The Case for Understudies in High School Theatre

by Chris Peterson

A recent high school theatre story caught my attention after a school reportedly postponed its spring production because one student performer became ill. The plan, according to the reports I saw, was to bring the show back the following year with the same cast.

Before going any further, I want to be clear about something. I do not know the specifics of that student’s illness, and I genuinely hope they are okay. I am also not criticizing the school for making that decision. If they had the ability to pause the production, take care of the student, and give the cast another chance later, that sounds like a compassionate choice.

But the story did make me think about something high school theatre programs probably need to discuss more often. What happens when a major performer suddenly cannot go on?

My own high school did not use understudies. Then we did The Sound of Music, and our Captain Von Trapp became seriously ill during the weekend run. None of that was his fault, obviously, but the production felt it. You could sense the stress onstage. Everyone was still doing their best, but the show was no longer operating the way it was supposed to.

That memory came back to me when I saw this story. It reminded me how fragile a school production can become when there is no backup plan.

I understand why many high school programs do not use understudies. Most are already stretched thin, and a lot of schools probably do not have enough students to cover every principal role twice. There is also the awkward emotional piece of asking a teenager to prepare a role they may never perform.

But live theatre does not care about awkward.

Students get sick. Emergencies happen. Life walks into the rehearsal process whether anyone planned for it or not. When there is no plan, everyone feels it. The student who cannot perform may feel guilty, the cast gets thrown off, and the director has to start making survival decisions instead of creative ones.

That is why this is worth talking about.

No one is saying every high school needs to operate like Broadway. Most schools will never have the resources to fully understudy every major role, and that is fine. But every program can at least ask the practical question before opening night: what would we do if someone could not perform?

In too many schools, I think the answer is still, “We would figure it out.”

That is not really a plan.

Understudying can also be valuable training. It teaches students to stay ready, pay attention, and learn the work without needing a guarantee that they will be seen. That may not be glamorous, but it is theatre. A student who learns how to support a production that way is learning something important.

Again, this is not a shot at the school that postponed. There is something kind and sensible about refusing to force a production through a bad situation. But the story points to a bigger issue. Too many school productions are built on the hope that every student will stay healthy and available from first rehearsal through closing night.

That is a risky way to build anything.

If a school is going to invest months into a production, it should also spend time thinking about what happens when something goes wrong. That is not pessimism. That is responsible theatre-making.