<p>I know this is early to be asking about summer stock, but I will explain. D just received an email from a friend/colleague that she has worked with locally. He has just been appointed the artistic director for a summer stock theatre in the catskills and would like her to audition for the next season. My guess is he doesn't realize that she would still be between years in HS. (After much sole searching and pain D will not graduate early and would be a rising senior next summer.) D worked with him on Cabaret and Bare where she was the youngest by many years in both cases.</p>
<p>So what I am interested in knowing from those of you who have had kids work summer stock, what does this entail? Would it be a reasonable thing to assume a 17 year old could handle? By this I am interested in both the work aspect but probably more of the culture/social aspects. D spent this past summer in NYC at the Ailey program taking care of herself so she can deal with that, but I would be concerned about drugs, alcohol, and partying in close living situations with older actors.</p>
<p>D is very flattered to have been asked, and looking at the season they need young actors of color so it is clear why he has got in touch with her. But no matter how level headed my D is in most situations, I do wonder if living and working with folks for a whole summer might be more than she is ready for. </p>
<p>I would appreciate any insights and experiences in how kids have handled the work, stress and social aspects of summer stock, before we even go further.</p>
<p>If your D won't be 18, the question may be moot -- some (many/most??) summerstock theatres require actors to be of legal age unless they are local residents and used in child roles. I imagine that is in part because of the legalities of contract-signing, etc. And, it may possibly have to do with the notion that they don't want to have to deal with in loco parentis issues, if minors are living with adults. While each child is different, I personally would see no reason to rush into such a situation.</p>
<p>MusThCC beat me to the punch about the age issue. Another thing which would likely be a problem would be the scheduling. Some/many summer stock seasons would conflict with high school schedules. I would also add that I agree that there is little reason to rush this type of experience.</p>
<p>I think you'd have to weigh all the facts of the situation there and also your own daughter (who obviously lived on her own this summer in NYC with the Ailey program and is used to working collaboratively with those older than herself). I don't know if the summer stock situation would be mostly college aged kids or older adults. I would not rule it out but would think of all the issues involved on a case by case basis. </p>
<p>My daughter was not in the same exact situation as your daughter will be. However, she did a professional summer stock in another state at age 17 two summers ago. In her case, she had already been through one year of college at NYU. But chronologically, she was the same age as your D will be. At this particular summer stock, very few college aged kids were involved. The few that were, ALL were local (except my D who was first auditioned in NYC) and so lived at home with their parents. My D was put up in a house for the actors....mostly the Equity actors (she is not Equity). She had her own room. The others in her house were WAY older but treated her with respect. She was friends socially, however, with the ones in college who lived at home with their parents and one in particular whose parents had a summer home nearby by the beach. She also had a close pal an hour away whom she got together with a bunch (though she was so busy otherwise). She also had her own car. She often was asked to drive the adult actors who did not have a car! It all worked for my daughter and I feel it was a growth experience. But in her case, she already had been on her own all year at college, in Manhattan. She didn't know anyone at this theater and it was not typical summer stock with a college aged cast that lives together at all. In some ways, for YOUR daughter, it may work out all right if the majority of the cast who lives together are college aged as your daughter will be just one year younger which is not so far fetched and she had one summer where she lived independently. But you have to realize you will be throwing her into a college type situation without supervision. </p>
<p>AlwaysAMom has a point that the schedule may start too soon for your D who may still be in school at the start of the season but this artistic director knows that and perhaps would figure her into the shows that start later.</p>
<p>If your D will not be 18 next summer I would confirm that the artistic director knows she will not be 18. </p>
<p>I am the artistic director of a summer stock company and we would not hire someone under the age of 18 who was not local because of the housing issue. In general when we use local teens under the age of 18 they are there on a volunteer basis, and we work around their paid work schedule as much as possible. </p>
<p>The policy of not hiring performers under the age of 18 unless they are local is not a reflection on the talent level of the young performers, but because of the in loco parentis issues that MusThCC mentions. We do not have chaperoned housing, and cannot be responsible for under age performers living in the housing. </p>
<p>This past summer we did hire a child for one of the shows, we provided housing for the child and family separate from the general company housing. </p>
<p>I am sure that every theatre works differently, however... so it is worth checking. </p>
<p>As far as the value or the readiness of a HS student doing summer stock. I think it can be highly valuable. I did four summers of summerstock when in HS (as a local performer living at home). The opportunity to work with professional performers and directors while in HS was amazing! </p>
<p>As far as the scheduling conflict with school.... that will depend on the start and end date of the theatre season. </p>
<p>keepingcalm -- trust your instincts in this situation. There are lots of issues here, which others have already mentioned. The bottom line is -- there is a huge difference between a 17-year old high school student who is still living at home, and college students who have been living away from home (even if they are younger, like SOOZIE's daughter.) The issues of sex, alcohol, and drugs are real possibilities in a summer stock situation. If you don't feel your D is prepared to handle them, you're probably right.</p>
<p>onstage....I think that truly is a KEY factor, more than age. For instance, had my daughter been a rising senior in HS, I would not have sent her off to an unsupervised summer stock living situation. But even though she was 17 when she did that very thing, she had already lived on her own at college for a year in Manhattan no less. So, she was a college kid, even though she was truly 17 at the time. It may seem odd, because she was truly still young, but her life experience was the same as that of college kids who do summer stock (though at her summer theater, she lived with older Equity actors and not the college kids).</p>
<p>Having worked in Summer Stock off and on since the summer of 1983, I would like to suggest that perhaps you consider what life is like in many of these companies. While it is a very valuable experience, it is a very different world. People work very hard, and (while this is a generalization) party just as hard. You come together quickly, become very close quickly and just as quickly leave. All of that living is packed into one 12 week period. That includes all the love, togetherness and drama that goes with it. It is an intense relationship that includes great recreational activities. Alcohol (and again this is a generalization) flows quite freely, and "taking care of oneself" isn't really a high priority. </p>
<p>I loved my college stock experiences, and learned more there about what it was like to live in the theatre than I did in college, but I don't believe I would let my children there while still in HS. And I truly trust my children would make smart choices - as it seems you trust yours.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input. You have touched on many of my concerns and questions. The biggest being the difference between mixing and working with college students and recent grads when mom or dad pick you up at the end of the night (some of which we allow to go MUCH later than I want) to living with and being unsupervised. D is in many way very mature (like most theatre kids) but at the same time relatively innocent or at least protected.</p>
<p>Her first step will be to write back to the AD and thank him for thinking of her. Then to emphasize to him that she would only be 17 next summer and still in HS. At that point it may very well be a non-issue, but just a flattering request. If that doesn't immediately disqualify her, then we can broach other issues as needed. School is actually the least problem since they finish ridiculously early here and the last show of the season is Golda's Balcony, so young actors aren't needed.</p>
<p>I feel similar to what Kjgc says above and currently my most protective instincts say, she has made great choices so far in her life and has a good head on her shoulders but there is no reason to put her in a position where making good/safe/smart choices is extremely difficult. She has rushed into growing up so fast and for so long, holding on to a little innocence for a little longer might be a really good thing.</p>