Hi all!!!!!! This week, I thought it’d be cool to interview a few high schoolers on something that has happened to most theatre kids or WILL happen (I promise). The director from hell!!!!! For whatever reason, some directors have a difficult time working with actors, making the production experience difficult for cast and crew. Luckily, most shows still manage to come together, but it can be harrowing and unenjoyable, turning some students off of theatre forever. The following interviews were conducted via text message and the answers have been edited for clarity.
What made you get interested in musical theatre?
TL: My sister was my inspiration for becoming involved in the arts and I found my love of singing because of her. When I entered middle school, I signed up to go through the “cultural arts wheel” where every quarter I was able to experience theatre, choir, dance, and visual art. I found an interest in acting and from then on, my love of musical theatre was born.
What are the shows/characters you’ve played?
TL: The Audition—Elizabeth Baker, Wiley and the Hairy Man—Ensemble, The Wiz—Ensemble
Kiss Me, Kate—Dancer, Guys and Dolls—Hot Box Doll/ Dance Captain, High School Musical: On Stage!—Brainiac/ Dance Captain
Have you ever had an experience with a terrible director and what made them terrible?
TL: In the world of theatre, actors interact with many different directors. Going from having an amazing director for three years to going to a director who creates drama offstage rather than on and says that the cast has “signed their souls” over to her is quite a dramatic (no pun intended) shift. It’s hard to imagine doing something that you love with someone that makes it so hard to enjoy. To me, being involved in shows has always been a way to express myself and has been an outlet for me and I always look forward to going to rehearsal. However, when dealing with a less than favourable director, it’s harder to want to go to rehearsal. Being Dance Captain of a show is a leadership position that I am extremely grateful to receive. To me as a dancer, it is an extremely high honour that the choreographer and all of the cast takes seriously. I lead warm ups, learn all of the choreography, and help those who are struggling. With that being said, when you have a director who, in the time when the choreographer is teaching a dance and is creat[ing] a lighthearted aura even when [the] majority of the cast isn’t picking it up, yells at you and the rest of the cast for not getting the combination right after two minutes of learning, it becomes pretty stressful to keep a positive atmosphere. High school theatre is definitely not Broadway and is nowhere close, and although it is stressful, it’s fun! There is no reason for a director to bring you down! In college, I plan on continuing to branch out and focus on my love for musical theatre, but with a director that made me doubt myself, I went through a period of time where I thought I wasn’t good enough. A director should be someone you look up to that brings you up as well, not tears you down. Dealing with directors can be scary and nerve wracking, but having an amazing cast always makes things easier. When you focus on the positive, it is easier to enjoy the show! Directors from hell are difficult to deal with, but at the end of the day, you produce the final product and you make the show; so why not make it amazing?
What made you get interested in musical theatre?
EB: Since elementary school I’ve been involved in theatre. I think originally I loved the feeling of being on stage and being able to become a different person and tell a story to the audience.
What are the shows/characters you’ve played?
EB: The Wiz—Ensemble, Kiss Me, Kate—Ensemble, Guys and Dolls—Ensemble, High School Musical: On Stage!—Theatre Kid, Fifteen Minute Minimum—Boris, This is a Test—Lead
Have you ever had an experience with a terrible director and what made them terrible?
EB: My director in high school was not the best. I think what made her not as good was the lack of faith she had in the senior and the upperclassmen in the musical. She was not good at working together with our choir director which made rehearsals more tense than they needed to be.
What made you get interested in musical theatre?
TG: I first became interested in musical theatre when I was approached by some college students through my elementary school and was asked to audition for a Queens College production of the wizard of oz. I believe I was in fourth or fifth grade and I was given the role of the guard of emerald city! The whole experience was super fun: I was one of the only elementary schoolers cast in a show with college students. They helped me a lot with acting techniques and told me I should try doing something with the performing arts… It has been seven years and I’ve come a long way.
What are the shows/characters you’ve played?
TG: Alice in Wonderland—Cheshire Cat, Peter Pan—a bird (idk it was a weird show), Alice in Wonderland (again lol)—Alice (with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb), The Wiz—Oil Girl/Ensemble, Kiss Me, Kate—Ensemble/Katherine’s Understudy, Guys and Dolls—Hot Box Doll, High School Musical: On Stage!—Brainiac, This is a Test—Lois, The Odyssey—Polly
Have you ever had an experience with a terrible director and what made them terrible?
TG: Throughout elementary school and middle school, I had great directors. They allowed me to develop my own characters and experiment with blocking and delivery of my lines. Looks also didn’t matter to them. I’ve been much taller than most of my cast mates in many productions and that is something my high school theatre teacher/ musical director cannot seem to look past. I’ve been told on several occasions that I’m too tall to perform the lead/ supporting roles well and that my height looks awkward on stage. It’s a high school production, height should not matter as significantly as it does to her. She also murmurs passive-aggressive comments concerning my true ability and talent, often saying that I can’t sing or act or dance. She is hateful and not easy to work with. Seniority is another issue, too. Over the past four years, a few of my friends and I have participated in the shows this director “puts together.” Usually, seniors get the leads if they are capable and have the experience. My friends and I are more than talented enough and have plenty of experience under our belts but that meant nothing this year. Seniority completely flew out the window and it was quite cruel of her to throw us in the ensemble like she has year after year. While I’m looking forward to our performances in mid-March, I’m glad it is my last high school musical [with] such a hateful and spiteful director.
TD 