Kids these days! WTF!

[thescarletwoman]

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For the actual update. I'm helping out at one of the local High Schools and their fall musical which is, brace yourselves, Sweeney Todd. Yes, a High School that isn't a performing arts school is doing Sweeney. And best of all, their poor violins haven't played a show before EVER -- and their first one is Sweeney. Yeah, they're more than a little lost.

But what I don't get (and I sound like I'm sixty saying this) is kids today. I graduated high school in 2002. NOT that long ago. But these kids today! We're doing dress rehearsal on monday and the director wanted to run act 2 first. Fine, whatever.

They were used to getting out of rehearsal at 5:30. 5:30 comes? My side of the pit goes from 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 celli and a bass... to me, a cellist and the bass player. AND best of all, they're half-way through act I at about 6pm. Director calls out that the rest of the ensemble should go do vocals.

Kid on stage: Uh... they're not here.
Director: what do you mean they're not here?
Kid on stage: They... well... they all left to go home.

Didn't tell the director. just left. When I was in school? We stayed until the job was done. We started dress rehearsals at 4pm once we were done with school. Every night we called papa john's to get pizza delivered to the school because we were there until we got done. If it was 10pm, it was 10 pm.

Seriously. What is WITH kids today?

Comments

[thescarletwoman.livejournal.com]

Okay, then it isn't just me.

I was the same way. Hell, I'm not even GOING to this school and I'm the last one to leave making sure things are okay before I do. I know the director REALLY well and he and I usually sit and discuss how things are going and what I see well and not (being the Sondheim freak fanatic fan that I am).

I don't get it. I really, really don't.

[brighty18.livejournal.com]

That's appalling.

As a former director of high school theatre (thank you, Disney, for killing the phrase, "high school musical") I am stunned. Even in a district with HUGE transportation issues and a lot of kids who came from across town, I NEVER had people just leave. Granted, this often entailed being very creative with rides, etc., but we got it done. SHIT.

And Sondheim is NOT a good introduction to musical theatre for performers of any sort. Siriusly, unless you are a pretty damned good musician, it's difficult. My husband (a bassoonist with a degree from NEC and one from CIM) does pit stuff, but is not an huge musical theatre fan. Still, the first time he ever saw Into the Woods he was floored by the degree of difficulty for both the singers and the orchestra. And that show is easier than Sweeney. When I was directing the students would always beg to do Westside Story, but (sadly) I just did not think that we had the orchestral talent (and we were not allowed ringers), so I had to nix it. There is nothing worse than badly done musicals.

[starshine-rain6.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, you're far from alone in that you stuck around until all hours of the day or night for rehearsals and such. Between theater, band, soccer and OM I practically lived at the school.

But despite the kids being irresponsible little brats (and that's putting it nicely), what was the DIRECTOR thinking? He/she had to have known that his/her kids were like this - and yet he/she still programmed Sweeney? Perhaps it was wishful thinking on the director's part, but really, I think he/she was asking for it a bit. Program for the kids you have, not the kids you wish you have. And for goodness sakes, put down IN WRITING when the rehearsals start and end and send it to the parents so that the kids have no doubt about when they can leave. Sheesh, even I know that much! You should take this person's job, you'd be much better at it than they are it sounds like.

[unintendedmuse.livejournal.com]

Oi vey. That's all I have to say to that.

[avengangle.livejournal.com]

Wait, what? I'm a whopping two years older than you and even on non-dress rehearsal days, we stayed until we were done, even if that meant 10pm or whatever. Yikes.

[dark-branwen.livejournal.com]

I know EXACTLY how you feel. TAing for Freshman this year has taught me so much about how much children suck. They've gotten crazy better since we got ahold of them, but at the beginning, I was ready to frickin' destroy them.

[kshadow-chan.livejournal.com]

I used to deal with crap like that when we had performances for university choir. Rehearsals and performances alike, people just randomly left or didn't show up.

I think I'm younger than you by a year or two, and I can't stand kids these days. They (the majority of them) don't care about anything that isn't being handed to them on a silver platter.

[idleleaves.livejournal.com]

Kids suck. Srsly. My college class last year was made up of 90% 18-year-olds, and I could not believe the attitudes and entitlement complexes.