Dear Nurse Ansalong:
I'm playing Magenta in our local cast (There are only 2 other acting girls, and I have the lowest range so..), but our new director wants to recast my part because I can't sing the very lowest notes. This hasn't been a problem for our past directors, who are nice enough to accomodate my needs by changing the key of the music slightly (and I mean slightly, like one note.) but our director is still refusing to budge, even though we've always performed this way. I've tried talking to her but she's stubborn as hell and she hasn't listened to anyone who speaks up on my behalf. Any advice?
-Griffen
Griffen, as someone who has been on both sides of this arguement as a performer and a show director, it can sometimes be very difficult to discuss aspects of the show without getting an adverse reaction. Everyone feels that what they want to do is totally correct and can't seem to see how they can be wrong. I'm not sure if you've already done this, but one thing you might want to try is to have all 3 of the female performers show the new director why each person was chosen for each part by singing parts of the songs in question. This way, she will get to hear all of the voices that she has to chose from and hopefully will hear the need that made the past directors change the song. Another idea to get this new director to listen to your reasons for wanting to change the show is to bring in some people that the director might be more willing to listen to. These "people" would be the show's past directors. If these people made the change back in the past, they'd probably be more in tune with the reasons for doing it. Also, the new director might see the previous ones as more of an equal than you and your fellow performers. No disrespect meant by that last statement, but it could be true. If this person isn't inclined to listen to your arguement, you might need to bring in a couple people from the cast's past to sway the decision in your favor. Give it a shot and see what happens...
