High School and College Directors, Why Exactly Did You Keep Casting Your Favorites?

by Chris Peterson

One of the most common complaints I hear from former high school and college theatre students is not about losing a role.

It is about favoritism.

And there is a difference.

I am not talking about a student being disappointed because they did not get the lead. That happens. Casting is hard, and sometimes the person you wanted for the role is not the person who should get it.

I am talking about the pattern students can see from the back row.

The same students getting the leads every year. The same names appearing at the top of every cast list. The same performers getting forgiven for behavior that would get anyone else benched, corrected, or quietly labeled “difficult.”

Students notice that.

They notice when a director has an inner circle. They notice when some actors get coaching and others get corrections. They notice when “best for the show” somehow always means the same few people getting the best opportunities.

So I think the question directors need to ask is simple: why does this keep happening?

Because favoritism is not always some dramatic act of cruelty. Sometimes it is comfort. Sometimes it is habit. Sometimes a director knows certain students will deliver and does not want to risk teaching someone new. Sometimes the favorite students have learned how to be useful in a way that makes the director’s job easier.

But easier is not always better.

Educational theatre is supposed to stretch students. It is supposed to help them grow, not just reward the ones who already know how to work the room. When directors keep going back to the same students, they may be making the production smoother, but they are also teaching everyone else a lesson.

And it is not a good one.

Students learn that the room is already decided before auditions begin. They learn that being talented may matter less than being familiar. They learn that adults can build unfair systems and still call them fair because they are the ones in charge.

Yes, that probably prepares them for life.

But school theatre should not be proud of copying the worst parts of the real world.

To be clear, this does not mean every student deserves a lead. It does not mean casting should be based on whose turn it is. Sometimes the same student really is the right choice. Reliability matters. Skill matters. Fit matters.

But patterns matter too.

And when the pattern becomes obvious, the damage is already happening. Students stop trying. They stop trusting the process. They stop believing the room has space for them.

So before posting the next cast list, directors should take a hard look at it.

Are you casting the show, or are you casting the version of the show that feels easiest for you?

Your students already know the answer.