High School production or Professional Theatre producton?

[B's Mom]

My daughter is a high school junior. She has a tough decision to make. Her high school will be doing Grease this fall and auditions are in 3 weeks. However, she was just offered a small role in a local theatre company's production of Gypsy.

Since she has yet to audition for the high school production, she has no idea how big or how small of a role she would get. As of today she has yet to land a large role in her high school productions. She enjoys the company of her fellow actors there so I know she would miss that.

The local theatre company that is doing Gypsy is a well respected company. She would be working with equity actors and would also receive compensation.

My question is, which is a better choice considering that she plans to pursue a degree in MT in college?

[bwaylvsong]

The best option would be to explain the situation to the HS to see if she can do both- a lot of kids have conflicts, so unless the performances would be at the same time, she could probably make it work.
If that's not possible, I would say go with Gypsy.

[B's Mom]

Unfortunately, the performances are at the same time. The High School director runs a tight ship and expects loyalty from her students so hopefully this wouldn't hurt my daughter's chances for future productions.
I am curious to know what MT colleges look for in regards to experience. High School productions or Local/Regional Theatre productions?

[AwesomeDanny]

A professional credit would definitely look better than a high school credit, no matter what the size of the role is. Also, working with professionals will probably be a much more valuable experience than a show at the high school.

[karimfantom]

Umm.. Is her dream to get a lead in a high school show? A true thespian would not give two sh*ts about a high school show. just my opinion.

I would DEFINITELY go with Gypsy.
It's a way better show.
That community more than likely has a bigger budget than the high school show.

Being in that community will get her foot in the door.

Dropping out of that show will make her unlikely cast again.

There isn't really a role that is vocally demanding in Grease, it's neutral to all singers. So it's not something you would keep on a resume.

Please tell her not to do Grease.


Also, I agree with Danny. Being in a professional community has a way more stable environment than a high school show. From my experience, I did a show every year of high school except my senior year because it wasn't a good experience for me.

[B's Mom]

I do agree. I think she is leaning toward doing Gypsy. She knows it will be a better experience. There is a part of her that would like to be recognized at her school though. However, she is a serious actress and deep down she wants to do what's best for her future. My hope is that the MT colleges will be satisfied with the experience she has.

[kristinchenofan570]

I would definitely take the professional production. I was actually in a somewhat similar a situation this past spring when I had to decide between taking an ensemble role in a high school production, or auditioning for a professional production that would be around the same time, so I would be unable to do both. I ended up quitting the school production knowing full well that if I weren't to get into the professional production I would be left with nothing, as well as kill any chance I had of landing a good role in any future school production, but that was a risk I was willing to take even though everyone thought I was crazy.
I ended up not only in the professional production but also received a better role, and I have to tell you I could not have made a better decision. The amount of knowledge you gain from working with professionals versus high schoolers is incomparable, and being with a cast of people who are not only older than you, but have been doing this for years really forces you to want to work even harder to get to their level. Also, if she does well, the director of this theatre will notice and she will have an even better chance at getting roles there in the future. Even though it was a little sad seeing a lot of my friends go off to rehearsals together and sitting in the audience while they were all up there performing, I was happy I made the decision I did. (It also feels kind of cool to add your first professional credit onto your resume!) Good luck to your daughter and hope this helped!