Why Pretty HS Play Leads?
My son took me to see a high school play recently, and I noticed that among the cast, the pretty/handsome/hot kids had the lead roles, and the cast was on average prettier than the supporting crew. I mentioned this to my wife, who was in drama club in high school, and she told me this was one of those things everyone knew – others would try out, but the prettiest kids were favored. The effect is strong, stronger than could be explained by a weak correlation between acting ability and prettiness.
If viewers prefer to watch pretty people, I can understand why commercial plays would favor the pretty. But I was surprised to see such transparent favoritism in what is supposedly an "educational" activity. I doubt parents would knowingly tolerate a high school math teacher giving higher grades to the pretty; why do they tolerate similar behavior from drama teachers?
My wife tells me that choir teachers favor pretty singers for choirs when many people will listen, but not when only a few will listen. Perhaps this is about parents and teachers wanting to make their school’s students look good in all ways compared to other schools?
Anna, surely the main purpose of high school drama is not to prepare people for careers as actors - the fraction of them who will become professional actors is far too low for that to many any sense. Surely the story is that drama is part of a good broad educational experience. But then why should pretty people be favored for that purpose?
My high school was in an affluent area and the students who got roles in the musicals and school plays, had all taken private acting and voice lessons for years. Nobody else had a chance at getting on stage. The drama teachers never took into account the fact that some people were more privileged than others.
So I put my kids in children's theater, which I pay for, so they can have a chance to perform in a stage production and urge them to avoid school performances. My daughter got a paid acting role recently.