If You're Charging People to be in Your Show, You Can't Cast Your Kid in the Lead Role

Chris Peterson, OnStage Blog Editorial

Dear Moms and Dads who run participation fee theatre programs, 

If you're charging people to be in your shows, you cannot cast your kid in the lead role. Period. It's that simple. I was recently alerted to a situation where the director of a summer theatre program, that charges in order to participate, routinely casts their son in the lead of their shows.

For the record, I have no problem with theatre companies charging fees to appear in their shows. Usually, these fees are reasonable and made public before anyone auditions for a particular production. They also help ensure that production can go off without a financial hitch. 

However, I find it incredibly unfair that someone has to pay $100 to be in a show when a director's son or daughter is playing the lead for free. 

Now, if you or your kid is paying a fee, just like everyone else, that's a different story. But I've seen countless instances where they aren't and are just given a lead role by their director's mom or dad. Nepotism in theatre is bad enough, but this is even more unfair. 

We all want the best for our kids, and as a dad myself, I understand entirely. And in many cases, we want to create opportunities for them to flourish. However, rigging a system for your child's benefit doesn't help anyone.