Post Gazette: "It's high school musical season again. Although some shows at high schools across the region already have begun, most are scheduled in March and April.
Below is a list of shows in chronological order, as well as three awards shows where most of these musicals will be considered."
9 comments:
Looking at this list reminded me a lot of my high school. There is a general lack of anything really interesting on the list. I counted 7 productions of Grease, 5 of Bye Bye Birdie, etc. I realize that in high school, those are safe sort of musicals, since at that level it's more for fun/activity. That's definitely alright, but for people considering continuing education in the field, it's not the best start, as some challenge might be helpful. Plus I feel there's a temptation to re-create the movie versions. Also, I am surprised at the proximity of these shows as far as being able to get rights for them, especially for Grease.
Two comments to this one:
The shows are certainly standard-fare for high schools, but there are a few standouts. "No No Nanette", "The Smell of the Greasepaint" and "Starmites" are CERTAINLY not typical of high school shows. I would expect that arts high schools might do some of these types of shows, but they're doing newer work - "Blood Brothers", for example. Interesting...
My second thought is about awards programs for high school shows. I grew up in two areas that did not hold inter-school awards competitions for theatre, and so this concept is somewhat surprising for me. I can appreciate the effort to create a unified theatre community and to get students to go see shows at other schools, but are these judged by students? Teachers, local theatre professionals? I don't understand the structure of these award programs, so I was wondering.
I was from a region which held awards for musicals, so I know a little bit about the process - at least where i lived. The Houston area holds the Tommy Tune Awards every year, which give awards to high school musicals in 15 different categories. A panel of judges chooses the winners, with 3 judges at least going to see the show and the rest watching a recording. They judge not only on which show is the best but also how good the show was on its available resources. This results in sometimes questionable awards as a school with a very non existent program might win an award for doing the best they could, even if it didn't look that great. The awards are pretty political where i live, as anywhere i'd guess. I like to see these awards shows encourage theatre among schools. I think it helps to encourage developing arts programs in high schools.
I too was a little shocked by the award idea. I think high school theater, more so then other genres of theater, is often plagued by the spread of the caliber of the shows. What I mean by this is that some high schools have good shows and others don't, some years are better than others, and some have non-existing or very limited programs and resources. This creates a situation where the term high school theater often carries a sort of fear with it that the show the audience is about to see might be very good, or very bad.
Therefore, I am a big fan of the idea of awards. I think it helps people looking for cheap theater to be able to pick and choose which productions to see based on the award history of the school. If it really worked that way, my goal would to produce a fantastic show in the hopes of winning enough awards to get people to see what amazing potential my school has and come next year.
Reading Mary's comment though, I would hope resources aren't taken into account. I was in a very bad space in high school but good directing, good music direction, an overall fantastic production team, and good use of limited lights and set created some of the best shows in our area. I saw productions with many more lights, more elaborate sets, zfx flying gear, and all sorts of things, and I can say without bias that my school put on a superior show. It isn't about the cards you are dealt, it is about making the most with them.
The students of the U.S. (maybe not limited to, but western countries) are endowed with these lots of beautiful art pieces. They are educated among selections of musicals and plays, through which they learn the wisdom of the elder generations and potentiality of imagination.
I have not seen any high school production, although I know, even at high school level, they may have well-equipped theatre which allows to have a certain quality of production. What makes me interested is how musicals can be completed with the students' artistry under more limited resource.
Overall, I feel this article is really exciting. Seeing the expansive and wide range of theater that is being performed at the high school level is a really exciting prospect for the future. If this is the theater that is being produced at this level, it can only be a good sign of theater to come. I also would like to note that the fact that this article highlights high school theater in the area. I only wish that the paper in my hometown would have highlighted the theater that was done at my high school. It would have drawn a much larger crowd and would have allowed people to enjoy the hard work that we put into the production.
I also went to high school in the area that The Tommy Tune Awards was held, as well as a One-act play competition each spring in which plays are judged against other high schools at advancing levels. I personally enjoyed the competitive spirit of this sort of theater as it gave high schools something to work toward aside from selling tickets. It also was a great way to see appreciation for fine arts in a high school setting.
When I look at this list, I really feel sorry for the citizens of these school districts who are repeatedly subjected to the same musicals year after year after year. I wish high schools could vary their selection of shows a bit so that there is a wider variety of shows to see around town. Also, I don't think that students at these schools are learning much about what great plays and musicals theatre has to offer if they are constantly working on the same popular, overplayed shows. That's not to say that I don't like any of the shows listed, but as a student, or and audience member, I think it would be far more beneficial to find shows that are not as commonly performed.
I went to an award ceremony for area high school musicals my senior year, and I was dumbfounded by the amount of awards that went to adults. "Best Scenic Design goes to--Susie Jones's mother!" It's kind of ridiculous. I'm sure some competitions/award ceremonies are more legitimate than others, but in my own personal experience, some award shows act like they're promoting creativity and leadership among the children but ultimately are sponsoring a night of listening to acceptance speeches from delusional parents of high school kids and high school faculty.
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