One of the most exciting and difficult moments of my year has come and gone: the cast list has been posted for the fall play presented by Sheridan High School Drama Club. As you may have read from my last column, this fall the Drama Club will be presenting Neil Simon’s comedies The Odd Couple, both the male and female versions, during the first two weekends in November. I have selected 16 young actors that will bring an astonishing life to these characters and words. I’m beyond excited to get them ready for you.
However, as the first line of this column indicates, and as any coach will tell you, one of the most difficult parts of the job is the cut. Some years are infinitely more difficult than others; this year was no exception. This year, I had a problem that any coach would love to have in that my onstage talent pool has gotten deeper and deeper. With the students that auditioned, I could have cast this show three times over, and you, the audience, would have been equally pleased with each.
For this column, however, I would like to enlighten you about the opportunities that are available to those passionate theatre students that didn’t get into the cast. I think we could all agree that the actors onstage get the most credit for a production’s success, as they are the most visible. But, even though a play cannot usually meet success without the actors, the talent you don’t see deserves just as much credit.
That’s why, for my productions, I allow the students to play vital roles in the production with roles offstage. For every production, I’ve had a student as a stage manager, the head of the production team (this year, I get two). I’ve also had students as crew chiefs for hair and makeup. For the third season in a row, I’ll have a student designing the set. And, I do allow students the opportunity to design costumes. For this production, I’m allowing several students to get their feet wet in the art of costume design. I’m actually hoping to have one designer per character, with the ideal result of having 16 youngsters, all engrossed in creating several costumes for one character each.
I do this for several reasons:
- Often, when a student doesn’t make “the team,” the student doubts her/his aptitude towards the activity. I aim to refute that. Just because a student didn’t get onstage doesn’t mean that the student is any less passionate or talented in theatre. I once read an article in which stage and screen actor Kevin Kline encouraged young actors trying to break into the business to get a job in a theatre doing anything – literally, anything – from punching tickets to loading in sets to cleaning bathrooms. Anything gets a foot in the door to the next gig. It seems to have worked for Kline.
- One of the primary tenets I teach comes from my training in improvisational theatre: “You’re not there to make yourself look good. You’re there to make everyone else look good.” I use the following example to explain to my new students every year, and they respond with several giggles: an actor can give one of the most eloquent and heart-wrenching monologues that will ever be recorded in the annals of theatre … but if there’s no one to turn on the lights, or make that person’s costume, or onstage to react to said monologue, that actor’s going to look pretty ridiculous. In my program, I am to teach the art of ensemble, where no single element is more important than any other.
- While many students that pursue careers in theatre often get into the art via acting, some of them discover talents in other areas of theatre. I’ve had students that have auditioned for me that have eventually ended up becoming accomplished stage managers or set, costume, or makeup designers, and have been met with great success. Year by year, I’m consistently surprised where students discover their passions, and I’m always one to believe that a student that pursues a passion will put her/his best work into it. And, here’s a little info from the inside: theatre artists that find talent in offstage roles usually get work, while actors are constantly searching for that next job.
So, again, I’d just like to remind you, when you come see a production by the SHS Drama Club, you’re not only seeing the fruits of hours of rehearsal by talented young actors. You’re seeing the fruits of numerous equally passionate students offstage.
If I may offer another reminder, by visiting our website, you can get a great “behind-the-scenes” look at our productions, including cast lists, production team lists, design meeting reports, and much more. Simply get online, go to the search engine of your choice, type in “Sheridan High School Drama Club,” and you’ll find us. You may also find out Facebook page – lots of good stuff there, too!
We’ll see you in November!
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