With September just around the corner, many of us are choosing our end of term performance. Often with younger children, the school show will not be directed by a dedicated drama teacher. As a youth theatre director, this is my advice to all teachers taking on this daunting task!
Do
Choose a play with an ensemble cast. There’s nothing more difficult than trying to keep the bulk of your group occupied while you direct a small core of characters. While occasional smaller scenes can add more depth and clarity to the story, ensure there is still plenty for the group to do. As expressed in our article about mutual respect, don’t be afraid to let your students take a lead and work on their own scenes. Choosing ensemble based shows gives more of an opportunity for everyone to participate.
Don’t
Settle for a subpar script. It can be particularly difficult to find a suitable play for preteens and younger kids. If you think a script isn’t very entertaining, your students will likely think the same. Issue based plays can often be a little trite or too mature. Finally you find an entertaining script, but is it too childish? Is it a too difficult? It’s almost impossible to find a perfect play and each year it gets more difficult as your work your way through the list of good material. Persevere. While you may need to make some compromise, don’t settle for a script that you don’t love. Your cast likely won’t engage with it either.
Do
Challenge your cast. If the choice is between too difficult and too easy, always go for the difficult option. Showing the students a little trust will help them to stay engaged and step up to the plate. If they feel underestimated you may find the whole process much more difficult. Encourage them to be as involved in all aspects of the process as possible. While drama may be a fun activity, the students are still there to learn. Choosing something easy will not help them achieve this.
Don’t
Choose a play with religious connotations unless you have to. More than ever, we live in a multicultural, multi-faith society. A while ago, I read ‘The Polar Express’ with one of my preschool groups with intention of performing it as our Christmas show. I later received an email from one of the parents who very politely explained that her children were Jewish and she would prefer it if we chose a play that was not related to Christmas or included some reference to Hannukah in our adaptation. I hadn’t even considered that the play was exclusionary and immediately chose another story. Besides the potential for problems, the Nativity and similar stories, while important to Christian narrative, are not particularly exciting for children. Each year they are presented with the same story and same characters. Perhaps it’s time to think outside the box if you have the possibility to do so.
Do
Consult with your students. If you have time at the start of term or at the end of the previous term, ask the cast what they would like to do. Finding out what they are interested in ahead of time can help narrow your search for scripts. Even deciding if they would rather do a drama/comedy/musical ahead of time can make your job a little easier. If you’ve already been looking, take a synopsis of your favourite scripts to the students and ask them which they’d prefer. This can help the students to feel more invested in the play from the get-go and helps you to avoid arguments down the line if anyone decides they dislike the script. Working in a democracy means that you can’t be blamed for the choice of script and the students must accept their choice.
Don’t
Choose a play with too many set or staging requirements. Firstly, this will make your show very costly. While you want everything to look great, any money that you save can be put into other areas. Secondly, the more you’re reliant on props, the more risk you’re taking that something important will be lost or broken. I recently confiscated a prop one actor was so busy playing with he missed all of his cues in the dress rehearsal. Equally, the more entrances and exits the students need to make, the slower your show will be. You’ll also need more hands backstage controlling the children between scenes and ensuring they don’t miss a cue. Save yourself a lot of hassle and try to choose a play with limited requirements. This also allows you and your cast to be innovative and create your own style.
Let us know your dos and don’ts when choosing a script.
