Mary,

 

Been there, and feelin' for you!

 

You might consider sending out another communication (email?) to the parents, reinforcing the expectation and necessary commitment, and asking that they not pull their kid from rehearsal for anything but emergencies. So, haircuts, routine doctor's appointments (that can easily be rescheduled), shopping, et cetera -- all these would apply as non-emergencies and will hopefully be curtailed. In addition, I've found it very helpful to have an assistant call the kid/parent as soon as you discover that they are not at their scheduled rehearsal.

 

AND perhaps the most helpful, have a heart to heart, culminating with a revised expectation -- everyone must be there for the last two weeks of rehearsal (the ONLY exception being for serious illness) . And that includes that weekend rehearsal block before tech week. BTW, if you haven't scheduled at least four hours on both Saturday and Sunday prior to opening, you could also do that now ... and communicate about it in that other email, perhaps.

 

Best of luck!

Hi, Mary. BECAUSE your musical is extra-curricular, you have the ultimate sanction available: cut the ones who "just don't get it" from your cast. Cold turkey, next time they miss. BUT only after repeating your expectations.

 

You say you have no replacements. YOU DO! You have kids who would almost kill for good roles, who may not have seemed so perfect for them originally, but who will work their butts off for you if you give them a chance. And if you have to rewrite the script for fewer characters to make it work, DO IT!  Many times I've seen the "perfect" talented student beat out by others who wanted it more and were willing to work for it.

 

If you don't accept that "Nobody is Irreplaceable," neither will your kids, and they'll have you over a barrel. Take a military viewpoint: EVERYONE is replaceable, because they must be in the heat of battle.

 

Do you have athletic teams? If so, would the coaches put up with the behavior you describe? I'll bet not. And sports are also extra-curricular. Any and every production is nothing if it is not a team effort. That's the point you need to make. Of COURSE talk privately to the slackers first, and of course notify their families before taking action, but make sure they understand that they're either in or they're out.

 

I'm not usually so hard-nosed, but I've been in a few situations where I had to be, and it isn't much fun, but part of your job is teaching those kids about self-discipline and commitment, and now's the time to do it.

 

All the best,

 

John

 

 

Mary,

 

I wholehearedly agree with John and Tom. We are also a small private school and are doing a musical this year with a small cast. We have some roles that can be doubled. Have you explored that angle? By now, many of the students know each other's songs and parts and could easily fill in for each other.

 

Your first musical has to be done so well that your standard of excellent performance will be attractive to other students in the future and hopefully you won't be wanting for students to fill the needed roles. If that means saying good-bye to a couple of students to assure that excellence, then so be it!

 

Is your administration on board with the hard decisions you need to make? Without that support, you just have to do the best you can. With their support, I would definitely move ahead with some of the recommendations you have received!

 

You've done the right things so far. Keep plugging away and let the results speak for themselves!

 

Sincerely,

 

Ray

Hi, Mary...

 

I couldn't agree more with Tom, John, and Ray - especially John.  Here is a story from my own high school teaching experience to reinforce what they have said: 

 

My first musical was Brigadoon.  I really had no experience, and just relied on my musical instincts.  When it came time to cast the leading male role, I looked at my small choir and saw only two options:  a good baritone who was basically a "what you saw was all you were going to get" type of guy, and a shy, introverted, bordering-on-legally blind tenor who had a pleasant voice but was a good reader and was the most reliable singer I had.  In my eyes, the tenor had more potential than the baritone, so I went with him.  At one point in rehearsals I asked him if he could remove his thick glasses.  Although the drama director tried to stop him, he did take them off - and he went on to do a wonderful job.  I'm sure it was a pivotal point in his young life.  Today he is a good friend and his son is one of the finest tenors in the area, which tells you a lot about the direction his life has taken.

 

Take John's second paragraph to heart.   If you make it part of your teaching, it'll change your teaching career.

 

We had the usual attendance problems in our musicals, mainly because of conflicts with sports.  Music usually came in "second."  Of course, that rankled us.  But we forged ahead, and we discovered that the kids who missed were actually being quite responsible.  We missed them like crazy and fought like the dickens to see that they were at rehearsals (often losing but working out compromises with coaches as much as possible), but the next time they came to rehearsal they knew their lines and/or songs.  So set attainable high standards, stick to them, be hard-nosed if circumstances call for it ("speak softly but carry a big stick"), and GOOD LUCK!!!