Encourage more boys to join youth theater
Spotlight Youth Theatre
I remember going for a walk one day in the summer while listening to the album, Sondheim on Sondheim. While I knew most of the songs featured in the tribute, there was one unfamiliar song that became my favorite.
The song was called Talent and it is from a lesser-known Sondheim musical called Roadshow. The opening to the song goes as follows; “When I was a tyke, I said what I like is art. I know I'm a boy, but what I enjoy is art.” I'm sure I'm not alone when I say, as one who identifies as a straight male, I can relate with this song.
It all goes back to when I first started liking theater at twelve years old and joined my middle school's drama club. As is common amongst adolescent males, I was made fun of by the other guys for being involved in singing and dancing and not being into sports. I mostly ignored that. But what I could not ignore was how we had a Mommy Warbucks in our production of Annie. And then in the following year, we had a female Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. And in eighth grade, my final show in middle school, we had a girl playing Motel, the tailor, in Fiddler On the Roof.
Now I have nothing against gender blind casting, but what I would like to know is why are there never enough boys in children's theater programs? Why is it that there is a stigma with theater not being considered masculine?
If you stop to think, it's pretty ironic. During the Greek and Roman times, all the way to the 1660s, women were not allowed to be on stage as it was considered dangerous and unseemly for a woman to make a career in theater and acting. Nowadays, it's considered a taboo for a boy to even be caught humming a show tune. But why? Where does this stigma stem from? Peer pressure? Parenting? The media?
The media could have more of an influence than the other suggestions. If I were to turn on my television right now, I would see strong male characters in the forms of soldiers, police officers, and superheroes. Meanwhile, male characters being involved in theater or anything art related are usually depicted as being the opposite.
Morgana Kate Watson, an actress, and playwright says “It's a nasty nasty stereotype that needs to die.” Watson has been involved in theatre for most of her life, has worked with numerous theater companies including a few Off-Broadway, and says men who involve themselves in theater have many benefits including intelligence. “They're not pumped full of testosterone and this theory that brute strength is the be all and end all.” She also went on to add, “Have you ever seen what a male ballet dancer's body looks like? There is no athlete more ripped.”
She does make an excellent point. Male ballet dancers are known for being even more athletic than a football player due to the hours of training and rehearsal they put themselves through. Some NFL athletes even take lessons in ballet to help improve their agility and performance. Former NFL player, Eddie George, has said, in an interview with Patrick Bet-David for Valuetainment titled “Why Professional Athletes Take Ballet,” George took ballet lessons for the same reasons and even went on to say, “Some of the greatest athletes in the world are on the dance floor in ballet.” (George, Eddie. Interview with Patrick Bet-David. Valuetainment. 2019) It is even worth mentioning since his retirement from the NFL, George went on to pursue an acting career and was even seen on Broadway as Billy Flynn, the tap-dancing hustler attorney, in Chicago back in 2016. How about that? A running back for the NFL in a Broadway musical?
Another factor as to why there are not that many boys participating in theatre programs might have something to do with their parents. How do parents feel about their sons wanting to be in a musical?
I, myself, worked for numerous community theater companies with children in the cast whose parents were the definition of supportive when it came to their little darlings being in a show. A good example would be when I worked as an adult performer for the Showtime Performing Arts Theater in Boca Raton. While working there, I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Moss, a piano teacher, who's preteen son, Will, has been a long time student in their programs, actor, and cherished member. In the time I was there, Moss was always supportive of her son's theatrical pursuits. She even said that Will “found himself in theatre- it is not only performing and pursuing one's passions but a tribe of likeminded people who encourage and support each other.”
To get more insight into boys and theater, I had a meeting with a theater teacher and good friend, Aaron-Noel Treppeda. She freelances for numerous theater companies, private and catholic schools, and teaches numerous children the theater arts. She has even directed a few plays with the kids. One of the tough things about directing school plays, she says, is “a lot of popular shows have a male-heavy cast. That causes a lot of issues.”
Treppeda finds theater to have great benefits for both boys and girls. “I think it's important to introduce this at a young age. Bring back the imagination of acting. Kids don't have imagination these days.”
Treppeda finished up by saying the arts, we save our humanity. “And what better way to give your son the opportunity to test their limits? They take on a special sense that boys are told not to have. There's a world of opportunity for them.”
In conclusion, we definitely need to normalize boys being part of the drama club. I'm all for creativity and if there is a girl actor who is willing to play Danny Zuko or Curly, by all means, consider casting her. My stand on the issue has nothing to do with gender casting. Sports have their benefits for kids in school, but theater can have its great share of benefits too. It can help enhance imagination, empathy, and improve academic performance. There are also other job opportunities that theater can teach, not just in acting, but in woodwork and even jobs that require public speaking and creativity.
So please, to anyone reading this, let's do our best to encourage more boys to join theater and arts programs.