Open Forum

First time musical theater director here! We're going to do Peter and the Starcatcher. I have a question about cast size.

Our school is brand new - only two years old, 90 students grades 9-11. Last year I had to beg students to be in our shows and was able to get 8 for Twelfth Night and 7 for AntigoneX. This year 15 signed up for Almost, Maine, and now 21 for Peter and the Starcatcher! Looks like we're doing something right ...

These are my first high school theater shows, and I'm still not sure how the whole thing works in terms of casting. In all the other shows I've directed in the past 15 years (professional and college), the idea is to cast the best actors and look forward to seeing the others at another audition. But in high school it seems like the idea is both to cast the best actors and to give as many people as possible an amazing theater experience. Am I getting this right? So for a musical do you just cast as many people who sign up, even if some of the students have tiny roles?

Peter and the Starcatcher calls for an ensemble of 12 to play over 100 roles. Have you directed it with more students and just divvy up the roles? is it better for this particular play to stick with 12? I'm directing and I'm the musical director. Is 21 too many students to manage?

Thank you!
- Arden


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Arden Thomas
Teaching Artist, Theater
Sequoyah High School
Pasadena CA
------------------------------

I actually just wrapped this show in November. I went into it knowing that I was casting more than 12, but I would recommend no more than 20. Basically I split out the named roles (Slank, Mack, Fighting Prawn, and Hawking Clam were all separate kids; they became sailors/Mollusks when they were no longer needed) and then added a 3 person "ensemble" to exclusively be living scenery, props, etc. The other cast members also became scenery when appropriate, but I didn't have to use the big leads (Peter, Molly, Stache) in other parts as much, which I really think would confuse the audience. It worked out really well and no one was left with nothing to do. That's the danger with a "cast everyone" mentality in school theater. You wind up creating more problems for yourself because of idle hands...

I make it part of my audition spiel to the kids that not everyone can be cast in every show and not every person is right for every part. It's one of those life lessons that I think the performing arts teaches better than most anything in school. 

PATSC was incredibly draining but also very rewarding. Have a blast and break a leg!

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Ben Cossitor
Drama Director
Altoona Area High School
Altoona, PA
------------------------------

Hello Arden,
Wow! You really are doing something right! Over 20% of your school population is involved in your program? That is amazing! We have a little over 100 involved, but we are a school of 1400.
Yes, in my long career I have found that involving as many students as possible grows them as performers and individuals. They all learn from each other and learn to work together. The leading actors learn to appreciate what the smaller roles contribute to the whole. Those with smaller roles learn from the experience of the leading actors and learn their importance.  I just did my fall play I Hate Shakespeare! with 40 actors. It could have been done with 15, but I wanted to cast everyone who auditioned, and thankfully I had to double only about five actors. After the show my adult daughter commented, "You cast everyone who auditioned? Everyone was so good in their parts!" School theatre is all about education and growing people to be productive and giving members of society. 
Our musical productions usually have more than 100 audition, so cuts must be made to fit them all on the stage and to make it more manageable. I direct the fall play by myself (40 was not a problem), but the musical has a team of Director, Assistant Director, Vocal Director, and Choreographer to manage the large cast of about 65.
I am actually considering Peter and the Starcatcher for my next fall play, and I intend to cast as many as I can. The popularity of the show will probably bring out more than 40, so I may have to cut, but I know I will still have a very large fall play cast.
Best wishes for a great production! You obviously have the tools to make it wonderful, no matter what size you go with.

------------------------------
Valerie Gargus
NJ Thespians Festival Director
Play & Thespian Troupe Director
Northern Burlington County Reg HS
Columbus, NJ
------------------------------

------Original Message------

Hello Arden,
Wow! You really are doing something right! Over 20% of your school population is involved in your program? That is amazing! We have a little over 100 involved, but we are a school of 1400.
Yes, in my long career I have found that involving as many students as possible grows them as performers and individuals. They all learn from each other and learn to work together. The leading actors learn to appreciate what the smaller roles contribute to the whole. Those with smaller roles learn from the experience of the leading actors and learn their importance.  I just did my fall play I Hate Shakespeare! with 40 actors. It could have been done with 15, but I wanted to cast everyone who auditioned, and thankfully I had to double only about five actors. After the show my adult daughter commented, "You cast everyone who auditioned? Everyone was so good in their parts!" School theatre is all about education and growing people to be productive and giving members of society. 
Our musical productions usually have more than 100 audition, so cuts must be made to fit them all on the stage and to make it more manageable. I direct the fall play by myself (40 was not a problem), but the musical has a team of Director, Assistant Director, Vocal Director, and Choreographer to manage the large cast of about 65.
I am actually considering Peter and the Starcatcher for my next fall play, and I intend to cast as many as I can. The popularity of the show will probably bring out more than 40, so I may have to cut, but I know I will still have a very large fall play cast.
Best wishes for a great production! You obviously have the tools to make it wonderful, no matter what size you go with.

------------------------------
Valerie Gargus
NJ Thespians Festival Director
Play & Thespian Troupe Director
Northern Burlington County Reg HS
Columbus, NJ
------------------------------

I am directing it this fall--auditions in a couple weeks. I would love to see how you cast with SO many. I'd like to do 30-40 total.

Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Gustafson
Morris IL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2017 08:51
From: Andrea Canevazzi
Subject: Peter and the Starcatcher - cast size

Oh, Peter can definitely be done with 40! If you'd like, feel free to message when you get closer to your show I'd be super happy to let you know how we managed and some of the hurdles we hit so that you won't have to! 

Original Message------

Hello Arden,
Wow! You really are doing something right! Over 20% of your school population is involved in your program? That is amazing! We have a little over 100 involved, but we are a school of 1400.
Yes, in my long career I have found that involving as many students as possible grows them as performers and individuals. They all learn from each other and learn to work together. The leading actors learn to appreciate what the smaller roles contribute to the whole. Those with smaller roles learn from the experience of the leading actors and learn their importance.  I just did my fall play I Hate Shakespeare! with 40 actors. It could have been done with 15, but I wanted to cast everyone who auditioned, and thankfully I had to double only about five actors. After the show my adult daughter commented, "You cast everyone who auditioned? Everyone was so good in their parts!" School theatre is all about education and growing people to be productive and giving members of society.
Our musical productions usually have more than 100 audition, so cuts must be made to fit them all on the stage and to make it more manageable. I direct the fall play by myself (40 was not a problem), but the musical has a team of Director, Assistant Director, Vocal Director, and Choreographer to manage the large cast of about 65.
I am actually considering Peter and the Starcatcher for my next fall play, and I intend to cast as many as I can. The popularity of the show will probably bring out more than 40, so I may have to cut, but I know I will still have a very large fall play cast.
Best wishes for a great production! You obviously have the tools to make it wonderful, no matter what size you go with.

------------------------------
Valerie Gargus
NJ Thespians Festival Director
Play & Thespian Troupe Director
Northern Burlington County Reg HS
Columbus, NJ
------------------------------

Hey!

I performed this show with a community theatre back in June and played Teddy! We had a cast of 18 (mostly older high school and college students). That covered the 12 named roles and then we had an "ensemble" of 6 that covered smaller roles, mollusks, and, pirates. The show was staged in the round in a black box so everyone was in the room at all times. The director's vision was that we appeared to be actors sitting around the stage listening to the story and when it was our turn to tell it we hopped up on the stage. Therefore, "Kate The Actor" and "Teddy" were different people with different mannerisms. We approached it as a creative process for the whole cast. Our director was super open to new ideas and comedic additions to the show. In fact, our first week of rehearsals was team-building improv and theatre games. As a group, we looked at ways to solve "problems." All 18 of us had to find a way to do the scene where the "boys are thrown out of a box" with nothing but our bodies, 4-5ft poles, and a 35ft rope. In one of these early rehearsals, we sat in a circle and everyone played any instrument they could. We had a tuba player who ended up playing the jaws theme when the crocodile surrounds the boys in the cage. We also added a lot of little bits that made our show unique. For example, during "Swim On" each actor "swam" across the stage with large, random props from other shows (like a giant shoe or a clock) and it became an Easter egg hunt for longtime audience members. It was a great experience! Have fun!

------------------------------
Kate Durgin
------------------------------

------Original Message------

First time musical theater director here! We're going to do Peter and the Starcatcher. I have a question about cast size.

Our school is brand new - only two years old, 90 students grades 9-11. Last year I had to beg students to be in our shows and was able to get 8 for Twelfth Night and 7 for AntigoneX. This year 15 signed up for Almost, Maine, and now 21 for Peter and the Starcatcher! Looks like we're doing something right ...

These are my first high school theater shows, and I'm still not sure how the whole thing works in terms of casting. In all the other shows I've directed in the past 15 years (professional and college), the idea is to cast the best actors and look forward to seeing the others at another audition. But in high school it seems like the idea is both to cast the best actors and to give as many people as possible an amazing theater experience. Am I getting this right? So for a musical do you just cast as many people who sign up, even if some of the students have tiny roles?

Peter and the Starcatcher calls for an ensemble of 12 to play over 100 roles. Have you directed it with more students and just divvy up the roles? is it better for this particular play to stick with 12? I'm directing and I'm the musical director. Is 21 too many students to manage?

Thank you!
- Arden


------------------------------
Arden Thomas
Teaching Artist, Theater
Sequoyah High School
Pasadena CA
------------------------------

We did this show during the fall of 2016. I cast 36 people. Great show for expansion.

A-men

------------------------------
A-men Rasheed
Dean of Students
Director of Theater
Westminster School
Simsbury CT
------------------------------

I'd love to heat specifics on how you expanded? Just general ensemble? 

Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Gustafson
Morris IL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 12-22-2017 06:31
From: A-men Rasheed
Subject: Peter and the Starcatcher - cast size

We did this show during the fall of 2016. I cast 36 people. Great show for expansion.

A-men

------------------------------
A-men Rasheed
Dean of Students
Director of Theater
Westminster School
Simsbury CT
------------------------------

The show I brought to international festival had 21 players in it and worked really well. If you personally message me, I will send you a script of how we divided up the parts. But generally the concept was that everyone that was originally double cast as a human character only had one role. Then also, because many actors play other elements of the story you can use them as you please. And of course everyone's main character was player, storyteller, actor. As if anyone could have played any role at any time.

Sent from my iPhone

------Original Message------

I'd love to heat specifics on how you expanded? Just general ensemble? 

Andrea

------------------------------
Andrea Gustafson
Morris IL
------------------------------

Hi, 

You are absolutely right. You want to build your program and if you have people that want to join, put them in. We are doing The Little Mermaid this year. I have been teaching for 24 years and my musicals range from 25-35 students. I have 300+ students in my program and had 50 students try out this week. I made the decision to put everyone in the show. It seems like you are getting more students involved and that is great! Keep it up.

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Gary Sessa
Theatre Teacher
Clark County School District
Las Vegas NV
------------------------------