How To Handle Disruptive Behavior From Students in Theatre
Hannah Crawford, Guest Editorial
Managing a theatre program during the summer and school year has different challenges that present themselves. We must be flexible when those situations occur and figure out how best to deal with them.
As a youth theatre instructor for the last decade, I’ve had my fair share of misbehaving students come across the stage. Some are very talented and engaged, others are just there because they have to be.
Early on, I decided to set clear rules and boundaries that were available to all campers and my full-time theatre students during the school year. This paid off hugely in helping me when the time came to deal with disruptive behavior.
You may think that teachers should treat dedicated theatre students differently than campers who are there to pass the time.
However, I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t.
How to Handle Disruptive Behavior From Your Lead Role In A Camp
Theatre camps can last anywhere from one week to a whole summer. Regardless of how short the camp is, you need to have a clear set of rules of what is acceptable and what is not, such as the following: no violence, no cursing, no absences beyond a set number, dress code, etc
My suggestion is to have the rules signed by both parent\guardian and child (regardless of age) because this helps to teach them accountability even if they are too young to fully understand.
One year, my campers performed a two-week intensive production of Peter Pan. As you can imagine, it was a busy two weeks. We cast the production the first day; by day two, we were in full swing. We had a 15-year-old (let’s call her Samantha) playing Captain Hook, and she was a slam dunk.
I’d never had her in one of my camps so I was excited to have a new face. She came from a dedicated foster home that our organization had a relationship with, and her campus parents were a delight to deal with.
For most of camp, there were no out-of-the-ordinary situations. Two days before our show, Samantha got angry at another camper and one of the theatre directors; she picked up a chair and threw it at them, just missing them.
She was immediately removed, and we discussed what occurred and how inappropriate that behavior was. We called her campus parents, and they arrived shortly thereafter to discuss what happened in person.
Now, it might be tempting to say that there were only two days left until the show and that she was Captain Hook, so you should just let it slide.
But, that’s what Samantha was expecting.
I kid you not when I tell you that in the presence of her campus parents and me as the summer camp creative director, she looked me dead in the eyes and said, “You can’t kick me out. I’m the main character.”
If I had any doubts, I definitely didn’t after she said that. “Samantha, we were clear from the start that we have no tolerance for any kind of violence. So, yes, you are expelled from this camp, effective immediately.” The parents were in complete agreement, and they quietly gathered her stuff; the parents offered their profuse apologies and left.
My summer camp theatre staff pulled together, changed some roles up, and had one of our older theatre campers step into the role of Captain Hook.
Was it the most stressful two days of my theatre career? Yes.
I worked tirelessly with the camper we had that took over the role of Captain Hook. There was a lot of extra rehearsal. On the day of the show, the camper showed up with blue hair. Yes, Kool-Aid blue hair.
But, there was a valuable lesson learned for my staff, the campers, and even for Samantha that regardless of the role you have if you violate a “no violence” rule, you will be expelled.
I never anticipated something like that would happen, especially two days before the show. However, that’s the thing about disruptive behavior; it always comes when you least expect it.
How to Handle Disruptive Behavior From a Talented Full-Time Theatre Student
Now, for those of us who have or currently work in youth theatre full-time, we know there is a clear difference between a camper you won’t ever see again versus a dedicated theatre student whose parents spend good money year-round.
So, in my opinion, they should be held to the exact same standards.
That’s right, I said it. Now, before you reach for that keyboard to post your reply let me share an example.
It was an entirely different situation as it was a full-length production during the school year, and not one of violence, but rather a clear violation of the rules.
Early on in my youth theatre career, I established a list of rules that were posted in the class requirements, which parents had to sign. We also had a parent meeting before every production class started for the semester.
One of the rules, just like with camp, was that a student could not drop out unless it were an emergency or a situation out of the family's control. If a student were to drop out just because they felt like it, then they would not be allowed to participate in a full-length production again. This was to solidify the importance of finishing a full-length production from start to finish.
Let’s call this 16-year-old James. I can honestly tell you that I’ve had a handful of truly talented students, and he was one of them. He had performed in The Grinch the year prior and was fantastic. I was truly proud of how he made my vision as a director for that part come to life.
James auditioned for Anne of Green Gables and was cast as Matthew Cuthbert. We began our first few weeks with successful rehearsals. At one rehearsal, James didn’t show up. I called his parents, and the mother answered, informing me that James had decided he wanted to bow out.
To say I was shocked was putting it mildly. This wasn’t just any theatre student either. However, I stuck by my guns and told the parents that this meant he couldn’t participate in a future full-length show. The parent dismissed the conversation; all that seemed to matter was that her child decided they wanted to drop out.
A year later James wanted to return to a full-length production. I didn’t waver, and I informed the parents that it was impossible. I can’t even begin to tell you how irate the mother was.
She threatened legal action and told me she would let people know how terrible we were for that. Now, what she ended up doing or not doing, I’ll never know because after that heated conversation, I never heard anything else from them again.
There may be some reading this who disagree with how I handled the situation, and that’s okay. But, I can tell you one thing: I never (and I do mean never) had another student drop out of a full-length production after that.
Of course, there are exigent circumstances that you’ll have to deal with where you will need to bend the rules. But, other than that, my suggestions for dealing with misbehaving students, campers, or full-time, are as follows:
.Follow through on every rule for every actor, including your main actors
For the love of God, make the rules super clear. Make them visible on the website and on a parent board in the lobby, have parents sign, and reiterate them out loud. That way, when the time comes, you can refer back to A, B, and C in incredibly clear terms.
I get it—these situations can often be political and not fun at all. But the last thing you want to do is hold a double standard. If you expect your campers to follow the rules, you must hold your full-time theatre students to the same standard.