Most public high schools make no effort to conceal their bias towards athletics over the arts. Sports get all the attention and all the money, while the arts are stuck searching their sofa cushions for a penny of funding. Theatre in particular seems to fall by the wayside in these cases. But this doesn't make high school drama clubs any less of an experience. It doesn't stop students from devoting their time to putting up a production. Here are the signs that you were a member of an unappreciated, no budget high school drama club.
- You’ve spent a lot of time at Savers costume shopping. Without a fully stocked costume department, you were left on your own to find costumes. Your director would give you the jist of what they're looking for, and then you'd be off on your quest. If you couldn’t find it in your closet, you could find it among the closet rejects of the world.
- You’ve got a grasp of a plethora of PR tactics. And you’re not afraid to use them. You flyered, hyped it up, badgered your local newspaper, posted on social media, fought to get your show on the school calendar and on the morning announcements... you did it all, and now you know the ins and outs.
- Ditto with fundraising tactics. You sold stuff, washed stuff, panhandled, and when all else failed, robbed a bank. Or at least, it was always on the brainstorming list.
- You’re still bitter and prejudiced towards athletes. Because they got all the money and attention, and you got bupkis. They had full bleachers and you filled about two rows of the auditorium if you were lucky. You're trying to work past it since you acknowledge that it isn't really their fault and that not all athletes are bad people, but it's an uphill climb.
- You’re easily impressed by other productions sets. After years of having whoever was free and willing to paint your sets, you got used to a lower standard of artistry. You got to college, and you were like “What is this, Broadway?!”
- You know what it means to be a jack of all trades in theatre. Low membership meant that everyone had to help with everything. You may be weak and artistically challenged, but you still had to paint and move sets.
- You know what it means to be unconditionally loyal to a production. For all you had to put up with and the little you had to make do with, you stuck with it and loved every minute of it.
