Musical Theater Overload

College Majors Musical Theater Major
1

<p>As someone who does not have a theater/musical theater background, I thought I would poll the experts here: How much rehearsal time per week is TOO MUCH for a high school musical?</p>

<p>I'm asking this question as my 8th grader is in the midst of rehearsal for our public high school's annual musical (select middle school students are encouraged to participate). They began rehearsal on the show on January 2 and the show will open on March 27. For the first few weeks the rehearsal schedule wasn't too bad; 2 to 2 1/2 hours in the evening 3-4 days a week. By February they were rehearsing 2 1/2 to 3 hours 4 evenings a week and for 7 1/2 hours on Saturday. In mid-February they added Sunday afternoons to the rehearsal schedule and expanded Friday rehearsal to 6 1/2 hours. My 14 year-old is now in the middle of a stretch of 10 consecutive days of reheasal and is devoting more than 30 hours a week to the show.</p>

<p>Maybe my wife (who DID perform in musicals in HS & college) is old-fashioned, but she thinks this is a little over-the-top. Needless to say, so do I. Our 8th grader, who is interested in theater and film as a college major, is having a good time and her grades have not suffered yet, but we are concerned with burn-out. Other students, including one of the leads, are seeing their grades impacted (not in a positive way). Our other daughter, a senior, performed in the HS musical beginning in 7th grade. This year, because of the demands of the show, she chose not to try out and landed a lead role with our community theater instead. Four of her friends who had major parts in past productions also opted out.</p>

<p>So are we crazy in thinking the director of our HS musical is out-of-control, or is this sort of schedule normal these days? (Not that it matters, but it has been at least 5 years since any of the kids from our local HS went to college to major in MT).</p>

2

<p>That sounds like a little more than was done at our HS, from what I recall. Our HS musical would rehearse from 3-5 five days per week. Every few weeks, there was an all Saturday rehearsal. When it got to "hell week" or I guess you could call it "tech week", it did involve all day Saturday and Sunday and like 3-11 PM every night or something pretty crazy but it was just that one week that was like that. So, pretty much, rehearsals prior to hell week were every afternoon five days per week and some Saturdays. </p>

<p>I think the situation at your school would be reasonable IF they had not now added Sundays on top of the mid week rehearsals and the Saturday rehearsals and just went into overload hours the final week. I know our final week was insane and she was at school until 11 at night and all weekend but that was not the case during the weeks leading up to it. The schedule you mention would be tough as I know my kid had voice and ballet on Saturdays and if your show involves 30 hours/week throughout the few months, a kid could not be in any training or other stuff. So, yes, I think those hours are too much for the majority of the weeks but are kinda common in the final week or two leading up to a show. </p>

<p>(for those who enter BFA programs, please know that 30 hours per week of rehearsal may be the norm though!!....but it isn't high school.....just saying the schedule in a BFA program is intense....my kid goes to school all day, all night and all weekend pretty much as she is in shows and a BFA)</p>

3

<p>That is a little excessive. My high school usually rehearses 4 1/2 days a week (usually shortened rehearsals on friday) from 2:30-5 or 6. Of course, a few weeks before opening night they'll start pulling out Saturday rehearsals and might keep us until 8. We usually start the spring musicals after 1st semester ends, so the last week in January is usually the first week of rehearsals and the shows usually go up around March 22nd. This year for our fall play Noises Off, which requires (although a straight play) fast-paced precisely choreographed blocking, we rehearsed every day after school from 2:30 to about 6:30 and when the last couple weeks fell around we extended that to 7:30 and added Saturday rehearsals. One ended up being a 13 hour long rehearsal... that sucked</p>

4

<p>Thanks soozievt. For the record, the director expects that things like voice, ballet and piano lessons will be scheduled around the play, between 3 and 6 pm. (She doesn't say anything about homework, however)</p>

5

<p>Sounds a bit excessive to me :) and can easily be attributed to someone who calls him/herself an experienced Director, but really does not have his/her act together, panics and adds rehearsals without consideration for people's lives and other commitments. This may be a good time to evaluate options going forward, which is what happened to my D, who subsequently chose to do (better organized) shows outside of school instead, and yet remain involved with "less tedious" activities such as school choir.</p>

6

<p>I went to a Catholic high school and we always had ridiculously long rehearsals. For the first month or so it would be on an as needed basis, so basically the leads were the only ones that had to be there. But after that it was everyone from right after school until 10-11 at night at least 3 to 4 times a week. Our shows used kids from the elementary school, yes ELEMENTARY, and these kids would be there often just as late as us, which was ridiculous. Unfortunately often the rehearsals would consist of people sitting around doing nothing until we got to our scene...I'm sure this happens all too often. My high school was the reason why I became disillusioned with theatre until I participated in it at my first college.</p>

7

<p>Yes, I think this schedule is excessive! It sounds like your director is either a bit obsessive or perhaps not very organized. I am vocal director for a local HS, and we rehearse only 4 days a week, 3 - 6 pm, until the last few weeks before the show. We have only 1 all-day Saturday rehearsal, and never anything on Sundays. Of course, hell week we're there quite late! I frequently attend other HS productions, and in comparison our production values are very high. I should add that every year at least a few of our graduates go on to excellent MT or music programs.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I think this is a problem with many HS activities, including sports. The teachers/advisors lose sight of the fact that students have other things in their lives -- like homework, private lessons, family responsibilities, etc. Sometimes more direct parental involvement can help: if you know of other parents who are concerned about the out-of-control schedule, perhaps you could go as a group to the director and express your feelings.</p>

<p>If this doesn't work, it might be worth your while to look at other options for performing: summer stock or camps, community or church theater, etc. Obviously your older D has found this to be a good alternative. </p>

<p>I have seen too many kids burn out and even get sick as a result of this kind of pressure. Luckily your D is still having a good time.</p>

8

<p>HudsonValley...since your D's show goes up in two weeks, it may be hard to effect any change at this point because even in schools that don't have as excessive of a rehearsal schedule, the final week or ten days is intense and so you won't be able to change that. </p>

<p>BUT...since your D is only in 8th grade and she is interested in continuing in this field at school the next four years.....do many other families feel as you do (and many of us here concur)? If so, I think you can go as a group or call or write as a group to the drama director and copy to the head of the department or principal about your concerns. You may wish to poll other schools to find out their rehearsal schedules and what is deemed the norm or reasonable. By doing that at the close of this show, there may be able to be discussions that may affect next year's schedule. There is strength in numbers and I think you have legitimate concerns. I would advise that you may wish to try that when this show ends since it is kinda too late now for this show given it is getting close to the production date and an insane schedule is kinda the norm close to production (but not for how long it has been for your D's show until now).</p>

9

<p>Sounds excessive to me. Keep in mind that this is a high school environment where there is supposed to be due regard for other educational priorities. At my daughter's high school, rehearsals were scheduled 5 days a week, commencing at 3:00 and usually going about 3-3 1/2 hours. That left evenings for homework and other things like voice or dance. Moreover, for the 1st month or so, the rehearsals were divided into different scenes, specific song or dance numbers, so that the entire cast didn't have to be at every rehearsal - only those needed for what was being worked on. About a month before opening, some long Saturday rehearsals were thrown in or there was an occasional weekday rehearsal going later into the night, particularly to permit running through the entire show, breaking out into scene work and then maybe running through the 1 of the acts again. 2 weeks before opening, things would get more intense and then the weekend before opening and the school week leading up to opening, every waking hour outside of classes was devoted to the show. I'd say on average my daughter spent about 15 hours a week in a typical rehearsal, 20 - 25 hours a week a few weeks away from opening and 30 hours or better a week about 10 days before opening.</p>

<p>What I would also be concerned about, given what you are describing, is whether the director and other faculty members are acting with due sensitivity to student health, particularly vocal health for singers and overuse issues for dancers. Pushing as hard as they seem to be can take a toll on young, relatively untrained performers and you want to avoid injuries, particularly those that can take some time to resolve or that can have long term effects.</p>

10

<p>It takes a really organized director to be able to break things down so everyone is not sitting around while others rehearse - sounds like this director is not that organized. The director at my D's high school is not very organized either and he doesn't get the help that is necessary to do it. For that reason, she didn't even audition for any senior shows. Good directors who are not control freaks and can delegate well can use parents to help work with groups. Efficiency is very important for a director of school plays but not necessarily common for many directors.</p>

11

<p>Is the director shooting to win one of the statewide theater awards? Sometimes the ego takes over & rational thought and action go out the window.</p>

<p>At D's all girl Catholic h.s., the directors were out of control last year. Many a school night we pulled into the driveway after midnight. They were replaced & for this year's musical the schedule/atmosphere is much improved. Unfortunately, many of the reliable boys who auditioned from other schools in the past could not be convinced that the debacle of last year would not be repeated.</p>

12

<p>Yes it definately sounds excessive. When my S was in HS they rehearsed from about 3 to 6 sometimes untill 7-5 days a week. Of course tech week was a little more involved. Saturdays were reserved for work days on sets, costumes and props. Our school district (or it could be the state) doesn't allow any work, rehearsals or performances on Sundays. When my S was in HS they did 3 musicals a year plus 7 to 8 straight plays, plus a One Act festival, ect. and they went to state and nationals 2 of the 4 years my S was there, so you don't have to rehearse to death to have a successfull department. I would agree that it may be a disorganized or ineffectual director to call so many long rehearsals. When my S started this whole business, I told him instead of horsing around when he wasn't required to be on stage, go do a little homework. And I told him those times when a teacher would finish up a little early instead of visiting pull out your math and do a few problems, it was one of the few pieces of advice he took from me and rarely got behind on his classwork.</p>

13

<p>Just to pipe in, this sounds excessive to me also. My D's school does a fall musical. They cast the musical the second week in September and run the show the week before Thanksgiving. The school is a 4 -12 and every other year the musical must have featured and ensemble parts for students in grade 5-7 (4th graders are not allowed to audition in the first semester.) Rehearsals are scheduled from 4:15 - 6:30 week days. The first week is usually full cast read throws and vocals, after that only a very few students will rehearse more than 3 days a week until they get to running full acts. During tech week everyone has to be out of the building by 10 pm, and students under grade 7 have to be out by 8 pm.</p>

<p>Even at this rate my D finds there is a lot of wasted time. I hope this is a new director who will learn to be better organized and use kids time more efficiently.</p>

14

<p>It certainly sounds excessive to me. The production I have just finished rehearsed 32 hours a week, right up to pre-production week, for four weeks. Weekends were completely free. This was with actors who had no commitments like school or homework, and children shouldn't be working as long as adults.<br>
I didn't notice in the original post whether all cast members were expected to be at every rehearsal - the director should have a good rehearsal schedule which minimises the amount of time people are sitting around doing nothing. I would also be concerned about whether students are receiving decent breaks - it's completely unproductive to carry on rehearsing hour after hour after hour.</p>

15

<p>That's /crazy/. IMHO, I think weekend rehearsals in general for high school shows are crazy. We have usually only about 10 hours a week scheduled for rehearsals for my school, which means less for the ensemble! It's great because except for hell week (this week... guess what I'm not doing right now! that's right, homework) we always have enough time for homework and other EC's, and some people even play a sport on top of the musical. And we do put on great shows, too- there are many theatre professionals in my area who always come to both the fall play and the musical and always have only good things to say about them.</p>

16

<p>What surprises me most about hudsonvalley's description is that it's been a nearly three month period of rehearsals. That is very long, in my experience.</p>

17

<p>Good Lord! That's nuts! I'm straight theatre, but I don't think I've ever done a h/s, college, conservatory, or professional show that's ever had a rehearsal period over a month! Well ... I guess there was that community theatre production of "South Pacific" I was in in tenth grade (my first) that rehearsed for about six weeks. That, however, was because most of the people in it were adult amateurs who had jobs and families and the rehearsals generally went from around six through nine on weeknights, all day on Saturdays, and half-days on Sundays with it ramped up just a little during tech week. Are free pre-professional acting, voice & speech, movement, music, and dance lessons included in all this? Does the director at least think they are? Seems like the local h/s adminstrators would step in here ...</p>

18

<p>8th grade? Holy ****.</p>

<p>That's crazy time.</p>

19

<p>While I agree the rehearsal commitment is excessive (see earlier comments I posted) as well as the total number of weeks involved.....
I don't agree with Tom<3avenueq about the OP's D being in 8th grade. The OP explained that this was the HIGH SCHOOL production and that some select 8th graders were chosen in the HS cast. If you are in a high school cast, you do the high school thing and it is not gonna be like what is expected of MS. (AGAIN, LET ME REPEAT THAT I THINK THIS SCHEDULE FOR THIS SCHOOL WAS OVER THE TOP FOR ANY GRADE) But Tom, it really isn't about her being in 8th grade. It wasn't set up for 8th grade. If you are doing something advanced, then you are in with the group above you, you have to do what is expected of the group above you which might not be typically expected of your age group (in this case, a middle school production). This was not the middle school production. </p>

<p>When my D was in middle school, which here is grades 7 and 8, a MS student could audition for the HS productions, even though the middle school put on their own musicals. My D did not do the middle school productions. She was the lead in two dramas in the HS but at age 12 and 13 and was in one supporting role in a musical and one lead in a musical, again at ages 12 and 13 in the HIGH school production. While it was uncommon for middle school kids to be in the HS shows, if you were cast, as she was, then you have to rise to the level expected of the high schoolers. </p>

<p>Again, I am not for the situation at the OP's D's school. But I don't think this has anything to do with her being in 8th grade. She chose to be in the HS production. However, the schedule is not reasonable or typical even for high schoolers.</p>

20

<p>Thanks to all of you for your reaction and suggestions. I am relieved to hear that what we have been experiencing is not the norm for American high school musical theater productions. As soozievt has observed, there is little that can be done about this situation this year, but I do hope that some guidelines can be established by school administrators before next year’s production. </p>

<p>Let me clarify a few points raised by posters, and provide a little more context about the situation at our school. First of all, the HS musical at my D’s school is somewhat unique in that it evolved from a summer theater program that included both adults and school-age actors. The current director, who once appeared on Broadway, started the summer program. About 12 years ago, after she acquired a teaching certificate, the school district hired her as a music teacher with primary responsibilities for the annual “HS” musical.
Although a high school show, adults are still heavily involved. Sometimes adults may appear in the cast, but their main functions are behind the scenes. Adults (primarily parents of cast members) design and fabricate the sets, design posters and signs, handle ticket sales, serve as ushers, stage managers and make-up artists. I found this a little strange at first, too, as most of these jobs were done by non-performing students at my high school. Then again, my HS was much larger. Our director is hesitant to use students because her standards are high and our school’s musical has a reputation in the region for near-professional quality. </p>

<p>So, the director in this case is not inexperienced. She is apparently disorganized, however, as several posters suggested. My wife, who looked this thread over last night, was impressed with how perceptive the CC posters were in this regard. She also got a laugh out of the poster who asked, “Is the director shooting to win one of the statewide theater awards?” The answer is no, although she apparently enters the production in some sort of competition which has resulted in nearly annual invitations to perform at a festival in Scotland. Our school never actually goes, of course, but the director does appreciate the invitation.</p>

<p>How to address the issue of rehearsal schedules has always been tricky. First of all many parents, particularly those who volunteer hundreds of hours to build sets, etc., don’t see anything wrong with the schedule. Secondly, many students and parents fear that if they complain the student will face retribution from the director (i.e. losing a lead role or a speaking part). Added to this there was historically no incentive for school administrators to step in as the director’s husband was a member of the school board for many years and the wife of the current superintendent is the accompanist during rehearsals. </p>

<p>So we shall see where this goes. Again, thanks to all who responded and best of luck with your Spring productions and college searches.</p>