Blake Theater Program
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Anonymous
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While the Blake High School Stage Company often features plays with overt sexual themes, they have an occasional Children's Theater performance. Fortunately, this is one of those years and some students have had a break from the incessant adult themes of the Stage Company director, Michael D'Anna. I highly recommend A Day at the Zoo if you want to see a wonderful acting group directed by the extraordinary professional teacher Ms. Wagner, who has a wonderful gift for working with teenagers and expertly brings out the natural connections that many teens have with the young. You can check out A Day at the Zoo this weekend. More details are available on the Blake High School website. Performing arts high schools such as Blake need to do a variety of performances, not just ones that teenagers and adults alone can go see. I hope that the amazing Blake Stage Company changes their direction in regards to performance selection so they can design more of these beautiful, family-friendly shows. The high school is known for its theater program, but many students, not just mine, find themselves uncomfortable with the selection of plays and musicals that the director selects.
Check it out! |
Anonymous
I'm sure 
Sounds like you should be in ES, OP, not high school |
Anonymous
| I'm curious what the other plays/musicals you do not like are - can you share a list of recent shows? |
Anonymous
| huh? |
Anonymous
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No the OP, but a Blake parent.
Legally Blonde--The MS who attended during the day, for which the production was adapted, complained about the overt sexualizing of females. I was warned by multiple parents not to take my younger children and that it was much worse then the PG-13 movie. Pippin-parent complaints about treatment and presentation of females in the production, student complaints about sexual costumes in school newspaper. You Can't Take it with You--The play itself is not written to be overly sexual, but the director made parts of it inappropriate. Some parents complained. Brighton Beach Memoirs--to quote the director's description, "parts discuss self-gratification" the director glorifies and distinguishes between masturbation between men and women. . . That's just to name a few in the year's we've been at the school. I know several parents who have pulled their kids from his class. Every family is different and has different boundaries. I find it amazing that people at the forum take constructive information and hurl insults. Day at the Zoo is so sweet and it is so wonderful to have another director working with the students. It is like a dark cloud has been lifted. |
Anonymous
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The middle school kids complained about the "overt sexualizing of females?"
And if students complained about the sexual costumes, why did they commit to the play? They have a voice. Opt out. But I do believe that this group of vocal parents is in the minority, as Blake has always had a strong, supportive parent community. OP, dear, get a life. This is public school, not St. John's Episcopal or St. Peter's. And if you feel your tax money is being misused, then complain to the "important" people, as your words are just drivel here.
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Anonymous
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Seriously? The MS faculty complained, not the students. They are professionals.
If you don't believe me about the school newspaper and the student piece writing about the overly sexual costumes, look it up, it is on line. Don't tell me about parent involvement at Blake. I have had a few kids go through the school. It says a lot about a person that they cannot take the information and not judge and insult. Is that what you folks call a troll? |
Anonymous
It would be great if you could provide a link. No, that's not what we folks call a troll. |
Anonymous
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Dec. 18, 2013 Issue: Theater Costumes Raise Eyebrows and Fuel Questions About Dress Code . . .
p. B12 https://sites.google.com/site/theblakebeatnews/volume-16/december-18-2013 Day at the Zoo is a great show. Here is the flyer: http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/blakehs/news/indexnew.aspx?id=352466 There. is so much good in the Blake Theater Program, Day at the Zoo is one excellent example. Other problems, noted above, clearly exist and get worse. When parents (students and faculty) point them out, they deserve to be heard. Best to all you people. |
Anonymous
Thank you for the link. The piece you link seems to be one student's opinion piece about how it's not fair that the theater students who are girls don't have to abide by the school's dress code while they are performing on stage, and how can you bring your grandmother to a show with so much exposed skin. (The latter seems to depend on the individual grandmother, I would think. My own grandmother wouldn't have batted an eye.) |
Anonymous
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It's an arts program, right? Are they all supposed to perform in Burkas?
Isn't the body itself art? |
Anonymous
Agreed - the student seemed to be whining about the unfairness of the school dress code and how it doesn't apply to drama productions but that is just one person's opinion. I personally love "Pippin" - we did the show when I was in high school, and yes it does touch on the subject of sex ("presented pastorally"). It's also a fabulously written show about coming of age, finding independence from one's parents, and discovering one's life purpose - seems pretty appropriate subject matter for a high school show. Of course, I also did a production of "Hair" when I was in high school, so my opinion could be slightly skewed 
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Anonymous
| I never thought I'd be a parent complaining about content. And I bit my tongue as I sat through legally blonde and watched the lead grab her breasts in hand and shake them for the audience. Now my daughter is coming home with the following script from a class, not an afterschool program: http://www.cbilodeau.com/green-dating-excerpt.pdf |
Anonymous
What class? I think I am calling troll here, no way this is legit. |
Anonymous
| Absoltely legit. Complaints into MCPS Curriculum development team and Principal Berry and Administrator Thomas |