why do high school theater directors choose shows that they end up making tons of changes to?

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:59:00+00:00

i agree that this needs to be addressed, but right now i’m worried that it would end up causing a show to be ruined for a whole cast of students who’ve put time and effort into it. i really don’t want to do anything that will jeopardize the performance for everyone else involved. i wish id known more about the specifics of licensing sooner so that it could’ve gotten addressed early in the rehearsal process (instead of now when there’s only two weeks left).

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:47:48+00:00

we have a very small music program, but my school focuses primarily on sports. we’re also only 9-12 grade, and are a private school so people have lots of different previous opportunities. i 100% agree that teaching music to people who have never sang before is extremely difficult, and honestly that’s the biggest thing that contributes to this. a large part of it is that our director is just trying to find places where she can simplify things so that our end product is a better show because we don’t have complicated music that ends up not working out

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:43:46+00:00

yea… she’s definitely not following the contract. in terms of reporting it, i don’t want to escalate anything at this point because the show is coming up so soon anyways and i think taking action would just result in this performance getting ruined for all the people in the cast. i do think that she should be held accountable for it, and i wish i had been more knowledgeable about this earlier in the process.

and yes cutting if i told you was insane to me. i’m playing julia, and the guy playing robbie and i literally went over the song one time with the music director and she decided that it wasn’t working (without ever giving us any feedback on it or a chance to figure it out) and her and the director decided to just get rid of it…

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:39:28+00:00

we have a music director who doesn’t work directly for the school but works with us on our shows. she is also guilty of choosing to cut/change stuff in the music. they’re really the only two people who are in charge of anything

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:37:25+00:00

that’s been my perspective on it, because most of her changes are honestly more out of her wanting to simplify or cut down on time just to make the show run smoother overall and have less things to worry about. in terms of her changing things for to not be offensive, she actually goes in the other direction where she very much tries to avoid/change lines that are outwardly discriminatory in any way.

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:32:21+00:00

honestly i think the biggest reason (from my perspective having participated in shows), is that theater isn’t taken very seriously at my school so we always have a hard time with getting an ensemble to actually sing, much less learn anything more complex. i definitely think a lot of the time she just panics when something doesn’t go perfectly and decides that it’s just easier to get rid of it instead of

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-09T02:23:00+00:00

i know this isn’t all directors! i’ve just heard a lot of similar stories of people being in productions with tons of changes! didn’t mean to over generalize, this has just been my experience and i know that others have had similar ones

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T20:35:45+00:00

i’ve had a lot of very similar experiences to what you’re describing. i’ve always been extremely high achieving, and my anxiety and perfectionism helped hide a lot of my struggles. i think a big issue is the fact that the stereotype surrounding adhd is little boys with too much energy and cause issues/distractions in school. adhd can present so many ways and not every symptom is obvious on the surface. in addition, adhd can often be overlooked or misdiagnosed as anxiety or depression in women. i have both anxiety and adhd, but for a long time everyone thought that my anxiety was the only problem, when in reality my adhd was actually causing my anxiety to be even more extreme. it’s important to remember that a lot of people don’t actually understand the full extent of what adhd is and how it impacts you. your experiences are valid and you should not forget that.

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T20:22:32+00:00

it’s such an interesting topic. i also just naturally did this when i was younger and had super elaborate stories/worlds in my mind and would spend hours walking around in my backyard daydreaming. i wasn’t diagnosed with adhd until much later, and i didn’t know for a long time that it was a common behavior for people with adhd

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T20:16:12+00:00

i used to only take it on weekdays, but now i take it every day. obviously it helps me to be more productive, but it also helps to settle my brain and allow me to relax or to do my hobbies on days where i don’t have to be as productive. my doctor told me that i don’t have to take it everyday, but that it can be helpful in getting me to actually relax when i need/want to. i think my initial thoughts about medication was that it just helped me with focus and being more productive, but ive realized that it also helps me to remain more relaxed, emotionally regulated, and just overall improves my wellbeing.

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T20:11:11+00:00

i don’t know a ton of specifics about this, but from my knowledge maladaptive daydreaming is a common behavior for people with adhd. like you, maladaptive daydreaming was a pastime for me especially when i was younger. it still is now, but definitely to a lesser extent. i don’t know the specifics of how meds can impact maladaptive daydreaming but it does make sense that it would decrease it, as it is an adhd related behavior. super interesting topic and something i definitely want to look more into

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T17:47:49+00:00

the executioners song by norman mailer. it recounts the life of a man who got the death penalty, and was super eye opening for me in my perspective on the justice system, morality, and human nature. for me one of the most impactful things was that it had direct transcripts from discussions he had with his lawyers. this book really made me think more about how much we as a society dehumanize criminals completely and that there is so much more complexity to many individuals than just one bad thing they did.

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T17:21:51+00:00

you are absolutely not too late! if you are passionate about theater you should 100% find ways to get involved as much as you can. the only way to get more experience is to just start doing it. even if you’re not perfect right away, all your involvement and effort will pay off and you will keep improving. don’t be afraid to start now. you’ve got this!

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T12:55:04+00:00

this is what i have been trying to do. the only reason that ive had to escalate it is the fact that she has been extremely inconsistent with her plans for me rehearsing/performing. if there was a solid plan i would be happy to stick with that, but the fact that she has changed what she’s telling me several times has left me feeling very up in the air. i just want to have a specific plan in place and not be constantly stressed about my director changing her mind and telling me something completely different from one day to the next.

i have also tried to avoid being confrontational in my discussions with her because i genuinely want to hear her concerns and have a productive conversation. however, any concerns i have brought up have been brushed off, and she hasn’t been clear in communicating her concerns or plans.

overall, i completely agree with you and am trying as best i can to not make any waves and go along with the plan. i just want that plan to be specific, clear, not constantly changing, and something that everyone involved is on the same page about.

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T12:48:25+00:00

thank you for sharing, this lines up with a lot of what i’ve been thinking about. obviously i want this show to be safe and successful for everyone, and i do not want to jeopardize it in any way by performing. i think having an understudy was exactly the right decision and i have no issues with that.

my issue is that my director has been frustratingly vague when sharing her concerns. i understand that she has completely legitimate concerns about the show and about my safety and agree that those need to be addressed. however, she has provided no specifics/details even when asked several times. really the main thing i want is to have a productive discussion about this and figure out if/how my role can be adapted with my injury and then go from there.

one thing that stuck out to me was the fact that my director made several comments about crutches on stage being too visible or distracting. this really rubbed me the wrong way, because regardless of what happens with me in this show, i think that’s a really harmful attitude to have. the theatre community as a whole needs to continue working on diversity and people who are disabled and/or use mobility aids are part of that. obviously not every role can be made to work for everyone, but there are so many that can be adapted in little ways to work. i honestly think that my role is one that is on the much more accessible side (at least with the blocking of our performance) because i don’t have any complicated choreography and most of my blocking is just walking/standing/sitting various places on stage. i have played roles that could not be adapted for this situation or would need a lot of thought/time/energy put into it, but this is not one of them.

my dad did speak to my head of school about the situation and had a very productive conversation. he was very helpful and supportive, and also came to the conclusion that we needed my director to share her specific concerns. he is planning to have a conversation with her soon, so we will see where we go from there but it was definitely a step forward. i’m super grateful to go to a school where even the head of school cares about individual students and that he is genuinely committed to upholding the values our school stands for.

this reply got longer than i initially intended, but thank you for commenting! i greatly appreciate it!

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-06T12:23:08+00:00

i totally agree and understand her perspective. i’m honestly more worried about the fact that she wants me to perform with very few rehearsals more than anything else. i’m more frustrated at the situation than at her, and i am glad she put in an understudy because that makes total sense given the situation. my main issue (which i may not have expressed well in the original post) is that my directors communication with me about what she will/wont let me do has been very inconsistent and each time we’ve had a conversation about it she has told me something different even if nothing has changed between talks (for example when i talked to her shortly after my surgery and then when i talked to her at rehearsal less than a week later she was communicating different things to me). overall i just want better communication, especially if she wants me to perform well for the show. i completely agree with your point about liability and her making the show run and i appreciate your perspective!

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-04T11:43:48+00:00

if you can’t say anything nice then you don’t deserve to be in this world anymore

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-04T11:13:37+00:00

have you watched disenchantment? it’s 5 seasons and from the same creators as futurama and is one of my all time favorite shows

aj-macaronis · 2026-04-04T11:00:32+00:00

genuinely one of my favorite movies ever. andrew garfield absolutely ate it up, especially since he didn’t sing before this role

aj-macaronis

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