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PlacentiaSoccerMom · #1 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:42 am

When Maddie go the Mock Trial schedule, she realized that it had been moved up and would conflict with Romeo and Juliet. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do, Mock Trial versus the play.

She talked to her Drama teacher and the Mock Trial coach. The Mock Trial coach said that Maddie could do the play if she was on the "B" team and that they would have her be in a leadership position and use the year to train her for a role doing Pre-Trial.

So far so good.

The Drama teacher told Maddie that she would give Maddie a role in the play if she was on the B team for Mock Trial. She also said that if Maddie could make sure that she didn't have Quiz Bowl practice on Mondays, that the role would be large.

My family changed their schedule so that Quiz Bowl could be done on Wednesday, so Maddie would be free to rehearse on Mondays. By the way, against my better judgement, I let Maddie postpone Chemistry for a year so that she could take Advanced Theater because her teacher said that she needed Maddie in the class to use as an example because she understands character.

Anyway, when Maddie found out Tuesday morning that she didn't get a callback for Juliet, she was stunned. Her teacher told her that due to the conflict with Mock Trial, she couldn't cast her as Juliet. Maddie thought, ok, the teacher knew about Mock Trial and the dates for Mock Trial before auditions and didn't say anything, but she got a callback as Benvolio, which is an interesting part, so she figured that she would be the best Benvolio she could be.

After Mock trial tonight, Maddie checked the cast list. She was cast as a servant, with two lines. She was devastated, because she thought that there was an understanding, plus she gave up certain things because she was told she had to to get a good part.

As a parent I am pissed. My first instinct is that because the Drama teacher didn't follow through with what she said, that my family isn't going to inconvenience themselves so Maddie can make practices three times a week. I think that it would have been more humane for the teacher just to say, Maddie you have to pick one, you can't do both, or to say, Maddie if you do the play with Mock Trial, you will only get a part with one or two lines and Maddie would have had all the facts to make an educated decision, rather than having some adult build up her hopes.

I don't want Maddie to just quit though, but I don't want her to ever be in a position to be jerked around again. She just got to sleep and between the lack of sleep and her anger, I just know that tomorrow is going to be a horrible day for her.

Thank you for letting me vent.

peacock2121 · #2 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:47 am

Sorry she is going through this.

My gut is that someone is not being straightforward and totally honest. I bet someone left things ambiguous on purpose.

PlacentiaSoccerMom · #3 Post by **PlacentiaSoccerMom** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:48 am

I trust Maddie completely.

peacock2121 · #4 Post by **peacock2121** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 5:55 am

PlacentiaSoccerMom wrote:I trust Maddie completely.

I am sure that she is relating what she heard said to her.

I am not sure that what she heard is what the teacher thinks was said.

Maybe there was never a promise and Maddie heard it as a promise.

Maybe her try-out was not as good as the ones who got the parts.

Maybe there was a huge communication breakdown.

Maybe the teacher did not listen completely to Maddie and Maddie's concerns.

I am sorry that her feelings are hurt.

sunflower · #5 Post by **sunflower** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:34 am

PSM, I agree that the drama teacher is in the wrong here. Regardless of what was heard and how it was heard, the teacher knew she wanted to be involved in both activities. She knew that her comments would affect Maddie's choices, so she should have chosen her words very carefully. I believe a more appropriate response, if she was not certain Maddie would get a part, would have been something to the effect of, "I cannot guarantee you a part, but if you would like to try, you will need to do x, y and z (with respect to mock trial and quiz bowl)..." If Maddie was not certain of getting a part, perhaps her choices would have been different...but the teacher took that away from her.

I definitely don't think you should inconvenience your family. The conditions placed on that were that if she had a "large role" she would need to reschedule quiz bowl practice. Seeing as that is not the case, I think skipping one night of rehearsal is the way to go.

If it were me, I would probably contact the teacher or an administrator to have a discussion about how this was handled. Not because Maddie didn't get the part, but because the drama teacher made Maddie jump through hoops, which now appear to have been almost completely unnecessary.

I hope that she has a better day today. Might I suggest shoes as a way to cheer her up??

Bob Juch · #6 Post by **Bob Juch** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:35 am

What the heck are you doing up at 4:42 AM?!

A callback for Benvolio did not mean she got the part. The drama teacher probably picked the best actress for the part, regardless of Maddie's Mock Trial involvement. She would not have gotten the role of Juliette either.

One can't be the best at everything.

sunflower · #7 Post by **sunflower** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:42 am

Bob Juch wrote:What the heck are you doing up at 4:42 AM?!

A callback for Benvolio did not mean she got the part. The drama teacher probably picked the best actress for the part, regardless of Maddie's Mock Trial involvement. She would not have gotten the role of Juliette either.

One can't be the best at everything.

Wow, harsh words for a teenager.

I personally take offense at "one can't be the best at everything." One can strive for whatever goals they personally wish. One should not be discouraged for trying or wanting to do it all. I am personally impressed with the drive and ambition that Maddie seems to have (as relayed by PSM). And I am sad when teachers or other people discourage that.

Bob Juch · #8 Post by **Bob Juch** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 7:52 am

sunflower wrote:
Bob Juch wrote:What the heck are you doing up at 4:42 AM?!

A callback for Benvolio did not mean she got the part. The drama teacher probably picked the best actress for the part, regardless of Maddie's Mock Trial involvement. She would not have gotten the role of Juliette either.

One can't be the best at everything.
Wow, harsh words for a teenager.

I personally take offense at "one can't be the best at everything." One can strive for whatever goals they personally wish. One should not be discouraged for trying or wanting to do it all. I am personally impressed with the drive and ambition that Maddie seems to have (as relayed by PSM). And I am sad when teachers or other people discourage that.

My words aren't for a teenager; they are for a teenager's mother.

I didn't say a thing about not striving; just that you can't expect success at everything. You can't find out what you're good at unless you try everything.

BigDrawMan · #9 Post by **BigDrawMan** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:24 am

this is great practice for the future.

5LD · #10 Post by **5LD** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:58 am

There are never any guarantees when it comes to auditioning for something.

Ritterskoop · #11 Post by **Ritterskoop** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:00 am

I hope it works out more better and that everyone does not stay frustrated and finds a way to live with it.

I hope that every day for everyone.

sunflower · #12 Post by **sunflower** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:04 am

At least you are bringing Zap home today, right??? Hopefully that will lighten everyone's mood a little.

T_Bone0806 · #13 Post by **T_Bone0806** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:37 am

BigDrawMan wrote:this is great practice for the future.

5LD wrote:There are never any guarantees when it comes to auditioning for something.

Agreed on both counts.

When I was a sophomore, I tried out for the role of Conrad Birdie in "Bye Bye Birdie". The role went to a senior. I knew I did better, I definitely had a better voice, I was pissed. I was cast as Harvey Johnson. This was a very minor role with 3 singing lines in a production number, and my voice had to squeak in order to play it right. I certainly thought about quitting, but I stfled my grumbling and went to rehearsals. A week later the senior quit and I was given the role.

Youda thunk I'd learned a lesson, right?

Well, a couple of years later they were casting a summer show of "1776" and I wanted to be Ben Franklin in the worst way. Unfortunately summer shows meant you were competing against everyone, not just high scholl students. I was asked to read once the first night. Thats it. So i thought, screw it, and didn't show up for night 2. The next day, my friend (whose father was the director) called me up and said "where were you last night? Dad came home and said you didn't show up. He was going to cast you as Franklin. When I explained my motives, he told me "he was just weeding out the others to be sure of his decision".

I spent that summer picking up a few bucks with a pickup band we formed, but I would've much preferred playing Ben for free.

Lessons learned:

1-Hang in there. You never know whats gonna happen.
2-As the Stones say, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need".
3-As my drama teacher was fond of quoting, "there are no small parts, only small actors.

If Maddie enjoys drama group, she should take what she's given and go with it. There are other big roles for her down the road. If she wants to pursue this, she will face plenty of roadblocks and disappointments, many of them unfair. And on an ever larger scale. Right now it should be all about fun and experiences. At her age, if it's not fun, she shouldn't do it. At least that's my opinion.

Just another growing experience. She'll be fine.

5LD · #14 Post by **5LD** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 10:57 am

To Echo Mr. Bone and The Stone's words of wisdom:

In college my mentor was casting Hedda Gabler and it was assumed I would play the role by everyone who knew my work and the director. I still worked my behind off preparing because I knew he wouldn't just let me walk in cold - he wouldn't put up with me not knowing my stuff.

He calls me into his office the day after the call backs. He had two casts lists. One with my name on it - the other without me. He wanted to cast me as Thea (a much smaller role) because he felt the audience would like me too much to cast me as Hedda. I argued that the audience needs to like Hedda (fell on deaf ears) and eventually agreed to play as cast.

The actress playing Hedda was terrible. Director had to have back surgery and drop out. Replacement director asked me why I wasn't playing Hedda (I loved that.) I kicked as Thea and won an acting nomination to the Irene Ryan competition. I chose our Hedda as my partner for the competition. I got what I needed. I didn't get what I wanted. But I worked my tail off and made it a big success for me.