Need Advice re: Drama / Play commitment

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UPDATE:

Never mind! My dd said that it seemed like way too much of a commitment. :)  

 

 

My dd has always wanted to be in a play and for one reason or another has just never gotten the chance.  She has been in two dance recitals, four piano recitals, as well as read publicly in Christmas performances at AWANA but never actually a "play."

 

Our local homeschool center is doing Wizard of Oz and they do a pretty good job considering the small venue and usually less than 30 students.  Their shows are well organized, the singing is excellent and in general they are not "painful" kiddie performances but something fairly enjoyable.  

 

My dd does NOT sing well and she dances worse than she sings.  But, everyone gets a part.  

 

HOWEVER here is the commitment

 

Over a 12 week period:

 

40 HOURS of parental volunteering (including 20 of those hours during tech week, all in one shot),

buying snacks when assigned,

400.00 plus makeup kit and costumes (another 100.00 or so),

and my dd will have to be there for four hours on Friday Nights Plus ALL DAY 8 hours Saturdays 

 

Also as far as we know, at this time none of her friends are auditioning and most of the students who do this theater thing do NOT go to the same homeschool center (nice kids from local CC and other groups) so I don't know that it would really help her make any long term relationships (of course you never know)....

 

BUT I just feel like she's going to grow up always wondering what she missed :(  On the other hand I don't want my dd getting in trouble for not completing school and housework and I am worried about this commitment during cold and Flu season, especially.

Edited November 27, 2016 by Calming Tea

[Amateur Actress]

Do you any community theatre groups near you? That is usually free (or if there's a fee it is minimal) and way less of a time commitment. You work with all ages, too, which is nice.

[Farrar]

FWIW, if you consider it again in the future, that's the level of commitment that theater takes in our experience. Yes, community theater can cost less, but the commitment level is about the same. Even when ds did a small role in an adult community theater production, he was there for 5-6 hours a week in the lead up, plus full days for tech week and the three weeks of the run. So there was more time involved in the run when it was a community theater and less in rehearsal, but he was a kid, so he only got to have a couple of lines.

 

The one thing that seems odd is the parent involvement. That's a lot of hours for a parent when you're also paying. But the time for the kid? Ds does a teaching theater. He's there about 8-10 hours a week in the leadup to a show, plus more on tech week and performances week.

[Amateur Actress]

It totally depends on what theatre groups are near you. I've been in shows that rehearse only twice a week and only have one weekend of performances. Community theatre groups are always looking for volunteers to do props or sets or makeup, etc, but normally wouldn't have that huge parental commitment. The homeschool performing arts group here has that commitment so we don't do it. Ain't nobody got time for that! ðŸ˜

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It's just too much for us right now.

 

As a high schooler I did the musical every year and it was 2 nights per week for four months plus the two weeks leading up to the show much more and all day on weekends during tech. But my mom never had to do a single thing. I also did multiple Community theatre shows which had similar but slightly less grueling commitments. I was used to it and knew how to manage my time.

 

But the parental volunteer hours are definitely a lot.