[NEohioPAL]Response to Ms. Smith's response on Urinetown auditions.

Tue Nov 7 21:13:36 PST 2006

I must have missed the original brouhaha however...

When I was in high school, way back in 2002 in one of the more
conservative cities in Southern California* we did [The Who's] Tommy
and Chess in; both pushed boundaries a little and both ruffled a few
feathers, including one walk-out in the middle of a scene in Chess.
But they were challenging both for the actors and for the crew, and
everyone rose to the occasion--and did we rise. The performances were
extremely well received, and both sold out our house for virtually
every performance.

There was a drama instructor out there who was willing to piss people
off to give her students the opportunity to find success. Along the
way, so many valuable lessons were learned.

It was because we were given the responsibility--and knew at some
level that our performance (no pun intended) would have a direct
effect on the latitude that would be granted in future years--that we
excelled.

My personal belief is that one of the problems younger people (it's
funny that I'm saying this since I'm only 22 myself) is that we're
obsessed with isolating them from the real world and eliminating
potentials for failure and conflict. Every one's going to run into
this sooner or later; had it not been my involvement in high school
drama, it would have been college, and had it not been college, it
would have been some time later.

To not perform challenging or controversial or even "different" works
at the high school or community level because some of the participants
may not be mature is settling for mediocrity when theater should push
boundaries, expand horizons and encourage greater understanding (and
not just for those in the audience). Growth comes from reaching out to
higher bars, not down to a bar that has already been seized.

Though I have never had a desire to be on stage, I remember my
involvement (tech) in Tommy and Chess fondly and more so than some of
the "standards" I was tangentially involved with. Both productions
were fantastic opportunities to grow, to develop an appreciation for
theater, encouraged creative thinking, and coming up with
unconventional solutions to problems.

I owe the drama teacher (Ms. Ianessa, where ever you are, Thank You)
so much for stimulating my interest in the performing arts. It was
Tommy that first opened my eyes to the diversity of theatrical
expression and her fighting for her students was empowering. Had I not
discovered theater and had a technology teacher who believed in me, it
is entirely likely that I would be in a very different place today.

Ok, enough of my pontificating, but I hope my points are understood.

Lincoln
(Originally from Temecula, California [San Diego area], lived in
Cleveland for about a year and a half and love this city)

*-Not that this is necessarily a accurate representation, but I don't
think the city has ever had a bar last more than 6 months.

On 11/7/06, jasen smith <jasenjsmith at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> I may be wrong but isn't the main story of Urinetown a
> group of wealthy people taking advantage of the less
> fortunate and less educated?  I think that a high
> school teacher that thinks his/her students are smart,
> Mature and talented enough to carry a show like that
> should be congratulated.  The parents and Students
> should be congratulated as well.
>
> One day Urinetown will be thought of as Classic
> Broadway and not as cutting edge as it is.
>
> JJS
>
>
> --- Craig M Russell <cmractor at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Indeed, Ms. Smith has a point in her response saying
> > that the subject matter
> > of Urinetown may not be appropriate for the maturity
> > level of the eligible
> > auditioners; however, how many times can a youth
> > theatre do shows like Music
> > Man, Oklahoma!, Our Town, or other shows that are
> > overdone in the High
> > School years of students?  Unless I am not reading
> > the show as an educator
> > or through the eyes of a parent, however, I do not
> > see anything wrong with a
> > high school student singing "A Privilege to Pee".  I
> > believe more high
> > schools should do more shows that broaden the
> > horizons of students
> > everywhere.
> >
> > I for one am glad that they are doing a school
> > musical.  My high school
> > hasn't had a musical in over 10 years (which was
> > Oklahoma! by the way), and
> > we were planning on getting the rights to Cinderella
> > my sophomore year and
> > our teacher backed out because of costs of
> > royalties.  We hardly had a drama
> > club.  I spent an equivalent of two and a half years
> > looking for a teacher
> > to advise the drama club.  Out of four years, I did
> > two plays.  Can we say
> > uncultured?  I really think I would have benefited
> > had we been exposed to
> > alternate types of drama (ie. other than comedy --
> > we should have had a
> > tragedy, musical, maybe even do a classic play).
> >
> > My question is, what is wrong with schools that they
> > are afraid of doing a
> > show that is challenging the minds and talents of a
> > student body?  What
> > other shows are out there that are appropriate for
> > students to be exposed to
> > and can broaden the horizons and culture them?  I,
> > for one, am highly upset
> > about my high school experience because of the fact
> > we were not cultured in
> > the arts and were afraid of doing shows with diverse
> > subject matter.
> >
> > My 1.5 cents.
> >
> > CMR
> >
>
>
>
>
>
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