Where do 'theater kids' come from?

[IlanaKeller]

Chatted with Alexandra Silber about her new memoir, "White Hot Grief Parade," released today. She  shares her story of her father's death and what happens "when the fruit baskets rot and people stop calling." 

We talked about her three friends, all "theater kids" and musicians, and why that specifically made them so key to getting through those months, and what makes theater people tick in general.

She is incredibly articulate, and I think really gives a look inside the mind of a performer and what it takes and means to be one. She says the education system often values words, numbers, athletic prowess - but not emotional strengths.

"I think what happens is there there are these people that possess extraordinary depth, extraordinary emotional intelligence, inter- and intrapersonal intelligence, musical intelligence — incredible skills to offer the world and no accessible, conventional outlet with which to focus that. I think those kids grow up feeling like they are weirdos and they feel isolated and they feel strange and they feel like they don't belong. They're often the kids who have the deepest and most available emotional well."

But when those kids find theater, they find that outlet, as well as like-minded people who appreciate vulnerability - which, in turn, makes them successful performers.

Thoughts?

Full story here, she has a ton of other really thought-provoking things to say: Broadway's Alexandra Silber mulls loss, life in 'White Hot Grief Parade'

[HamilHansen]

Where do theatre kids come from?

 

Well, when an actor and an actress love each other very much.......

[EllieRose2]

Mostly white, upper middle class families, since are those are the ones with access to the theater (most of the time) and they have theater programs in their school.  I work in a very poor city school district.  There is no money to put on productions, it's very sad.  I was lucky enough to attend very good schools growing up with a lot of money for productions, which introduced me the theater, one of my greatest loves.  Cutting funding to the arts in education is despicable, especially for kids who need an outlet for their creativity.  

[IlanaKeller]

HamilHansen said: "Where do theatre kids come from?



Well, when an actor and an actress love each other very much......."

 

I was waiting for that one, thanks for not disappointing!  

 

[IlanaKeller]

EllieRose2 said: "Cuttingfunding to the arts in education is despicable, especially for kids who need an outlet for their creativity."

 

Absolutely. I'm heartened at the amount of programs working to make the arts more accessible, but it's never enough to reach every kid who would benefit.

Is there anyone in your school or district looking into any kind of grants or other programs? Even if not full productions, obviously, any form of enrichment or theater program would be a great boost.

 

[EllieRose2]

Yes, people do research for grants and are doing so over the summer break.  But, there are simply not enough for every district that applies.  Sigh.

[IlanaKeller]

EllieRose2 said: "Yes, people do research for grants and are doing so over the summer break. But, there are simply not enough for every district that applies. Sigh."

 

I hear ya. Best of luck! Are there any community or regional type theaters in the area that may be interested in partnering with the school? I find sometimes there are people willing to give back, and places that are in need of assistance, and the issue is connecting them. 

 

[dianamorales]

White, upperclass families with easy access to theatre are NOT the majority, they're the lucky few. The vast majority of theatre kids don't get to see broadway shows or national tours. Many of them don't even have community theatre or educational theatre. Social media has allowed us to be a part of the community even if the place we come from makes it hard.

[EllieRose2]

Social media is very, very new in the world in terms of years.   So yes, it's still upper middle class families.  There are demographics and statistics on this, thanks.

[Susanswerphone]

EllieRose2 said: "Social media is very, very new in the world in terms of years. So yes, it's still upper middle class families. There are demographics and statistics on this, thanks."

I do believe I hear sabre-rattling.

[Elfuhbuh]

Well, my family wasn't "upper middle class" by any means, and I still managed to be a "theatre kid." Lots of kids whose families can't afford theatre fall in love through watching the bootlegs the people on this board love to look down upon. Maybe spend some time on Tumblr or Twitter, and you'll see all the kids today posting about how upset they are over the fact that they can't afford to see any shows.

[poisonivy2]

Moss Hart's Act One says "I've always had a theory, probably invalid, that theater is the inevitable refuge of the unhappy child." 

Sounds like an extremely valid theory to me and i've always believed it to be true. 

[Charley Kringas Inc]

I grew up in a large suburban armpit, but my mom was a ballet dancer so I grew up with a lot of classical and jazz, and my dad was always playing Johnny Horton and Willie Nelson et al, who had a strong focus on "story" songs, so I guess it comes from that. There was definitely a sense of escape when I started to discover theatrical music, I was already a "reader" and had trouble connecting to my peers so combining the language of music, which I found very beguiling for how mysteriously impactic it was (and is), with a lot of very big, far-away ideas was really exciting to me.

I vividly remember going with my mom on one of her work trips and just sitting in the car while she was in the field taking samples, listening to the Cabaret OBC. Something about it seemed like a revelation - the concept of vaulting these words into the amazing, sometimes-ironic world of music was like opening a big window and seeing the clouds move. Even non-musical fans know what this feels like, anyone who's ever felt melancholy listening to Wish You Were Here or felt overwhelmed by the sorrowful catharsis of Hallelujah has felt exactly what makes musicals so engaging and exciting.

I think it's that connection of concrete verbal ideas to mystical, nonverbal music that's so appealing. There's something so explosive about the emotions in a musical, and if you fall in love with that feeling then you just have to have more, and more, and that's how you wind up getting out of bed at 5am on a school day to watch the crappy Wicked bootleg that you downloaded overnight on your parents' circa-2003 internet.

[VintageSnarker]

EllieRose2 said: "Mostly white, upper middle class families, since are those are the ones with access to the theater (most of the time)and they have theater programs in their school. I work in a very poor city school district."

It might not happen in school and they might not be going to Broadway shows but non-white, non-upper middle class communities do have access to live theater. I think that interest has to be fostered and in typical "theater kid" fashion it comes from having the opportunity to perform instead of just watch from the audience. They may not be learning R&H or Sondheim but last time I checked, the Disney stuff sinks its hooks in pretty deep.

[persephone88]

Lots of non-upperclass kids do get their first taste of theatre in school. It might be a ten minute classroom performance of a short play in their reading textbook, or singing onstage for the first time at a school wide assembly. For some kids it starts with loving to dress up and wear costumes and "be" somebody else, and that carries over into finding out that you can do that onstage in a play. Our small church had a youth group that put on a play each summer on an absolute shoe string budget - think "Pippin" with no sets whatsoever and a backdrop cut out of large cardboard sheets donated by a local mattress factory and costumes pulled together out of parents' closets and perhaps a thrift store run. Most kids I knew starting out in theatre had not seen Broadway shows or even any local professional productions. They might have seen a local high school play and thought it looked like fun. I had never heard of "theatre camp" back then - most kids I knew could not afford to go to a camp. But they had seen school talent shows or done a classroom play and thought it sounded like fun to be onstage.

[BrodyFosse123]

People discover theater in their own way.  I mean, I was first exposed to Broadway at the age of 7.  I went crazy and my love of Broadway was organic (the live element; seeing things on stage happening live, etc.).  My sister was right there next to me.  Guess what, Broadway didn't take to her.  Shows were just a live movie and that was it.  

Liza Minnelli grew up on movie sets.  Learning the film process from her father Vincent Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland.  There was no Broadway in that household.  Her dream growing up was to be a figure skater, which is something she had been exposed to.  It wasn't until she saw BYE BYE BIRDIE at the age of 14 did she realize that Broadway is where she wanted to be -- it wasn't movies.  Her goal and dream then was to be a Broadway chorus dancer.  Things turned out otherwise quickly for her, but initially she just wanted to be part of a dancing chorus on a Broadway stage.