<p>This is completely not related to college MT- but ...
MTV is filming a "reality" show about a performing arts schools /kids at my D's school. Last night she and a friend were being filmed in a 'unreality' segment and they were running very late. So I was waiting to pick her up and the crew decided it would be good to have a real mother drive in and pick the kids up. So I got to drive up and pick up the 2 girls and drive out of the parking lot with them. A very large part of me (which is most of me, hence the hoping it goes) hopes it ends up on the editing room floor, but it was funny. I even got to speak - i think I said " hi sweets" which is what I frequently call D.
Who knows if it will make it on. It could be my big break!</p>
<p>Ha ha…don’t let the kids have ALL the fun…might as well join in on the action! :D</p>
<p>I hope you thought about your motivation and stayed in character when you said it!</p>
<p>How fun, really. I love stuff like that, and I am a reality tv junky. And I know how bad that is when I have a kid that is an actor.</p>
<p>That is so funny and exciting! Maybe you will “be discovered!” You could be the driving around MOM, something I could relate to.</p>
<p>And sadly enough, I, too, am a reality TV junky.</p>
<p>Hope you’ll post here when you know when the show will air!! I heard about a documentary on a performing arts high school (already in the can for over a year, I believe) where they filmed a student having breakfast in his family’s kitchen…not sure how much of mom and dad it showed! </p>
<p>I believe that one was supposed to air on PBS, but so far as I know it hasn’t yet.</p>
<p>I certainly don’t want to take away from your time in the sun (Very Cool!) but it made me want to share something too!!! After all these years of schleping my kids to lessons and practices, I finally decided to audition for some community theater myself. I am happy to say that I will be a member of the ensemble for Oliver, the milkmaid (Will YOU buy?) and I even get to die on stage. My D teases me and says that actors try all their lives to get to die on stage! LOL :)</p>
<p>Snoggie…good for you! I can relate though not about myself at ALL. But back when my girls were 11 and 13, they were both cast in Annie locally. My younger one was Annie and my older D was Pepper. It was at a community theater (adult production). My husband does not do theater, but they were looking for more male actors and he decided to audition because he felt he would never have another opportunity to be a show with both his daughters since he would never be cast at a theater at a level higher than this one. So, he auditioned and got in. Younger D was not that keen on Daddy being in the show and backstage and all but he had a great time doing it with them! </p>
<p>About dying on stage…the summer after my D graduated HS, she was in two musicals and she was killed in both of them…Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde and Ruthie Taylor in Bat Boy. It felt a little odd for me to see her die in two shows back to back.</p>
<p>In any case, congrats on your casting and good for you for doing this after all these years watching your D on stage…now it is yOUR turn. You would not get me up there, nor do I have talent, but I give you loads of credit.</p>
<p>This is a fun thread! Thanks for posting it.</p>
<p>Soozie, your post made me laugh. My son also died in a couple of his recent shows, but both times he was reborn (sort of), which made things a little easier. The first time, he played Riff in West Side Story, and was offed by Bernardo, of course – and then came back to dance in a dream ballet later on. The second time was really rough. He played Jesus in Godspell (a fairly contemporary staging at Stagedoor Manor), and was crucified by electrocution while wailing “Oh God, I’m Dying”. REALLY tough to watch, needless to say. Thank goodness he came bounding back onstage during the reprise of Prepare Ye to lead the dancing and general mayhem that closed the show. </p>
<p>I must say I had a lot more fun watching him don Roger DeBris’ dress and wig in The Producers the next session!</p>
<p>Peri…LOL!</p>
<p>And my D was “raped” on stage as Anita in West Side Story and “had sex” as a prositute in Only Children and as Lucy in Jekyl and Hyde. The thing about acting is…you can be anyone and do anything! Once she played a 110 year old woman in Barnum, ha ha. </p>
<p>Back to “keepingcalm”…she got to play…a mom. 
(it was “reality TV” after all!)</p>
<p>I know about the dying scenes. For my D it started with the original version of “The Little Mermaid” at age 12 and then in high school productions a very scary death falling backwards off the set as Hunyack in Chicago, and her perceived to be dead as JoJo in Seussical. The one that brought the most tears for me was her death as Eponine. </p>
<p>I only once was on stage in one of my daughter’s shows. I was a “fair-goer” parent in Charlotte’s Web in one of those scenes where every 4- 6 year old has a line. It was more about child wrangling than being in the show and not my idea of a good time since I wasn’t in any scenes with my daughter. I’ve always been the costume lady and that’s a role I’m comfortable in. </p>
<p>I have agreed to be the house manager for my D’s former high school’s production of West Side Story next weekend. Can’t stay away too long!</p>
<p>It’s fun to hear about others getting caught up in the show. The reality show D’s school is part of is called Taking the Stage. It is currently running on MTV - they are on episode 5 of 10 I think. It runs new episodes on Thursdays at 10 EST if anyone is interested. D has not been on much thus far which is OK with her.</p>
<p>As for parents getting in the show. My Husband who a million years ago was a drama major but then dropped out, started back into theatre after D had done some shows. There are actually quite a few parts for 50+ men who can sing. H seems to specialize in the 'white opressor roles" which we find funny since we are a mixed race family and D is cery much AA. But he has been Carl Linder in both Raisen MT and Raisen in the Sun, the plantation owner in Purlie, Grandfather in Ragtime, Old Soldier and judge in Parade, and currently is Bob Ewell in To Kill a Mocking bird. D’s first death scene was at her father’s hand when she was done a section of some show about the Atlantic crossing of slaves. D was a slave, H ship captain. As a family we have explored race in many ways through theatre.</p>
<p>I <em>finally</em> had the chance to watch this show (Taking the Stage). It was fun, but I have to say I was a little disappointed that they concentrated so much on hiphop dance and didn’t really delve much at all into what the kids training for ballet or as actors or even singers (other than pop) were doing.</p>
<p>It seemed to me more of a show about teen relationships that just happened to be occurring at an arts school than a reality show about teen artists, though I found I especially enjoyed the storyline about Mia and her efforts to be signed by a record company.</p>
<p>Ditto MMR, I thought the same thing about the show. However, I think their audience were teenagers who also watch “The Hills” and such. It would be really nice to watch real life theater and dance training. And I noticed the show always had a talent competition of some sort every week. Not real life. Def a staged event.</p>
<p>mom at home, you are undoubtedly correct. I am told that the producers initially contacted the administrators at the performing arts school that my older D graduated from (she is now at NYU-Tisch) with the proposal and were turned down when they made it clear what the parameters of the show were; namely, that they would concentrate on four or five “characters/stars” and not on the programs themselves. A lot of the kids were disappointed (they think it’s a cool thing to be on MTV!) but now that I have seen the series, I think they made the right decision. Not saying it wasn’t done well or tastefully, because I think it was. But as you say above, it didn’t really show kids involved in high level theater or dance or music training; it was more about individual drama, especially romantic. But I did enjoy it!</p>
<p>Oh! I watched the part of the first episode of “Taking the Stage” thinking it was going to be a reality show more about the programs at the school. I had to turn it off when it got to the point where I wasn’t sure if it was scripted or not. XD</p>
<p>It had to be at least partially scripted, or otherwise, how could they know that the girl they chose to focus on for dance (Jasmine) would end up romantically involved with Tyler (new boy, supposedly) and so on?</p>
<p>taking the stage is VERY scripted. my D’s best friend just graduated from SCPA and is in most of the episodes. several of the “couples” aren’t couples in real life. in the scene where they had the dance competition and mia and the blond haired guy danced together, the dance crew that got 3rd place was actually the choreographers for that show and the dance competition wasn’t real. apparently it is common in reality tv to set up real life senarios that are fictitious.</p>
<p>Not sure what made me read this thread but… there’s a RAPE scene in “West Side Story”??</p>
<p>Shrinkrap, in West Side Story, when Anita goes to Doc’s place to relay a message from Maria to Tony, the Jets taunt her and then they throw her down on a table or floor and carry one of the Jets in a prone position over Anita and put him on top of her…suggestive of unwanted sexual contact (rape). At least that was the scene my kid played when she was Anita.</p>