An interesting perspective. » Who Is High School Theatre For? Howard Sherman
High School Who is high school theater for?
- Thread starterruinexplorer
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I'm surprised there's no replies to this yet. It should be for the students. However, the director in my theatre gets frustrated with the idea of strong "appropriate" classics repeated year after year. Our district is different than most. Our parents are so conservative that even minor language gets her many, complaints. That and no one really comes to watch shows until it has their kids in them or are shows they know. My opinion is that less and less people know theatrical shows. Movies and music have filled most area's popularity nowdays.
Les
Well-Known Member
Heck, my school did One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest in 2003. It should be all about tackling the difficult material. There should be lines drawn (anything more than, say, mild adult themes), but I think it is very important to take on emotional subjects. It's already everywhere - and I'm not just talking about real life scenarios. These themes can be found in assigned reading for many high school English classes.
Not only should high school theatre be about the art of performing a show; it should also be an extension of English class. It's a place to learn about the world. Even though attendance at the events drives the program, it should be about education for the students first. You can always do Peter Pan in the fall to pull you through the rest of the year since some of the more serious shows are often lighter on attendance. We always did three different types of shows. One for the young crowd (think Beauty and the Beast), one good play that a lot of people want to see (Clue, Noises Off!, etc), and one serious show for the artistic exploration.
Not only should high school theatre be about the art of performing a show; it should also be an extension of English class. It's a place to learn about the world. Even though attendance at the events drives the program, it should be about education for the students first. You can always do Peter Pan in the fall to pull you through the rest of the year since some of the more serious shows are often lighter on attendance. We always did three different types of shows. One for the young crowd (think Beauty and the Beast), one good play that a lot of people want to see (Clue, Noises Off!, etc), and one serious show for the artistic exploration.
I would have to say that I agree with the article. The main focus of High School theater HAS to be education. I don't think I will get much argument by stating that student actors have much more potential to grow as artists and and young adults by doing The Laramie Project that they will doing ANOTHER production of Wizard of Oz. My high school only did the same 8 or 9 'classic' musicals (one per year) for about 30 years under the direction of the choir director. We were never challenged with roles of any complexity, we learned nothing about character study, we were barely ever even aware of the sociological implications that were included, and very few of us were even aware that theater could ever be more that just fluff and entertainment. I would give anything to have had the chance to explore shows like this and give our community something to think about. If the theater department centered around students learning, then it shouldn't exist as a part of the high school. Audience attendance and revenue is a by-product of the experience, but not the end goal.
Les, and TheatreEd: I agree that there should be challenging work. But we have a problem with work ethics too. Students can't seem to commit to learning lines. Parents can't seem to refrain from pulling them from rehearsal for their own needs. It's tragic. Plus, the community had been soured by previous directors.
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