Tuesday, December 15, 2009

High School Musicals

Author:
I wasn't on the School Board when the "play policy" controversy erupted. I wish I had been. Since that time Loudoun's principals and drama directors have stayed far, far away from anything potentially controversial. It's all "Seussical," Rogers & Hammerstein and Shakespeare now (not that the latter two don't contain their share of sex, drugs and violence).

So I guess I'll have to settle for high school theater that actually speaks to the modern lives of our students in other communities:

Peter Atlas always thought Concord-Carlisle Regional High School was open to diversity, but when he put out his casting call for the musical “Falsettos’’ he had doubts about the turnout.

How many teenagers would audition for a show about two homosexual couples, a straight couple, and a 12-year-old boy?

Dozens, he learned. When it came time to cast the seven-member ensemble, Atlas had his pick from among around 50 candidates from across the student body.

[Boston Globe]
[The Stranger]
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12 comments:

  1. There is a place for controversy when it comes to theater but not on the high school stage. The children who are in these productions have siblings that may not be ready for such information and of course would want to see their siblings perform. As a parent 2 drama students and a 11 year old, I want the productions to be appropriate for all audiences. What is wrong with classic productions? Why don't you stick to Loudoun County productions, ones that you can take your elementary school children to without having to explain the ways of the world to them. There is plenty of time for them to grow up and see the "real" world.
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  2. The interests of an 11 year old and a 17 year old are very different. The stage is where they can express themselves in an artistic form. If it isn't appropriate for younger audiences, then they can stay home with a sitter while high school ages and above enjoy the production.
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  3. There is nothing wrong with classic productions. I have produced many in my time as a high school teacher. But let me say that there IS a responsibility that any high school production has its stakeholders. The community memebers who live within the boundaries of the school are definitely part of those stakeholders.

    However, a high school production has to serve first its primary stakeholders--namely the high school students, then the faculty and staff, next the families, and then larger community (in that order). Catapulting the artistic exposure of pre-teen siblings is not something we should want individual high school productions to dictate. Do that from the privacy of your own home. You like whats on sale in Loudoun Coutny high schools--buy it! If you want something more assurdedly family friendly--go to a middle school production and buy it! High school students ought to work within, and at the cutting edge of, their own range and experiences. They should not have to dumb-down thier artistic expression and exposure. They live it in school, they read about it in History and English classes, they know students who are going through it.

    It's unthinkable to ask someone who is 18 and bears the responsibilty to drive a vehicle, to vote, to go and die for thier country, or to leave home if they feel like it to be forced to play some sanitzed character for a younger sibling. My son has been seeing high school plays since he was 6 years old, not all of them, but most of them. He is an exceptional young man and no worse for wear. We can no more ask a high schooler to perform to middle school content, than we can ask a middle schooler to perform high school content. That's just not where they are intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, or cognitively. When our children are young, they are young...treat them that way. When our children grow up, they grow up...and treat them that way. I feel strongly that "junior" does not need to be at the side of an older sibling every step of the way in life. God forbid! Discretion--employ it as a parent, wield control over your own progeny (they need it), and stop complaining the EVERY kid can't to EVERY thing that they want to. That's the "real" world!
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  4. Considering these Pre-teen siblings are interested in watching their older siblings and the programs are being advertised to the community as a whole then the shows SHOULD cater to the larger audience which includes all ages. These are high school productions that should be fun and entertaining. Having some weird social message is just not appropriate or necessary. I go to these programs to be entertained by the talented young people we have at the school- not to listen to some sort of message that some author wants to send out to adults. I should not have to question whether a show is "appropriate" for a young child.
    What they do in a classroom is fine-that is where they can express the different types of work. When you are presenting to a community- namely the commuity where students live then you should be appealing to the general audience. I should not have to worry about an "R" rating at a high school production.
    And my family enjoys supporting each other in their endeavors- guess we are in the minority because my youngest child would be sad if she had to miss her sisters perform becuase of a message she is not ready to hear. But then again, I doubt that my older ones would want to do a show that is not appropriate for their friends or family to watch. And in my experience the students have NOT been the ones deciding on which production is chosen, it is the teacher. I know my child would have rather had some different choices but didn't have that opportunity. And just because you are 18 does NOT mean you have the maturity to do the things you are allowed to by law, not to mention that only a handful of kids in these productions are 18 year olds. It is ok to have differnt opinions about these productions, but it is the principal and teacher who really have to answer to the parents.
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  5. Sorry. Too many spelling errors in the first posting!

    There is nothing wrong with classic productions. I have produced many in my time as a high school teacher. But let me say that there IS a responsibility that any high school production has to its stakeholders. The community members who live within the boundaries of the school are definitely part of those stakeholders.

    However, a high school production has to serve first its primary stakeholders--namely the high school students, then the faculty and staff, next the families, and then larger community (in that order). Catapulting the artistic exposure of pre-teen siblings ahead of what the producers, directors, and actors of a high school production want does not follow any logic. Dictate artistic exposure as a private decision from within your own home. If you like what's on sale from Loudoun County high schools--buy it! If you want something more assurdedly family friendly--go to a middle school production and buy it! High school students ought to work within, and be at the cutting edge of their own relative range of experiences. They should not have to dumb-down their artistic expression and exposure. They live it in school, they read about it in History and English classes, they know students who are going through it.

    It's unthinkable to ask someone who is 18 and bears the responsibilty to drive a vehicle, to vote, to go and die for their country, or to leave home if they feel like it, to be forced to play some sanitzed character for the benefit of a younger sibling. My son has been seeing high school plays since he was 6 years old, not all of them, but most of them. He is an exceptional young man and no worse for wear. The experience has actually elicted many great conversations and gives him a maturity and perspective beyond his years. We can no more ask a high schooler to perform middle school content, than we can ask a middle schooler to perform high school content. That's just not where they respectively are intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, or cognitively. When our children are young, they are young...treat them that way. When our children grow up, they grow up...and treat them that way. I feel strongly that "junior" does not need to be at the side of an older sibling every step of the way in life. God forbid! Discretion--employ it as a parent, wield control over your own progeny as an adult (they need it), and stop complaining that EVERY kid can't do EVERY thing that they want to. That's the "real" world!
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  6. The entire reason an author, musician, or artist creates a work is carry a message--a message of their times, of the state of their civilization, of the conditions of their lives!

    I agree about R rated productions...but even in a PG-13 the "F" word can be dropped once. What used to be R rated ten or fifteen years ago is now simply PG-13. We don't make these rules, but we have to live with them.

    Adults at a school make production decisions for the students of a department because they have been vetted through appropriate channels and interviews. Mr. Stevens' point may be that High School Musical, while entertaining for some, is just an obscene perversion by Disney to make more money for their conglomerate empire.

    Families support families, but when your daughter is performing in college or professionally will you take the younger siblings to the show? Or will you insist that the institution perform something appropriate for a younger audience? Hopefully, a well-balanced season has something for everyone, but not everything for everyone. That's just not realistic. And good luck finding a production that doesn't contain a message from the author.
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  7. Well, I'm old enough to know something about this so I'll put in my two cents. The original play that was performed at Stone Bridge and was at the center of the controversy involved a friend of our oldest son. It was the 2004-05 school year and our son and his friend were seniors. The topic - coming to terms with being a gay teen - was determined to be inappropriate by DICK BLACK and his supporters because it ended with an ALMOST kiss. Luckily, Dick Black is not controlling the agenda in the county anymore! After the uproar, the procedure for approving a script was changed and there are more administrators involved in the decision. It was and continues to be my opinion that the drama teacher/coach deserves as much support as a sports coach, debate coach, or any other staff member that challenges our older high school students as they prepare to use their gifts and talents in the next phase of their development.
    Plenty of actors do not allow their children to see the movies that they perform in.
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  8. Why is is necessary to push the sexual envelope to entertain?

    I realize that these subjects exist and people have a right to their opinions too. It just seems weird to me that the cornerstone of the entertainment experience must be edgy and sexual. What ever happened to "talent" to entertain?

    I suppose I shouldn't be surprised in a world where the "creation" of "art" in the music business doesn't involve the creation of something unique and new but instead just the repackaging of a single riff from 20 years ago played over-and-over to some gnarly lyrics. This, will win the awards these days. Talent is not required, only marketing and persona. Obviously, there are talented performers these days too, but talent is no longer a requirement.

    These edgy subjects don't belong in high school art, there's plenty of time for that, no rush. And, the edgy subjects, while factual, certainly don't represent the mainstream experience.

    The high school experience should be family friendly. Are we suggesting that Johnnie or Sally's grandparents couldn't go to a high school production and feel comfortable? I don't think that this should be the strict test of acceptability either but the point is simply that if we don't feel comfortable inviting younger siblings or older relatives to a high school production; maybe this production isn't such a great idea.

    What happened to our dignity? Did we throw it out with our shame?
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  9. So our homosexuality or straightness completely defines who we are as people? Really?

    And our ability or not to push this sort of content to our high school stages defines our tolerance and quality of our "modern lives"? Really?

    I would like to think that our young people define themselves so much more broadly and set their sights so much higher than to allow these societal edge-cases to hold them back or make them feel better (and higher and mightier) than their peers in other more "progressive" communities.

    A good salesman can sell anything; so can a good actor. They don't need hype or foul content or language to make it work. Maybe these more progressive communities just need better instruction?
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  10. Don't confuse something that can be considered edgy with something sexual. Edgy is not a vice, is it? Is it edgy to be more aware of civil rights, hate crimes, Japanese internment camps, gambling, revolutions, intolerance, the KKK, murder, abuse, love conquering all?

    You do make a great point about entertainment! "Entertainment" is the devoid performance of something by someone with a good marketer and marginal persona. But theater, at any level, and art are not about enterainment! Entertainment is something which is disposable, consumable, and as our blogger pointed out--not something where talent has to be a pre-requisite!

    However, you do say "there's plenty of time for that, no rush." Hello!?!? In high school there is a rush! An urgent rush to educate students properly and appropriately about MANY edgy topics. Theater producations are just another vehicle by which to do this much needed work just like History or English classes do. From the safety of the stage and audience, topics can be explored such as the Holocaust (Fiddler), people raising arms against their oppessors (Les Miserables), "forbidden" love (Romeo and Juliet), intolerance, bigotry, and otherness(Crucible), rape and revenge (Oklahoma)...the list goes on and on!

    High school students, in their teens developing cognitive awareness of the larger world around them, should be allowed to perform work which is a cross-section and an accurate representation of their social group. A school may be all about the students but it's the adults that make it a great place for students to be, to learn, and to explore. It is a colossal indignation to censor artistic expression and those who do should feel most shameful. Supressing an artistic voice, or a voice that is different than ours is unAmerican.

    "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." (Andrew Shepherd, The American President, 1995)

    Censorship has never succeeded...the truth has always prevailed and the oppressors alwasy fail to curtail the message which will ultimately disseminate anyway. High school theater doesn't have to be edgy...but it should be permitted to reflect the modern lives of our students in an unencumbered manner.
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  11. Edgy and thought-provoking material isn't a bad thing, agreed. There's also a big difference between making quality choices because you have the talent with which to perform them and censorship.

    I don't think anybody ever referred to censorship. That which is allowed should not be compulsory however.

    It seems at times we are objectionable and overly sexual simply for the sake of it.
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  12. Productions should always be chosen for the appropriateness to the personnel on hand, agreed.

    But these blogs ARE about censorship--"the act of prohibiting what someone feels to be is obejectionable".

    Teachers spend nearly more time with our children than we do. Trust them. We allow students, in the safety and supervision of their teachers and directors, to find, embrace, and perform the issues of their times.

    Having said that, theater departments count the number of butts in seats. If you don't like their offering, surely don't go! I guarantee they'll change the next season to suit the stakeholders. However, high schools should not have to be fearful about performing something that may be objectionable (the definition of censorship) to some as long as it serves as an extension of the curriculum.

    Anyone can find an angle to object to nearly anything. So let's give space, suport, respect, and trust to the students brave enough to step foot on the stages in the county.
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