Open Forum

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Original Message------

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Original Message------

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Hang in there: your daughter is what now? A junior going into the spring play? So she and you have only one more year to face this "problem." Both my son and daughter performed for years in my after-school Shakespeare company. Like everyone else, they worked their way up from such roles as The Turkey in A Christmas Carol (kindergarten) to Rosalind in As You Like It (senior year). Drama teachers and coaches have kids too. It's unfortunate that anyone imagines your daughter is receiving preferential treatment but you and she know that is not true. Sometimes knowing it for yourself has to be enough. 

------------------------------
Richard Carter
Author/Director: Community Shakespeare Company;
MS/HS Teacher, Lopez Schools
Lopez Island, WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Hi!

I will be facing this in a couple of years when my son comes through. Not excited about that.

You have a panel who all felt that your daughter deserved the role. Yes, her record absolutely speaks for itself. Not to mention, she is the daughter of a drama teacher. It is not unreasonable to see why she might be killing it at drama. She certainly doesn't deserve NOT to get these roles because she is your daughter. People are always going to complain because they didn't get roles they wanted. Some don't realize it's simply because they can't play those roles and not because your "favorite" or, in this case, your daughter got the role. 

------------------------------
Rachel Sparks
Ches Beach MD
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

I have gone through this with both of my children.  My son is now a freshman in college and my daughter is a junior.  They both spent a couple years in the chorus of the musical which I direct, and made their way to lead/supporting roles in their junior and senior years.  There was a bit of a flare up of objection when my son was cast as "Man in Chair" in Drowsy Chaperone.  (He did go on to get a nomination for a regional award which was nice.) 

We always have at least 4 adults involved in the casting decisions.  We also follow a very specific policy that is on our website and provides a step by step process when dealing with faculty children.  That has seemed to help.  You can see the policy here:  http://www.bancroftschool.org/uploaded/faculty/pbelanger/Faculty_Kids_Policy.pdf

All in all, I try to tell the kids that our goal is to be sure nobody is given an advantage or disadvantage because they are a faculty kid or not.  That is the only fair way to do it.  Most of the kids get that and those that don't are often just looking for something to hang their disappointment on  (they are teenagers after all...)

------------------------------
Christopher Sheldon
Performing Arts Teacher
Bancroft School
Worcester MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

I may have a unique view of this situation. I have been both a theatre director and an athletic director. If the basketball coach's son started and scored 20 plus points a game and made the all-conference and all-state teams at the end of the season…no one would complain. They would be thrilled he went to their school. They would say that the fact that he was brought up around basketball because his father was a coach, helped him to have a better understanding of the skills needed to succeed in his sport. The same thing applies in your situation. Most administrators have far more experience with athletics, so this comparison may help them deal with parents. As a former administrator, I can tell you they are probably only hearing from 2-3 parents. Thank them for their input and do what is best for your entire program.


Kurt Knoedelseder
Theatre Director | kknoedelseder@desmet.org
314‐567‐3500, ext. 1297
233 N. New Ballas Rd. St. Louis, Mo. 63141
www.desmet.org

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Original Message------

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Original Message------

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Hi, while I don't have my own children going through my program; I think we've probably all dealt with accusations of favoritism. I echo the fact that it helps to have a panel, score sheets, and written policies. The panel does benefit from having someone outside of the school (I can usually rotate through the middle and elementary school arts teachers and arts community members) to at least sit in on the first round of auditions- effectively being the hurdle to callbacks. Callbacks are then typically handled by just my production team (which usually includes students, so that helps that a group of students contribute to the selection). Score sheets unequivocally demonstrate the superiority of one student's abilities over another, and are documentation of the fact that all initial first cuts were not made by you. Lastly, adopt written policies that are easily accessible and signed by you, your principal, and your activities coordinator (or equivalent). Our current policy dictates that a single student may not have 2 main stage lead roles in a row unless the show is double cast. This means you have to label roles in advance. Because of this policy my students who know they're not eligible for a lead won't audition for that. They'll audition for supporting, or will try their hand at something new. This spreads the opportunities around a bit more and encourages students to learn from one another as opposed to griping that someone else got the role. They start to understand that the role was given to someone who demonstrated something they did not- and perhaps they should pay attention in rehearsals in order to learn what that something is.

Granted, my students have 3 main stage shows a year, 1 second stage full length, and between 4 and 6 one acts to be in all year. Part of my strategy is to keep them so busy they don't have time to complain.

------------------------------
Victoria Kesling Councill
Chapter Director - VA EdTA/ Virginia Thespians
Theatre Director- Fine & Performing Arts Department NKHS
Artistic Director - NKHS Trojan Theatre
Artistic Director - Kent England Exchange Production
Virginia Commonwealth University BFA Theatre Education, BFA Art Education '08
University of Houston - MA in Theatre Candidate '16

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art." - Konstantin Stanislavski
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-28-2017 13:11
From: Amy Sando
Subject: Casting my own daughter

​Don't even address the complaints because it would just feed the fire, and you need to be above the pettiness and show that you are confident in the casting. The complainers can go to the panel or administration if they want to make formal complaints. 

 

 

Amy Sando,

Douglas High School Drama

asando@dcsd.k12.nv.us

392-1543

 

"Whether you think you can or can't, you're right!"   Henry Ford

My wife faced the same problem with our son in her program. What occurred to me was that there were still complaints when our son was not in the program. People will always think their child would have been the best. Especially when they have little understanding of theatre or education. There is a direct correlation between the lack of knowledge and the need to complain.

------------------------------
James Van Leishout
Olympia WA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

Jerry,

Don't sweat the small stuff.  All three of my Daughters went through my program and I had similar issues - but like you I set up a rubric - and actually hired blind guest directors that did not know me or my family - and they and the others I brought into help audition came to the same conclusions.  It sounds like time to let the administration do their job of  backing you up!  The admin who was at the auditions should answer the critics a bit!  We even would not allow names to be used at auditions - they had numbers at one point!

Quality is quality - the fact that my kids (and yours) grew up - and probably learned to walk in the isle of a theater does give them an edge - but only an edge.  Only someone dedicated to the Art can do what your daughter (and mine) have done so there is nothing "unfair" about hard work that pays off!  You and your daughter keep being the TED's (Tactful Energetic Dependable) people and keep working!  To use a completely illegitimate latin phrase "Illegitimi non carborundum" - or badly translating the illegitimate phrase -  "Don’t let the bastards grind you down."

You will always have critics - they are usually coming from one of two spaces: 1. they feel entitled and live in a fantasy land (OOOHHH that sounded a bit presidential).  2.  They feel jealous and have no interest in actually doing the work but want to direct how it will be done and for whom it shall be done....  Both are not worth losing sleep over.  In the real world of professional theater - such an attitude will get you nowhere at all in a hurry.  There are no favors in the real world just work!

You have done what you can to eliminate your bias - and the jury is in so to speak - don't allow jerks to drag down the future of theater over jealousy.

By the way all of my daughters had leads and awards and are now on to successes in their lives!  Two of them are working towards PHD's in Clinical Psychology (and both of them say they are acting every day of their professional careers), one is a Senior in theater at the local state university in Stage management and Entertainment business.  All are 3.8+ students and driven to be over achievers in their departments and Jobs - guess what - they are still encountering the "you favor S. over me" from their co workers and all three say the experiences they had in High School concerning the favoritism are being re - experienced in the work place / school - so be sure you spend time with your daughter talking this over and process healthy responses!  I had many hours doing this with mine and now they laugh at their detractors, and realize that most folks are jealous of successes because can't figure out how to be so successful!  All three say these co workers who complain about their successes are lazy or unthoughtful about how they do their work - they expect the job and life to be easy because they went to school - they can't figure out life takes hard work!

Hang in there - but don't back down - you have been as fair as you can be - and every now and then a perk of being a teacher is saying "get over yourself!"

------------------------------
Robert Holter
Helena MT
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

I had two sons in my program for 4 years. Both were dynamic performers and were active in the arts in the community outside of school in both dance and music ensembles. They both auditioned for and were accepted to the Conservatory Program at the school which has a panel of 4 arts faculty adjudicating the process. Both have since graduated and one is a junior in college and a theatre major. Both had SUPERIOR ratings and critics choice awards every year since 9th grade at District level as well as straight Superiors at Florida State Thespians in a variety of categories.

The point is, they were good and well deserving of leading roles. However, I was cognizant of constant scrutiny from kids and their parents. Consequently, I was cautious (rightly or wrongly) of how I cast them. Neither had "the lead" in any show. Their high school careers were a steady stream of supporting roles that gave them an opportunity to shine, but not so brightly as to draw too much attention. 

Again, this was my choice and may not be the right advice for everyone. It paid off for me and I avoided any conflicts during all four years of their participation in my program.

Hope this helps,

Will Eyerly
Director of Fine & Performing Arts
Canterbury School

------------------------------
William Eyerly
Fine Arts Director
Fort Myers FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

All three of my kids acted for me at some point. They also all did tech jobs at some point. The first time I cast my daughter there was grumbling, but after she proved her ability and played smaller parts well, the grumbling stopped. My sons were both content with smaller parts, and both did tech very well. I probably expected more from my kids than from the others, and they often complained that they had to be there before and after everyone else. Hang in there. They deserve the same opportunity as any of your students.

------------------------------
Ellen Di Filippo
Tracy CA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2017 11:07
From: William Eyerly
Subject: Casting my own daughter

I had two sons in my program for 4 years. Both were dynamic performers and were active in the arts in the community outside of school in both dance and music ensembles. They both auditioned for and were accepted to the Conservatory Program at the school which has a panel of 4 arts faculty adjudicating the process. Both have since graduated and one is a junior in college and a theatre major. Both had SUPERIOR ratings and critics choice awards every year since 9th grade at District level as well as straight Superiors at Florida State Thespians in a variety of categories.

The point is, they were good and well deserving of leading roles. However, I was cognizant of constant scrutiny from kids and their parents. Consequently, I was cautious (rightly or wrongly) of how I cast them. Neither had "the lead" in any show. Their high school careers were a steady stream of supporting roles that gave them an opportunity to shine, but not so brightly as to draw too much attention. 

Again, this was my choice and may not be the right advice for everyone. It paid off for me and I avoided any conflicts during all four years of their participation in my program.

Hope this helps,

Will Eyerly
Director of Fine & Performing Arts
Canterbury School

------------------------------
William Eyerly
Fine Arts Director
Fort Myers FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------

To Kurt--your point is perfect!  I've said the same thing a gazillion times  (though I've not been able to speak from your particular perspective) --if a player is quarterback for more than one year, no one balks.  Theatre auditions seem to be the only competitive event in which the world seems to think the competitors should "take turns."  

To William, I'm sorry for your predicament.  It sounds truly not fun.  But I tend to agree with the majority of voices on this one.  NOTHING can stop the the cries of favoritism (with or without one's own family involved)  in an educational theatre setting.  And you have done all the work you can to stave off such accusations.  



------------------------------
Ryan Moore
Theatre Teacher and Forensics Coach
Royal Oak MI
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2017 23:16
From: Jerry Seeger
Subject: Casting my own daughter

Two years ago, as a freshman, my daughter joined my program. I created an audition panel so everything would be fair and included a member of administration on the panel.  He cast my daughter as Frenchy in our production of Grease.  Later that year, she won Critics Choice at both the district and state thespian festivals in monologues and straight superiors in Ensemble Acting at both.
Last year with the audition panel still in place (minus an administration representative), she was cast in both Godspell and as one of the mad women in The Madwoman of Chaillot and went on to earn straight superiors at both district and state for monologues and two superiors and an excellent in Duet Acting at both festivals.
This fall, she was cast (again by an administrator) in the role of Woman in Chair in The Drowsy Chaperone and earned Critics Choice in monologues at the district thespian festival.
Now, she has been cast by the audition panel in the lead role in the spring play.  However, administration said people have complained about her constantly getting great roles.
It was never a problem before when other students consistently earned lead roles and yet none of them were as successful in thespian competition as she.  Shouldn't her accomplishments, as well as her performances, be enough to quiet the disconnect?
Can anyone give me advice?  

Thank you.

------------------------------
Jerry Seeger
Director Of Drama
Plantation FL
------------------------------