangaroo]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 8:07pm

I know hate Annie Get Your Gun... and I can't listen to "There's no business like show business"

I think that my school has SOME talented singers, but my director I think was unfair about it. For example, my one friend made it to all-states last year, and she didn't even have a lead role! She was told she was "too big" for the role. And the lead girl was this not good singer, but gets all this credit. She didn't even make it to districts. I think that the girl who made it to all-states deserves to get a lead, and she didn't.

Okay, hope that made sense. But yea, I think that the guys at our school are not so great. there is one good bass, and one decent tenor... but each year they dwindled.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 8:10pm

Sargar-Looks are important in High School in a sense...but if there is a slightly overweight girl who can out-sing and out-act a slightly skinny girl I believe the first should get the role.

[VIETgrlTerifa]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:19pm

At least you guys had schools that were willing to butcher shows. My high school didn't even know what Broadway was.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:21pm

Hmm well this isn't a musical in general, but the girls in my grade enjoy putting their own little "pop spins" on Broadway songs
It makes me want to hurt them

[Blonde]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:26pm

i'm pretty much fed up with the entire department. I've been looking into community theatre but a lot of shows say 18+, that or i'm just not looking hard enough. At my high school it's all about who the directors like and who looks right for the part. Or atleast that's what it seems like. And then a lot of the kids involved in it aren't very focused which really bothers me. I have a lot of things to work on but i'd rather be surrounded by people who love what they do, are talented, and I can learn something from to improve myself. Though I guess I can't always get what I want.

Updated On: 12/22/04 at 09:26 PM

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:30pm

My HS was like that--but there was only a few people who COULD sing soo.
My freshman year we did Sound of Music and they cast a Senior as Maria who looked the part but couldn't carry a tune in pick up truck...it was awful...and here I am in the chorus-It was a sad sad day for musical theatre.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:32pm

urgh I agree with you about the whole "they're not focused enough" thing. I can't tell you how many times I've wanted to just slap ppl because they think the school musical is all about hanging and chatting with your friends. What they don't realize is that there is actual WORK involved. Especially when you're a week before the show, and they forget the Winkie dance. ARRG

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:35pm

Blonde-Most community theatres have a children's theatre department that hires HS and Zcollege kids for the kid's shows.

I have been doing it for 4 years.

Aloso-Be prepared to work: This past summer I was in 9 shows in 10 weeks, rehearsals everyday.

The downside is they normally don't pay so you have your regular paying job on top of the acting.

BUT IT IS A BLAST!

[Blonde]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:39pm

thank you jacob! i will try to look more into that. Now the problem will be making enough time to balance school and shows, but I am definitely willing to make the effort.

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:44pm

Children's theatre is normally ONLY during the summer(when kids have the time to get their parents to spend money on seeing shows at dinky little theatres)

I highly recomend looking into it. There is a lot of Disney and other famous fairy tales(I was in a version of Shrek this summer that was lots of fun)

[Blonde]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:51pm

during the summer I was actually able to do some good shows in the community. Two musicals and a play. It's more during the year that I seem to be having trouble. Though would it be a better plan to just take the time during the summer?

[jacobtsf]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 9:57pm

For stuff during the school year I would look at non-profit theatre companies(especially those that donate all of the PROFIT to charity).

The reason I say PROFIT is because most non-profit pay their performers(not much...but enough)

One local non-profit has ties with Equity so I get to work and learn from Equity actors/directors/writers and I don't need an equity card.

[CaMi MiAmI]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 10:11pm

Well sometimes it's a good thing to type-cast high-school or community plays b/c this really good director took 22 boys and girls, some good and some bad, and made an awesome Into the Woods with them b/c he just knew what they could do and fit their personalities/talents. Also the Thespians in my school get together after school to put together Rent (of course we can't actually charge tickets to see it but we have fun following the script and performing for our friends) and some of them have gotten pretty damn good just being in such a good show.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 10:45pm

the director at my former high school was let go from doing musicals for playing blatant favorites, especially with one particularly shrill girl who 's lowest level of role was co-starring in the show her freshman year simply because she went to the weekend program at julliard (or claims to)- so this year after being allowed to butcher grace in annie and anna in the king and i, she gets to take a stab at the witch in into the woods. Sondheim and high school is always funny...and i get to take in a good deal of this trainwreck since i'm assisting the scenic designer

[Blonde]

Posted: 12/22/04 at 10:59pm

hmmm i will look into that. thanks so much for all the info!

[DancerGirl16]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 11:27am

You guys are lucky our school is a sad case of PPM

Public
Pathetic
Musicals

Very very depressing. I wnated to go to a performing arts school but my parents are against it and wouldn't even let me apply!

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 3:47pm

yeah I wanted to go this this performing arts school in Hartford, which is more than an hour away, so I'd have to board there, and my mom thinks I'm not ready to leave her..which no offense to her but I so am, so I can't go
but thats off-topic so nvm

[SuddenlyMara]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 3:55pm

My school did Once Upon a Matress last year and the SOLE reason that it was sucessful is because we had a competent director. If we had, say, the normal director doing it, OUM would have been shot down in flames.

This year we're doing Bye Bye Birdie (with yours truly as Rosie) and I have high hopes for what we can accomplish. It all comes down to who's running the thing, and I am seriously shocked that we have a person who knows her theatre in such a hick town.

[bwaymargie]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 4:31pm

I am part of a large school and we do fairly decent musicals (I think the best in our area) i mean, our director is VERY hardcore, but in the wrong kind of way (i was in the ensemble of West Side Story last year and had to come to several 3 hour rehearsals where we didnt do anything)our choreographer doesn't really choreograph (the gym dance was practically non existent) our music is really the strong point. last year we were blessed with a very talented Maria with a really trained classical voice (her parents are both music teachers) but the supporting cast was weak.
it irked me because a girl who sounded like an bird on crack got one of the three puerto rican friends, when I and several others knew we could do better. Unfortunately this was due to the little word called Senority, which i frankly (since i am a sophmore) would like to take and shove up someone's ass because i HATE IT. It quite frustrating when you've gotten better parts in comm. theatre (which is thriving in our town and pretty competitive) than you get in your own high school musical.

and don't get me started on the plays.... Updated On: 12/23/04 at 04:31 PM

[SuddenlyMara]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 4:33pm

Oh! I can't believe I forgot this, but my school did Streetcar last year, and the only person who DIDN'T suck was Blanche.

[Blonde]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 6:55pm

SENIORITY! gah. how could i forget about seniority? I mean should they have a better chance of getting good parts, yes but when that seems to be the only criteria I completely disagree with it...which is exactly what it seems to be.

[Schmack]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 7:18pm

Don't be fooled by what NameInLights is saying...I, as well, go to a peforming arts school and the kids that go there are pretty bad. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, it's really depressing. You would expect alot more.

Not as bad as the kid performers, but the adult designers are always lacking giving us quality sets to work with. You would think, being a major "performing arts school" we would have a budget and resources to maintain somewhat of a higher standard, but honestly, more of the public high school drama programs have surpassed us many times lately.

[Staci1818]

Posted: 12/23/04 at 8:25pm

Our set for Arsenic and Old Lace was excellent. The walls were stripped, and painted by hand. There were stairs, that led up to a platform that was two rooms. There was a door to "Panama" and a few other working doors. It was probably one of the better sets I had seen at the school in a while. Our director says he still needs to hire a coreographer for us. I think the dancing will be alright.

[SuddenlyMara]

Posted: 12/24/04 at 12:46am

*gasp* Arsenic and Old Lace! I haven't seen that in forever! Break a leg!

[personB]

Posted: 12/28/04 at 9:47pm

I know at another HS they once casted this girl who couldn't play the violin and was afraid of heights as the fiddler in fiddler on the roof.

augh...must get back to work. this is addicting.