I am currently in the final stages of presenting a one weekend performance of Peter Shaffer's award winning play, "Amadeus". Researching the Sam French website, I notice yet again that few high schools attempt to take on this intricate and thought-provoking piece of art. And in this instance, although this is my second time directing this play for high school, this is now a new, revised script, due to the author's constant amendments.  I've spent the last six months designing and the last three months directing this award winning classic for our school community here in North Adams. With three dress rehearsals next week, we open April 28th at Drury High School for a three-night run. 

Sometimes things in the theatre don't go according to plan. People fall through, issues arise, or other unforeseeable issues occur but knowing how to get through these things can make the overall experience better. Below I have compiled a list of tips that I have learned from some of my most stressful theatre experiences.

Sometimes ever the brightest stars don't get their chance to shine. On March 23rd, the world of theatre lost yet another uprising star. Parker Leikam, an 18 year old senior at South Jefferson High School in Adams, New York, was killed in a head on car collision only two blocks from his home. Police reported that the other driver tried to pass a vehicle in front of him, entering a no passing zone, and crashing into Leikam's minivan.

Anyone who's ever been involved in theatre can probably give you a mile-long list of stressful events and situations they've encountered on the stage and behind the scenes. Of course, you rarely ever notice these times when you're watching us perform. That's part of our job; we have to be able to work around the kinks for the sake of the audience. However, some of these matters are slightly more pressing than the usual 'kinks.' As it should happen, my school has just started work on its production of the classic musical Oliver! The set show dates are May 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th. We started working with little more than a month to put the whole thing together. This isn't the first time that a lot of us have dealt with such circumstances, and for anyone else who can relate to them, I've developed a short list of pros and cons, playfully entitled 'The Good News' and 'The Bad News.'

The first-ever adapted version of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT intended for performance by high school students is currently in development and will debut today, April 14. The pilot production is being presented by Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, New Jersey. Check out a behind the scenes look below!

The first-ever adapted version of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT intended for performance by high school students is currently in development and will debut today, April 14. The pilot production is being presented by Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, New Jersey.  Check out a behind the scenes look below!

Despite taking extreme precautions and detailed safety checks, two high school students in New Zealand were injured during the school's production of the Sondheim musical SWEENEY TODD

One of the greatest parts of being undeniably dedicated and addicted to musical theater is that you are constantly surrounded by a plethora of individuals who share the same passion; especially in high school. High school is abnormally the "best and/or worst time of your life" in just a mere four years. It is a one of the most formative times in an individual's life, when one truly begins to become the sort of individual that will carry them well into adulthood.  This is why the performing arts are vital in my personal high school career. If I am unhappy with my own life, through theatre, I am afforded the ability to step into another character's shoes and "become them" practically every day. Because I am so active in theater, my entire friend-base consists of other thespians that I have performed with in the past. These bonds and talents exist, not only in the local community theatre troupes, but in my own high school's theater program as well.  I believe the incredible ability to work together on stage in spite of personality conflicts, extreme exhaustion at times, vast differences in age, and the daily "drama" of a typical high school student's life is one of the factors that makes the Hilton Head Christian Academy's drama department so successful and why it has been a major component in shaping so many spectacular young adults.

PIANO SLAM 8, an annual competition for writing poetry inspired by music for Miami-Dade County's middle and high school students, presents its 16 finalists for an exciting and engaging live performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday, April 13th at 7:30pm. The mission of PIANO SLAM is to utilize music as a tool and motivation to give youth a voice and develop creative writing skills through artistic expression. 

The first-ever adapted version of GREEN DAY'S AMERICAN IDIOT intended for performance by high school students is currently in development and will debut on April 14. The pilot production is being presented by Jonathan Dayton High School in Springfield, New Jersey.  Check out a sneak peek below!

Santa Susana High School, a award winning performing arts high school in Simi Valley, California presents: The Addams Family. Presented in our state of the art Performing Arts Center, the dates for the 6 show run are April 22, 23, 29 and 30. Santa Susana High School continues their tradition of producing top quality productions utilizing student producers, co directors, production orchestra and a student crew for sound, set, stage and tech support all led by our amazing teaching staff. In addition, this cast contain two actors nominated for 2015 Jerry Herman Awards (Grant Measures and Josh Ponce.)  This is a can't miss event!

Guilderland High School's drama club, The Guilderland Players, will open their 47th musical on March 10th with a production of the Tony Award winning hit, 42nd Street. The show, originally appearing on Broadway in 1980, features music by Harry Warren, lyrics by Al Dubin, and a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble.

Nashville audiences this weekend find themselves with two concurrently running opportunities to bask in the warm glow of Miranda's heartfelt creation as Hume-Fogg Academic High School's Theatre presents In The Heights for a three-performance run (which premiered last night - on Broadway, naturally, Nashville's Broadway) and Street Theatre Company, which tonight opens its 11th season with its mounting of the show that will run for the next three weekends.

Broadway World Austin continues our series looking into Austin area theatres with the Fine Arts Academy at McCallum High School. As Austin ISD's district-wide fine arts intensive high school program, it provides arts education for 9th - 12th grade students pursuing an accelerated arts curriculum as fine arts majors. McCallum Fine Arts Academy attracts a diverse student body from all over Austin, including students who attended public, private, and home middle schools. We sat down to talk to director Joshua Denning to get a deeper look into this program that is producing theatre that holds up to the work being produced on any stage in town.

BroadwayWorld interviews Ron S. McCan, director of The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts' spring musical, CABARET. Ron is the Assistant Director of the Theatre Program at Asawa SOTA and an alum of SOTA?s Technical Theatre Department (Class of 1995).

The busiest times of the musical theater world is quickly coming amongst us, especially for high school thespians- spring show season. Community and local theaters are either holding auditions or waiting for a stressful week of tech before productions that have the potential to be massive moments in the theater and community history.  For high school students, this is the most exhilarating, yet draining, season of the year. Fortunately- I am one of these students. 

This past weekend, the Clay High School Fine Arts Department opened and closed the show The Curious Savage with two different casts of students and two different interpretations by two different directors. I saw the first cast which was comprised of two seniors, five juniors, and four freshman and directed by Kathryn Hein.

Basque school puts on a big show: Costumes, props, sets--all, impeccably done. Their chief assets are the students, whose talent gives this show life.

The Chaminade Players, the award-winning drama troupe at Chaminade College Preparatory High School, present THE ADDAMS FAMILY MUSICAL, opening March 4 in the Tutor Family Center for the Performing Arts on the West Hills campus at 7500 Chaminade Ave.

My name is Justin Rubenstein, and I am a first year Junior at Dreyfoos School of the Arts. I am fortunate enough to be a part of the spring production of Shrek: the Musical, which has been nothing short of a magical experience. In Shrek, I play the characters Papa Shrek, a Duloc Guard, and a Knight. Although I was also in the fall production of Romeo and Juliet, this was the first time that I have ever been involved in a musical theatre production even close to this caliber. There have been a tremendous amount of new ideas, practices, and methods I had never been involved in and, pairing this with more technical aspects to a show than I have ever encountered, makes this one of the most enjoyable and educational shows I've been a part of to date.

Hey Y'all! I'm Dylan T. Jackson and I'm playing "Donkey" in the upcoming Dreyfoos School of The Arts production of "Shrek: The Musical." Having the opportunity of being involved in a lot of shows here at Dreyfoos, I can honestly say we've never done anything like this in my years here. It's a humongous show to carry, especially being one of the leads. Donkey is the most energetic, athletic and fun-filled character in the show. One would think it'd be easy to play him but it's actually pretty difficult. The hard part for me is staying present in every single moment as Donkey would. What's harder is not speaking but listening to other characters and responding just as energetic as you are when speaking. 

What do small children, stage mothers, cows, egg rolls and strippers have in common?  Gypsy, of course, Riverdale Rising Stars' multi-generational show this season!

With music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown, THE WIZ is an urban retelling of the classic fantasy story based on the children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Filled with beloved songs, incredible dance numbers, tornadoes, munchkins, and skateboarding monkeys, the enthusiasm of the cast as directed and choreographed by Chelsea Field and magnificent student rock orchestra conducted by Stephen McDonough under the Musical Direction of Kelci Hahn, will transport you in believing this is a professional company of triple threat actors at the top of their game.

Even as a high school student, Brandon Hoyt is something of a renaissance man: he sings, he dances, he acts - and he's into information technology, he's a whiz at math and science, he's considering a college career that includes any number of top level universities and the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis. And he's a 2016 First Night Most Promising Actor, part of a cadre of young actors from area colleges and high schools who have already distinguished themselves both onstage and offstage.

A.W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts presents SHREK THE MUSICAL, Saturday, February 27 - March 6, 2016.