An all too common problem. Mostly because, as some people stated, admin just don't 'get' what goes on behind the scenes. Muggles go to restaurants and cook in their own kitchen, and go to sporting events and have probably played sports at sometime in their lives, so they 'get' how that all works, and they are more willing to pay attention to issues they 'get'. But, when a "Muggle" goes to a performance, all they see is the finished 'magic'. (BTW, "muggle is an old English term, meaning someone who is ignorant – in the 'not knowing' way, not the 'unintelligent' way.) And it doesn't help our cause that if everything goes as planned technically, then the Muggles should only see the magic!
They don't 'get' that the amount of funding going to the arts versus sports for children in schools is in inverse proportion to the amount of money spent on arts entertainment versus sports by grown ups in the real world. American's value their entertainment more than they value their sports. $47 billion a year is spent on entertainment versus $24.5 billion spent on professional sports.
They also don't 'get' that tech theatre is not a 'performing' art, and is in fact a CTE and STEM subject. Many techies don't care to 'perform'.
The also don't 'get' that theatre (performance and tech) is a "whole learning" subject, and gives students skills they will use in their adult life, regardless of their profession. They don't get that probably as many students in a math class go on to be mathematicians as many students in theatre class go on to be performers or technicians.
It's rare the admin who will – lets face it, financially – support high school theatre management. It's rare the admin who reads forums with conversations between theatre teachers.
Unfortunately, though, not only do admin not 'get' theatre, they don't want to, or don't feel it's necessary to spend the time on it. You're ahead of the game if you have that rare admin who will accept an invitation to a tech rehearsal, or a set building class, or attend meetings. The more common scenario, is, as Kelly succinctly states, "Getting Admin behind anything is like pulling teeth".
So, that's the depressing 'state of the art'. So, what are we to do?
I truly believe that everything everyone has mentioned that they are doing is 'raising the bar'. Together we have to make it the 'norm' to have a High School Theatre Manager – and technicians! If your school theatre hosts a variety of school events, even if it's not hired out to outside events, then you are running a 'roadhouse' and you need a Theatre Manager.
We also have to make it the norm to have a CTE certified teacher teaching tech theatre classes. And if it's the norm for high school sports to hire several coaches per sport, then it should also be the norm to hire several 'coaches' per specialty in the theatre. I have worked at schools that are coming close to this 'norm', so it can happen, and for more examples, check out the school theatres on the Gold Standards page of my website. http://www.presett.org/gold-standard-schools.html
What admin need to understand is that a theatre is not a classroom that people can just go into and use on their own. It's a hazardous place, and it takes technical know-how to operate. Can you imagine the uproar if an English teacher decided to take their class into the science lab one day because they were doing a unit on radium, and they thought it would be good for their students to experience? Or if the PE teacher decided to take their class into the woodshop, in order to make their own baseball bats? These spaces are respected as hazardous and technical, because people in general are familiar with science labs and woodshops - at some point they've probably been in one. The theatre needs to be afforded the same level of respect.
I think with familiarity and normalcy, respect and understanding will come. So it's going to be up to us to create that piece by piece.
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Beth Rand, EBMS
Lighting Designer
School Theatre Operations Coach
Next HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE MANAGEMENT ONLINE COURSE for Drama Teachers: Spring Session closed. Summer session starts June 4th.
NEW SERVICE: REP PLOT DESIGN - Never have to re-hang and re-focus all your lights again! (Can be accomplished remotely if you're not in the Boulder/Denver area.)
Author of "HIGH SCHOOL THEATRE OPERATIONS; FOR ADMINISTRATORS, ARCHITECTS AND ACADEMICS" and several more books at
http://www.presett.org/helpful-books-for-you.html.www.PRESETT.orgWestminster, CO
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-10-2018 18:58
From: Jo Beth Gonzalez
Subject: theatre manager and administration respect
My school superintendent does not seem to recognize the high level of responsibility that the role of the Performing Arts Center manager/tech director entails. For example, after our recent pilot production of Newsies closed, the superintendent said to our Tech Director, offhandedly but sincerely, ,"Just wanted to tell you good job! I hear you had a hand in it."
Do you have any suggestions for helping our school superintendent and other administrators understand the PAC Manager position in the heightened light it deserves?
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Jo Beth Gonzalez
Teacher/Drama Director
Bowling Green City Schools
Bowling Green OH
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