<p>I'm writing this to see if anyone else has ever had a youngster in this position- maybe I'll feel better. The music director at my D's school couldn't make a decision so she "double cast" a 4 perofrmance(plus alumnae dress rehearsal) show and double cast every role except two; one was a girl in a minor role and the other a boy. The girll playing "opposite" from my D quit after accepting when a "better part" came along and my D was told that she would be performing the part by herself for all fo the shows. 72 hours later, the music director came to my D and told her that she had a "talk" with the other two directors (orchestra leader and a music teacher) and that THEY didn't think that it was "fair" so they were pulling a girl from way back in the chorus to play opposite my D, while still leaving the other two roles single cast. Now, keep in mind that this was all after the music director had promised my D one of the 2 leads (she went back on that and gave her a nice featured role though) and said that she was the "most talented kid she had ever seen and could play anything" . Now my D knows what Laura Michelle Kelly felt like when told that Ashley Brown was going to open "Mary Poppins" on Broadway, even though it was in her contract to play the role!
My D is now totally mistrusting of anything that she is told at school and I think, with good reason. Her voice teacher has said that my D will not perform in the chorus on the nights that she is not doing her role as she has a major classical competitition the week before and another show in rehearsal at the same time and the school has agreed to go along with this.
Has this ever happend to your child? We try to teach them "audition etiquette" and then the adults turn out to be very poor role models...</p>
<p>Many school productions are double cast like this, especially at schools with a multitude of talent. In our experience, it is not unusual that not ALL roles are double cast, however. It is the director's call on things like this and there's really not much you can do. I have to say, though, that if a director is promising roles to some students prior to auditions, this kind of behavior probably shouldn't surprise you. The directors in my Ds schools would never have done this. They may have had certain students in mind for certain roles but no promises were ever made.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you mean about Laura Michelle Kelly having that stipulation in her contract. She left MP more than a year ago in London and when the decision was made to bring the show to Broadway, the producers held open calls and took agent submissions to cast the show. Laura was working elsewhere in the past year and she's now going to play Galadriel in LOTR in the West End.</p>
<p>As per what we had heard about the original contract that Laura Michelle Kelly had, it was stipulated that she would open "Poppins" in London and then open it on Broadway,even of only for a brief time. Then there came the "rumors"(?) of a disgreement with Cameron MacIntosh and in comes Ashley Brown! Who knows what really happened, but the theatre is a place where gossip spreads like wildfire anyway.
Thanks for the reminder of the idea that "of a part was promised"... that really helped take me back and remember all of the things that were going on and allowed me to see that one "untruth" can easily lead to another and another. It is just hard to watch the youngsters (and the ARE only 15) put in the middle!</p>
<p>This situation is really a shame. I hope you're daughter will still enjoy her part in the play. I think it is wrong for director's in school programs to do such things as "promise parts" to their students. In my experience, these kinds of promises are not often kept. However, this kind of thing does indeed happen in theatre, particularly in community theatre, and your daughter is getting a little taste of the harsh part of acting. Directors often control the world! Ha ha. Good luck with everything. :)</p>
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Directors often control the world!
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<p>Fact is, directors ALWAYS control the theater world. A good thing to remember, IMO.</p>
<p>Lulu'sMomma, I am sure this is a very upsetting situation for your D, but as others here have said, it is not unusual at all for roles to be double cast, both in hs and community theater, as well as (apparently!) some college productions. Didn't someone on this list recently post that Baldwin-Wallace double casts their productions, including (most recently) "Side Show"? Of course, I don't know any actors who enjoy sharing a role, but that's the way it goes, I guess. I do hope this does not cause your D to enjoy her role any less. Her job is to focus on <em>her</em> performance and on doing the very best job she can. Good luck!</p>
<p>I've reminded my D that the role of the drama and music teachers is twofold: To produce a quality production, but more importantly, to educate every student in the program - which means that everyone should be given a chance to perform at some time. I suspect that this is even more important in college, when everyone is paying more than taxes to be there! They have to extend the opportunity to everyone. Casting based on talent and rightness for the role happens in the real world. And even there, politics and luck may be more important! </p>
<p>Promising a role to a student ahead of time is unfair to everyone. And learning to handle "casting anxiety" is part of being an actor. It sounds like this teacher is quite enthusiastic about your daughter's talent, but he jumped the gun in promising her a role. In the end, he was probably pressured to give the others a chance.</p>
<p>We ache for our kids when we know that they can do so much more than a small part. But as others on this board have eloquently stated, learning to make the most of a smaller role is part of their education. These are tough lessons for a 15 year old! But kids are resilient, and luckily, it sounds like your D has other "gigs' to challenge her. Good luck!</p>
<p>Mizlyn, I so agree with all that you have said! We all need to remember (and to remind our kids) that, especially in a high school setting, casting a show is not just about doing the best show possible: it is also (maybe more so) about creating a learning experience for the kids involved. That means spreading the joy (and the jobs and the roles!) around, and allowing as many deserving kids as possible to participate. (Otherwise -- and I know this happens at some schools -- the same talented kids get the leads in everything. That's great for the kids who are always chosen, but less great for the ones who are left to feel "Why even bother auditioning? The director <em>always</em> chooses So-and-So! Think Sharpay in "High School Musical.")
Of course, teachers should try to do all of this in the fairest way possible, which ideally would involve NEVER taking any student aside and saying even as much as "I am considering you for the part of XXXX or the part of XXXX in the show." Not only is that not a good idea for the kid who hears that he or she is going to get a plumb role (b/c it may well not happen), but it also is not good for the kids who hear about it on the grapevine and think (once again) "Why should I even bother trying out?"</p>
<p>My D's school does a mix and match of double casting, which I think the kids may find more annoying. However, typically it is the men who do not get double cast just because there are not enough to fill this. The closest I know of for "promised parts" was this year when my D was told she would be considered for a lead part, but all the leads had to have a consistent vocal coach, which we did not so had to get her one. She was called back for a lead and did not get it, but it all seemed to make sense, since she was only told she would be considered.
I guess what I would find more annoying is after double casting a part, then one dropping out going and finding a second double instead of just having the other person do all shows.
There are many times that my D has found being in the ensemble is preferable. You get more stage time than some double cast featured roles, and there fewer head games and power plays. D sees school performances as fun experiences and sees them less as training for the future or indicators of talent. This is what she expouses, and I truely hope it is what she believes at least at this point in her life.</p>
<p>This issue is incredibly tricky; it's never white or black. Another issue not been mentioned is the type of pressure the director experiences. Yes, he/she is first and foremost and educator. However, unless your child attends a high school for performing arts, your child's teacher/director is probably feeling immense pressure just to maintain a program. We all know that fine arts are typically at the bottom of priorities/budgets in our tax-supported public school systems, although WE (parents of these children) all know of the correlation especially between strong music skills and strong math skills. I remember speaking with one of our school board members last summer about this; he recalled that at graduation, when honors and awards were being mentioned of the graduates, he said to me, "I looked up there, and realized these were all the music kids... band and choir." </p>
<p>Back to the pressure that theatre directors face - the best way to maintain a program, or even grow it, is to get support from the community as a whole. And how do you do that? By putting on the best productions possible, which usually means choosing a cast that can best entertain the community of theatre goers (typically the tax payers). When you offer quality productions, the board and administration hear about it. This then makes it more difficult for them to implement any cuts, etc. that might threaten the existence of the program. </p>
<p>I hope I'm not speaking out of turn here, because this is what our high school faces... wondering from year to year, as our community votes down one referendum after another how we can maintain the programs we have while working within a decreasing budget. Of course this speaks to the values held by the community (which we all probably don't agree with), but these pressures are strongly felt by theatre directors, who must make tough choices on how to cast their productions. Sometimes I feel it's the quality of the productions that influences what the theatre teachers are able to offer during the day in their classes. If the department is known for outstanding productions, that often increases student interest in the theatre curriculum. Last year, when our high school did Chicago, we had a record number turn-out of auditionees. Our director found some very creative ways to include many more students than he might have casted it traditionally. This was only his second year at our school, but his production choices and casting choices have given our theatre department more recognition throughout the community than in most years previous. From this, he has negotiated some changes in his curriculum that will inspire more students to enroll in his classes - all this despite a community that does not want to see its taxes raised for now, but is mostly due to mistrust created by a former board and a very controversial superintendent who left in August, who was from Oklahoma and thinks football reigns over everything (anyone else ever have fireworks go off at home games after each one of your school's touchdowns? - yea,that bad) - that lasted about two-three games before the community very rightly called into question how their tax dollars were being spent!)</p>
<p>I don't mean to take this discussion away from the disappointment Lulu'smomma's child is experiencing, but unfortunately, in our public school systems, these are some of the realities and challenges faced by our school's directors.</p>
<p>These are all great peices of wisdom and I will pass them along my D. SHE never mindede being double cast in the first place (Although it WAS announced that because it as only 4 performances, the show WOULD NOT be doublle cast-but the same two people inisited on the doubling up becuase their choices were not the kids originallly selected- it is unfortunately VERY clear that there is a Cast "A' and a Cast "B"). What she did object was the way in which the whole thing was handled- and although it went to another good friend of hers, it was clear that the other roles(the girls only as there were only a few boys) were cast by seniority in grade, and one of the 4 juniors was left out all together, way back in the chorus. This girl has really put in her time, working in both choruses and crewing(and sumer productions)- a real hard worker, not the best of voices but solid and enthusiastic- yet was ignored this year and last year; my D felt very badly for her and THAT was where the issue became sticky. The faculty thinks the kids don't see these things, but they sure do and we all know it! Life was never said to be fair, but it seems that teachers could set a better example to students while they are still able to influence their morals and ethics.</p>