NAHS Theatre prides itself on selecting a wide variety of plays and musicals that will provide a learning stretch for the students involved. The department looks for theatrical pieces that not only explore the human condition but also issues and themes that are relevant and topical. Therefore, thespians and audience members alike can gain a better understanding of our world from viewing the works we produce.
Each play or musical considered for performance is first vetted by the Artistic Director and the department's staff. When reviewing scripts, they consider the following factors:
Age Appropriateness - Reviewing the content of theatrical works is incredibly important, because it must align with the age of the students involved and the expectations of school community. Plays and musicals that contain too much adult content are simply not considered.
Balance - We do not want to perform the same kind of show over and over again. Therefore, we consider theatrical works from a wide range of genres and styles, seeking to find balance from year to year and within a season itself. Sometimes, the productions we select for a season follows a specific theme. For example, during our 2015 - 2016, we performed Kiss Me, Kate and Macbeth in honor of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's passing.
Difficulty Level - The theatrical works we select must provide all students with a learning stretch, which will ensure their growth as performers and technicians through the rehearsal process. When vetting shows, we look specifically at how we can grow them as actors, dancers, and singers as well as designers and crew members.
Marketability - We consider whether or not we can market the theatrical work to our community. If the show is a known quantity (e.g. FOOTLOOSE or Beauty and the Beast), we can potentially attract larger audiences to celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our thespians.
Technical Requirements - Some theatrical works require certain technical elements to tell their story that may be too expensive (e.g. flying) or simply outside of our department's capabilities because of constraints we face. We only have three weeks in the McCoy to build our entire set and must consider whether the requirements of a show are possible in that timeframe.
We feel it is important to provide student voice in the selection process. Each year, a selection committee is formed that is comprised of thespians from all grade levels and is open to anyone involved in the department. To start, the committee is asked what shows they would like to see produced at New Albany High School in the future. A list is compiled from these suggestions, and 5 - 8 titles are selected from it that they are interested in fully vetting. Students read the script for each of those shows and discuss their opinions / thoughts on each of them in committee meetings. Students are asked to evaluate the shows in the same way that the directors do (see list above).
Once all of the shows have been discussed, students vote on which show they would work best for our upcoming season. Directors take into consideration students' feedback throughout the committee meetings as well as their preference reflected in the vote when making the final decision.
Building and district administrators offer feedback on shows considered for performance and are supportive of the extensive vetting done by staff and students. They believe productions should not only challenge students in a variety of ways but also grow them as thespians and people, thereby ensuring the best academic and developmental outcomes possible. Building and district administrators retain final approval of all extracurricular productions.
The parents involved in our Theatre Boosters organization provide their suggestions for possible productions as well as their opinions of shows proposed by the directors.
Finally, the NAHS Theatre Department has included audience surveys in the programs for each of its productions, giving attendees an opportunity to not only provide feedback on what they have seen but also offer their ideas as to what they would like to see the department stage in the future.