Ten things performing arts teachers wish parents would understand

In the every growing popularity of Mama Roses and Stage Moms, parents and teachers are bound to have conflicts.  As our stage parents become more involved, there needs to become a better understanding between parents and teachers. First let me say that I think it is very important for parents to be involved in their children's life and Fine Arts experiences. I also think that it is very important for you to advocate for your child. Sometimes things are genuinely not fair and you need to make sure you are doing what is best for your child. I also think that having wonderful relationships between parents and teachers benefits the whole program and makes everything run smother. The better relationship you have with your parents, the more help and support you get in your productions. I think it is very important for parents and teachers to "play nice" Now here are a few things that Performing Arts Teachers wish that parents knew.

1. We want what is best for your child.  I have one son, but I realistically have 500 children. When your child is with me, they are my kid. I love them and I want what is best for them. I am there cheering them up before tests, encouraging them before they go onstage, and celebrating with them when they succeed. Even when something doesn't go your child's way, we are still pushing for them to succeed. 

2. We are trying to be fair to all children. I once had a parent yell at me because I would not let their child redo their audition three times, because they didn't do well the first time. I tried to explain that it wasn't fair to let one child repeat their audition numerous times if we weren't going to let everyone else repeat their audition. We try our best not to play favorites. That being said, we have to try to teat everyone as equally as possible and sometimes that means setting a hard line.

3. We wish we could let everyone in the production. This year I had over 150 elementary students audition for the play. If I could, I would have had everyone in the show. But for the quality of the shows we have to put a cap on our numbers. Our stage just can't handle that many kids dancing at once, and my patience can't handle that many kids in the gym for rehearsal. Most teachers try to offer many different opportunities to perform, there will always another way for your child to be involved.

4. Tech is very important. Tech is a wonderful way for children's to develop leadership skills and independence, It is also a great place for students to contribute who aren't quiet ready to be onstage. I love tech crew. It was where I found my "Place" in the theatre world.  It always breaks my heart when parents down tech theatre because their kids won't be the "star". Without tech, the actors would be standing silent in the dark. 

5. We spend more time with your child then we do with our own. If you break down the amount of time I am at school (roughly 8 hours) and then add that to the amount of time we have rehearsal (usually about 2 hours) that is almost 10 hours when I'm away from home. Given that my child goes to sleep at 8PM. That really only leaves me 2 hours if I am lucky. I spend so much more time with your child on any given week. I do it because I love and care about your child. But please be respectful of my time, nothing hurts worse then when you are 2 hours late picking up your child from a rehearsal and I miss my 2 hour window to see my child.  

6. We have a family and sometimes emergencies happen. I know that it is a huge inconvenience when a rehearsal gets canceled. No director cancels rehearsals "just because" but sometimes emergencies come up. My husband and I both work, sometimes when my child gets sick I have to stay home from work to take care of him. Most of my students' parents understand this, but occasionally I will have a parent who goes and complains to the principal when an emergency happens. I know that if the situation was reversed they would want understanding. That is all we want as well.

7. We love pushing your child artistically. Directors love to see what their students can do. Often these kids amaze even us with their talents and abilities. All we ask is that parents trust the process. Just because a kid comes home and says their part is too hard, don't automatically go to the director and try to get them to make it easier.  We know what our students can do.  No director will put an unprepared child onstage, we will get your child ready. They might just have to work harder than usual to achieve this goal.

8. We try our best not to play favorites. I do my very best not to put the same students in lead roles every show. I know students think that directors always choose the same kids but that is rarely the case. For example, I have a student who played a very minor role in the musical last year. It was a very very small role but she did a wonderful job with it. She did so well that she was one of the main characters everyone remembered.  So when she was cast as a main character in the next play everyone complained that we were playing favorites.  It wasn't the case, but that is how people viewed our casting because they all remembered her from the last play. 

9. Your child feeds off your reactions. It happens every year. We announce the cast of every child is thrilled with their parts. Even if they have a small role in the chorus they are so excited to be a part of the production. Then they go home and their parent makes a comment about how that role is not that great. The student starts to question their part and aren't as excited when they arrive to the first rehearsal. Please remember if you are excited about a small part, they will be too. The kids just want to make you proud, show them that you are proud of their accomplishments (even if you do think they should have been the star). 

10. We love what we do. Must fine arts teachers become directors because we grew up in school fine arts programs. As students, this is where we found our place and our extended family. We do our best to provide this same experience to your child. All Fine Arts students form a bond that you don't usually find in the regular classrooms (very few people talk about how their math class is their home away from home). We want to provide a place for your child where they feel safe, loved, and accepted. We want your child to feel like they are needed at school. That is why you child loves their fine arts classes so much, we help create a home away from home while your child is at school. 

Bonus: We need parents' help! Being a parent of a fine arts child is rough. We know that we demand a ton from the student and family. Rehearsals after school require extra transportation requests and time away from family. Depending on the school, sometimes you need you even have to pay to rent the instrument or be in the play. We recognize your sacrifices you are making for you child and we really really appreciate it. We also really appreciate all the times parents volunteer. I cannot tell you how amazing my parents are. So many of them have come in on Saturdays to help me build sets or stayed late after plays to help load up cars and take down back drops. They have helped sell tickets and concessions, and even applied makeup and costumes. Our parents are amazing and we could not do what we do with out them. 

So what did I miss? What do you wish you could tell your parents as a Fine Arts teacher?

A funny Thing Happened on the Way to Rehearsal

As a director you need to be able to have a sense of humor. Today is not a day to give advice or great insights today is a day to celebrate the silly. Last week we wrapped our final performances of the year. It was a whirlwind week of rehearsals and performances for everyone. (this is also why there was no blog post last week.) Performing every night in a week is just too hard. As my final show of the year wrapped I looked back and remembered all of the fun my students and I had. Some of the things were crazy, some were huge mistakes, but all were well worth the effort. I love the rehearsal process and I am always amazed at what my students come up with.

Jasmine and the microphone

For our major musical we produced Aladdin Jr. My students did an amazing job, but it was a huge adjustment learning how to be on a big stage. One of the funniest things that happened was watching the kids learn how to use la-viler mics. My kids love to help, and often if someone didn't know a line they would try to whisper the lines to each other. This does not work with a microphone on. We always heard. Jasmine was great, she knew all of her lines and everyone else's. I was always "reminding" her not to whisper lines with a mic on. Well one night she was trying to whisper lines to Aladdin so she proceeded to try and be slick and cover up her microphone. I then told her that i could hear her through Aladdin's mic. So the smart girl she was grabbed the mics and took them both off and then whispered the line. I couldn't hear her whisper then! Success! except for the fact that we then had to break and spend five minutes repositioning the microphones and explaining why that might not be the best solution for not knowing lines.

Pecos bill and the lion

My fourth graders recently finished producing a show on Tall Tales. In the play about Pecos Bill, Bill is attacked by a lion and decides to try and ride him like a horse. Now I often let students help me block their shows. They are allowed to try what they like and then we modify as needed. As we were working on this show Pecos Bill and the Lion were working through the scene. At the end Bill jumped on the Lion's back and rode him off stage. It was the most random yet perfect blocking to end the scene. We ended up keeping it in the show and the audience loved it. This definitely reconfirmed my desire to let students help block. I would never have thought of it any other way. 

5th graders meet Shakespeare 

My 5th grade students performed Macbeth for their showcase. We had a wonderful adaptation that kept a lot of Shakespeare's traditional language in the play. The first day I had students try and guess what different words meant. They had such fun with the thees and thou's. Their favorite part though was reenacting the witches scenes. They loved to "double double boil and trouble" It was great watching them learn how to speak the language. But We did have several mispronounced words and misunderstandings, "What Ho" means something very different today then it did back then!

How old is 60 year old

So I made the "mistake" of allowing my third grade students complete character analysis on their characters. They learned a ton about their character and their play through this experience. The problem, i learned a lot about how they view "old" people. One of the characters in the play was 60 years old. As soon as the little girl found this out she immediately started playing her like she was a 90 year old women. The girl developed a limp and hunchback over night. When I asked her why she was so old the girl responded Well my character is 60 so I have to make her seem really old... Gee thanks kid

I love the rehearsal process. I love the chaos and experimentation that comes with working with young students and trying to create theatre. Directors of adults would not believe the number of times I simply practice lining up on stage and walking to microphones. Rehearsing for live theatre is always a fun creative event that keeps me loving my job. I hope that a few of these stories put a smile on your face. What crazy events have you ever had rehearsing? Do you think mistakes add to the process or hinder it?

Five Ways to Recover from a Bad Rehearsal

Well it is the month of the Middle School Production. I have discovered that blogging and tech week don't mix. I think for the month of the show I am only going to be able to write one post a week, so I will try to make it a good one.

We all have had it happen. You go to in to rehearse and everything goes wrong. The kids haven't memorized their lines, half the group has forgotten their choreography, the prop crew forgets a scene change, and the lights crew misses several cues. Everything seems to go wrong. How do you recover and refocus your cast? How do you ensure that this rehearsal doesn't affect your final performance?

1. Have a "Come to Theatre" meeting

I am from the South. In the South the little old church ladies will often have a "Come to Jesus" meeting. At this meeting, the ladies find a group and tell them all the things they are doing wrong and how they can solve all their problems by coming to Jesus. 

The come to theatre meeting is very similar. Call your cast together and talk about your goals for the show. This is not a time to yell cry or make a scene, but this is a time to be brutally honest. Let the students know exactly what they are doing wrong and what they can do to fix it. I would be careful about who you call out by name but if you think it would be effective you can. Make sure you talk about how you all want the show to be successful and how they should take pride in their performance. I also like to throw in a bit about ensemble and how we are only as good as our weakest player. I once had a director tell us to go home and think about their performance and if they would have a job if this was a professional theatre. I also like to give the students concrete things to work on. Go memorize lines with a friend, sing to the cd three times. Etc.

2. Team Huddle

After you are done with your meeting, it is often a good idea to huddle the team. The kids are going to feel a little downtrodden and unsure about their upcoming show. You want to leave on a positive note. You want them to know that you believe in them and know they can succeed. If you have a group or class cheer you might want to do that. Team huddle is all about being positive and re-energizing the cast.

3. Student Leaders

On every cast there are a few students who are your leaders. Hopefully you have a good relationship with a few of these leaders. Pull these leaders aside individually and talk to them about they can help the success of the show. Maybe they can mentor some of then lead roles to help prepare. Maybe they can help the students focus backstage. Maybe they can reteach some choreography or songs. Use your student leaders to your advantage. If you can get them refocused and re-enrgized the battle will be so much easier.

4. Set the Kids up for Success.

At the start of the next rehearsal you want to start off on a really good note. You want the kids to get their confidence back. Pick a scene song or dance that you know your kids can nail and have them start off with that. You want to up the students' confidence level before you start working on the hard stuff. When you are done with the scene. Praise the kids, let them know how great they did. You want their confidence up for the start of the rehearsal. 

5. Trust the Process

Bad rehearsals happen. Our school has a superstition that if you don't have a bad rehearsal at least once the week before the show, the show will fail. You and your students have worked so hard for the production. You all have done everything you can to prepare for the show. The kids want to do well. The audience wants to see the kids succeed. The show will be great. No one will know if students miss a few lines or misstep on a dance. Most kids are "show kids" they drive us crazy in the rehearsal process but pull it out for the show. If you have all done the work the show will be great. Be positive and try not to worry.

I hope these tips help you when you are faced with a bad rehearsal right before a show. What else have you done to recover from a bad rehearsal? How to do you refocus your kids? Do bad rehearsals happen to anyone else or is it just me :)

Director's Corner: Top Ten Tips for a Great Musical Theatre Rehearsal

Every director wants their rehearsals to run as smoothly as possible. However whenever you bring 50+ students together after school, with one tired teacher and try to get them all to focus on creating a production chaos ensues. Trust me I have been there. I can still remember about half way through my first major production, just sitting  in a rehearsal and thinking "this will never work" kids were running everywhere, no one was focused and we were not accomplishing anything. Something had to change. Luckily I have learned a lot since those first disastrous rehearsals. Read on to see my ten tips for a great rehearsal.

Have a plan- then over plan

If you missed last weeks post on creating a rehearsal schedule, go back and read it. Having a completed rehearsal schedule will definitely help your rehearsals. Not only does it help you plan your daily rehearsal, it also lets the kids know what to expect. There is nothing worse than kids showing up without a script to a read through or worse kids showing up in binding clothes for a dance rehearsal. Having a plan already sets you up for success (I could quote the ever popular saying "if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail" but who needs that in their life). Once you have a plan, you can also know what needs to be done. For example if you learn one dance you will know exactly which dance you need to teach next without searching through the script. This is even more valuable with blocking and singing rehearsals. Having a plan and letting everyone know the plan will definitely set you up for success.

Create a sign-in procedure

This is a simple tip but has saved me so many headaches. From the first rehearsal on have a sign-in procedure for all actors and tech. There are two reasons for this. One, it allows you to very quickly see who is here and who isn't (especially great for runthroughs and performances). Two it keeps the kids accountable. All of my students must sign a rehearsal contract. (More on that next). Part of the rehearsal contract is that if you miss too many rehearsals you can't be in the play. Students are responsible for signing into rehearsal, if they forget it could count as a strike against them. This helps teach responsibility. 

Have all student actors and tech sign rehearsal contracts

As I mentioned above a rehearsal contract is a must. This contract outlines exactly what is expected for the students in the rehearsal. I include parts about attendance, tardiness, late pick ups, grades, backstage behavior, and costume requirements. This contract has saved me many times. It gave me a way to address parents who were picking their children up two hours late. It gave me a way to talk to students who would constantly talk backstage. It also gave me easy answers when students ask if they can skip rehearsal. If you want an easy contract download from my teacherspayteachers store.

Allow the group to self manage

It is very rare that I have to raise my voice in rehearsal (at least because of discipline). My students know that I will not continue rehearsal until they focus. This can be a huge problem for them. We typically have over 1,000 audience members every night of a show. That is a lot of pressure. My students know what they risk of they don't focus. They know that I am doing all in my power to to make them look good. If they are talking, I can't make them look good. That is a huge issue for them, when things start getting out of hand all I have to do is stop talking and look at my watch. This lets them know that they are wasting time. Usually after a minute of this kids start whispering shhhh and such and they refocus themselves. While this approach takes a little more time, I like it because it keeps me from yelling, and it helps create a since of ensemble. We are all working together to succeed.

Train you tech separately

I am a huge advocate for having a student tech crew. I think that tech is one area of theatre that is hugely underrepresented as a whole. Tech is fun and gives students who aren't "stars" a chance to shine and participate. This is also where you are going to build your leadership skills. Let students take control of their area, let them have some hand in the creation of props, costumes, lights, and sound. Give the some responsibility. That being said, you need to teach them what needs to be done on each tech job. The time to teach this is not when you have 60 actors who are also demanding your attention. Your first meeting with tech should be without the actors, and if possible your first tech through should be with only tech. You can also work with them on days when your music director or choreographer is working with the actors. You want your tech to know what to do enough so that once you start runthroughs they know what to do and you don't have to worry about them. A good tech crew will make or break your show, train them well! If you need some help, my rehearsal packet also includes a tech packet to help prepare them.

Allow collaboration

Theatre is a collaborative art form. You cannot create theatre without collaboration. This collaboration comes in many forms. First trust your other teachers. I can't dance. No one wants to see me dance. Really I am that bad. My choreographer for the show is an amazing dancer, and she is even better at choreography. She creates so many things that I could never think of. I just have to give her my very general idea and she makes magic. (I can tell her I want something's flow-y and cloud like and she creates beautiful ballets). If I didn't collaborate with her, my play would not be nearly as awesome as it was. I have to trust the other adults to do what they do. I could give you so many examples of this. If there is someone on your team who has a talent, let them be responsible for that part. It allows for magic to happen and you don't have to worry as much about it getting done. Teachers can also collaborate with students. I know this sounds crazy but our students are so creative and have so many great ideas. I was once blocking a scene where Pecos Bill tamed a mountain lion and made him into a horse. When the two students exited, bill jumped piggy-back on the lion's back. It was unscripted but wonderful. We ended up keeping it in the play and the audience loved it. Allow the kids to try some of their ideas. You can always adapt or say no to them if they don't work. Students have a great ability to think outside the box. Use their creativity to your advantage and collaborate with them.

Celebrate small wins

A big production can seem overwhelming. Break the play down and celebrate the small successes. The first time students learn a dance: celebrate. The first time students go off book:  celebrate. The first  time you make it all the way through the play: celebrate a lot! These celebrations don't have to be big. Sometimes just a big cheer or a mini dance break is all you need. Just something fun to let them know you are proud of them and they are doing a great job!

Use remind.com

I mentioned this service the other day. This is a FREE text service that allows you to text your parents while still keeping your phone number private. It is a great service for drama. You can text rehearsal changes, costume reminders, time of performances etc. Really I cannot recommend this service enough, you need to go and sign up. It really will change your life.

Create a safe space

This is very very important in any class but especially in a rehearsal setting. You are asking students to show raw emotion on stage. They will only give you their best performance, if they feel safe. Do not let kids mock each other. Nip any of that silliness in the bud. I realize that a lot of this happens behind your back where it is hard to hear, let the kids know that if they are caught being mean to one another, they will be kicked out of the show. Typically if you can catch a couple of main offenders and talk to their parents, this will usually nip it in the bud. You might also want to consider blocking sensitive scenes with as few students as possible. This is very very true for any love scenes or kissing scenes. You do not want kids trying to figure out how to kiss in front of the whole company. Make sure students feel safe and do whatever you can to encourage them to show those true emotions,

Have fun!

This is an after school production. Students are here because they want to be. They love being in shows and they like learning about theater and the love performing. Have fun, try not to stress so much about the final product that you forget how much fun the process is, enjoy the experience. You and the students will miss it when the final curtain falls. Enjoy this production and have fun with your students as you create!

Purchase my Rehearsal Packet at my TPT store

These are some of my best tips for having a rehearsal. What tips did I leave off? What would you suggest directors do to have a successful rehearsal?

Director's Corner: Rehearsal Scheduling aka How to Create an Awesome Rehearsal Schedule for your Students!

Planning out a rehearsal schedule is perhaps one of the hardest parts of preparing a play. There is no one size fits all for  planning a rehearsal schedule. A simple but detailed plan is vital to the success of the play. You want to make sure you plan on when you will rehearse every part of the play. You also want to make sure that your schedule is flexible enough to handle any craziness that might come up (we had a freak snow storm the week before our show a few years ago, we had to condense tech week into two days.) you never know what can happen with schools and after school rehearsals, you want enough flexibility to be able to handle any surprises.

There are several things to take into consideration when planning your schedule. First you want to block off any dates that are already booked for your school or any school holidays that you are unable to get into the school for. You also want to talk to your musical director and choreographer to see of they have any conflicts you need to take into consideration. Once you know the dates you can't rehearse, it is now time to figure out what days you can rehearse and what you are doing on those days.

Start with the end in mind.

Ideally I like to have two and a half weeks at minimum to run through the play from start to finish before tech week. This sometimes doesn't happen but if I have this as a goal in mind it helps set me up for the weeks before. Let's say that you have three months from the time you post the cast list to the time the curtain rises that means you have approximately 12 weeks to get your kids ready. You want to have taught the kids everything they need to know in 9 weeks so that they can review and add technical elements in the last 3 weeks.

For each of those 9 weeks I try to keep the weekly schedule about the same. Depending on your and your teams personal schedules the day of the week you choose for each section doesn't really matter. My team set up our weeks like this: 

Monday: choral rehearsals- this is for company numbers to learn the words to the song. You can typically get through 1 full song or 2-3 reprises.

Tuesday: solo/duet rehearsal- this is where you can focus on helping your soloist shine. These should be small rehearsals where you can focus on just a few students really learning the words and songs. You can typically get through 2 full songs or all reprises. 

Wednesday: blocking rehearsals- this is where you help students go over lines. You help students figure out where they will stand and how they should enter and exit the stage. This is the hardest to schedule. You could go quickly or slowly depending on your kids. I start off by dividing the scripts lines into 8 parts and saying that's what's we are going to try to get through that day. It gives us a good goal. Some days we get through that and more some days we don't get all the way through, it all evens out that way though.

Thursday: choreography. Teach the kids to dance. Most of your students will not be dancers so this will be the hardest part for many kids. Plan on learning only 1/2 to 1 song a rehearsal. Once they learn the dances, use this day to rehearse and prefect all the pieces.

Friday: DO NOT REHEARSE ON FRIDAY! It sucks to do, the kids don't want to be there, you don't want to be there. Seriously unless it is a true rehearsal emergency (freak snow storm stopped all the rehearsals) do not rehearse on this day. Your kids need a break and you do too!

Saturday: at most only rehearse one to two Saturdays a month. I like to do a four hour rehearsal  in the performance space if possible. I work mainly on choreography and blocking on these days. You do not have to do these but they are really very nice. 

Sunday: Do not rehearse on Sundays. I have found there are two many family and religous conflicts to make these rehearsals worth while. 

Once you have a basic plan, simply plug in the songs and pages for your rehearsals each week. If you have done it correctly you should have taught your material in 9 weeks. This will give you two weeks to do runthroughs and one week to add in your technical elements. 

Tips and tricks

- try to teach the lyrics of the song before you teach the choreography. Most kids don't count their music they move based on the words.

-only give out one month rehearsal schedule at a time. Also make sure parents know that the schedule is flexible and can change at any point.

-keep rehearsals as short as possible, 2 hours max after school. Kids still have homework and jobs they have to do as well.

-if possible give kids fewer rehearsals or cancel rehearsals on really tough school weeks. Kids can get burned out if you rehearse too much. You want to keep the show fresh.

- feel free to look at my rehearsal schedule for Aladdin as an example . If you would like me to create a custom schedule visit my teacherspayteachers store.

Good luck if you have any questions or need any advice leave me a comment! I am more than happy to help!

Director's Corner: Auditions

You have chosen your play. You are now ready to hold auditions! This is one of the most exciting, scary parts of the audition process. You want to make sure you are very clear on your expectations and requirements before you announce the audition dates. There are three major types of audition: cold read, improvisation, and monologue based. My recommendation is that you stay far away from from improvisation auditions for a school show. Parents like to feel in control and it is very hard to prepare kids for an improvisation auditions. They won't like that and will question your judgment the entire time.

I would recommend having the first round of auditions be a monologue based. This way kids can prepare for the piece at home and you can see which kids are good at memorizing lines. If you are holding an audition for a musical I would recommend having the students sing and possibly dance in their audition as well. Once you decide the on the type of auditions and your date you need to contact parents. This is where I made my first mistake in my first play. You need to remember that what you know about the audition process is very different from what your student's parents know. You need to send some sort of corespondence home letting parents and kids know what is expected. How long should their monologue be? Can they use any monologue they find or does it have to be from a play? Is it acceptable to memorize a poem instead of a monologue? These are items you will need to cover in your letter home. I like to keep a pile of monologues by my door, that way when students need a monologue for my play or any other play, they have access to acceptable monologues at all times.

If you are producing a musical I would highly recommend that you require students to prepare a song as well. This is another area where you want to be as specific as possible. This is the time to explain that pop songs are not appropriate for a musical. I would recommend that students learn either a musical song or a Disney song. (Be prepared to hear Let It Go until you are about to "let it go insane") Depending on the age of your students you might want to consider holding a dance audition too. Tell students that they will learn a short routine at the audition and then be scored on how well they perform it. This will also give you a chance to see how students function in a rehearsal setting.

On the day of auditions you want to make sure that everything is as organized as possible. I like to have three rooms: a parent room, a dance room, and a monologue room. The parent room is where students sign into the auditions and fill out their audition sheets. Feel free to use the provided audition sheets for your audition or you can download them for free at my teacherspayteachers store.This is also where parents stay while the audition is taking place. I always close my auditions to the parents. I find that this makes the students much less nervous (if there are 20 adults looking at you while you audition, the scarier the process is).

The dance room just needs to be an empty classroom or gym that has a CD player in it. If you can, get your choreographer to plan on leading this section of the audition. The other rooms needs to be for your song/monologue audition. This can just be a basic classroom with. CD player. You should try to have your musical director in this audition space with you. Depending on how many students you have auditioning (I had 194 this last play) you should plan on splitting the students into two groups one group can go to the dance audition while the other group goes to the monologue/singing audition, then switch half way through. Even if you don't have a choreographer or a musical director, I would recommend pulling in a kind teacher friend or two to help you with the auditions. This way you have someone to bounce ideas off of. You also have another opinion to help you defend your casting choices to parents (it sounds so much better to say the committee decided as opposed to I decided).

Your choreographer should know how to lead the dance audition, if they have a way to lead it let them to it that way. If you have no clue about dance (like I did at the beginning of this) here is a quick run down of how to do a dance audition. Before the day, create an 8-16 count piece based on a song from the play.  If you don't know a count is a count of four beats (1234,2234,3234,4234) as a large group teach the students the predetermined choreographer. Teach first very slowly in counts then add to music. Allow the students a little time to practice the choreography before you score them. I like to give them a few counts after the choreography to show off their own skills. This is great even if your kids don't have many skills, it's great to see what your kids will come up with.

The music and monologue portion of your audition is where the "important" decisions come in. As hard  as it is try not to precast your show before you begin. This is so hard but try to go in with no notion of who should be what person, this will free you up to make some daring choices. While you and the music director are listening to the auditions keep a copy of the character breakdown in front of you. I like to the names of any and all students I would consider for a role beside each character (you can also write a student name beside several characters if you think they would fit into several different roles) I would also recommend writing down in the comments the name of the monologue and song. This will help you remember what a certain student performed when you go back to talk after auditions (after 150 auditions it's hard to keep everyone straight). Make sure you make lots of comments for each student that you are considering so that you can cast them appropriately.

After you have heard all of the auditions it is now time to cast the play. If you are having trouble picking between two students for a role you might want to consider call backs. When I do call backs I only call back those students I'm deciding between. If I already know I'm casting Tommy as the lead I don't need to call him back. For call backs I like to do cold reads. this lets me see how each student sounds in the role I am considering them for. 

Once you are done with call backs it's time to make final casting decisions. I start by casting leads then working down to the company. Don't be scared to take some unique chances on your casting. No one wants to see the expected in every play. For casting the company, pick a cut off number for your company and stick to it. This is where your audition scoring will really come in handy. You can simply start at the highest scores and work your way down until you reach your number. Keep in mind, while casting is always very important, I have never had an experience where a student didn't rise to the occasion. Have fun with casting and try to take a chance on a kid, you never know when that kid is a "diamond in the rough"

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Director's Corner- How to Choose a Play

Every Thursday I am going to give tips and ideas to help teachers produce their school plays. Educational theater has a very special place in the world of community theatre. It is not without its own unique challenges and difficulties that most directors never encounter (very limited/no budget, all young actors, stage parents) When I first began directing plays I wish there had been a place I could go to get advice and tips to help me through the process. Hopefully I can be this place for someone else. If you have any questions about your play process, feel free to email me. I know how important it is to have a sounding board when trying to organize a massive production.

The first (and possibly most important) decision you must make when directing a play is what play are you going to direct. Before you decide on a title you first must consider what type of play you are interested in directing. Determining the type will help narrow your search. You also need to know your budget for the production as well as your ideal cast and audience size. All of this information will help you choose the perfect play.

Types of plays

Showcase- A showcase is a combination of short selections taken from several sources. These are usually produced from a sampling of what is happening in class.

One Act- A one act play only has one act, meaning this is usually shorter than traditional plays. If your group is interested in entering theater competition you typically enter with either a one act play or a full length play that has been condensed to one act. The most well know one act play competitions for education theater are at the Thespian Conferences (check your local/regional chapter for more specifics).

Straight Plays- Full length plays that do not contain music. Shakespeare is the most classic example of a straight play. August Wilson, Thorton Wilder, and Tom Stoppard are also well known for their straight plays. If you have very little music expertise and this is your first play you might want to consider this as a good option.

Elementary Musicals- these are musicals designed to be produced by the whole school. Often the students sing on risers as a whole group. Between each song small select groups of students will come to the microphone and say a few words. Think back to elementary school,you were probably in one of these plays :)

Musicals- My personal favorite type of play. These are the tradition plays that come from Broadway. They have singing, dancing and acting all at the same time. These are typically your largest cast and audiences are usually bigger for these performances. These are also your biggest money makers! Keep in mind these plays are often the most expensive to produce as well.

A word on copyright

When choosing a play, it is very important go keep in mind intellectual copyright. Playwrights work very hard writing these plays. They expect to be paid for their hard work. Just like you wouldn't go into a bookstore and steal a book, you cannot produce a play without paying for the rights. Make sure you read your production rights very carefully before producing the play. There is a difference between purchasing a play to read and purchasing the production rights. Make sure you are purchasing the correct play (buying a script from Barnes and Nobel is not buying the production rights). There are serious consequences for being caught breaking intellectual copyright. Do not do it!

Budget

If you have no budget you probably want to look for either a readers theatre script or a script from the public domain. Keep in mind though that if you price your tickets correctly you can make up the cost of purchasing production rights on the back end. (These prices are estimates and do not reflect any actual titles).

Reader's Theatre typically cost the price of a book at Barnes and Nobel $20.

One Act cost are more varied and can cost anywhere between $50-$300.

Straight plays typically cost between $150-$300.

Elementary Musicals typically cost around $25-$75.

Musicals cost between $550-$2000+.

Cast Size ( the bigger the cast the bigger the audience )

Small- under 20 if you are wanting to produce a play with a very small number of actors look at producing a showcase or one act. These are typically geared for this cast size.

Medium- 20-40 students For a lot of directors this is the ideal cast size. You have the most freedom in choosing a play with this number.

Large- 40+ you probably want to look at producing a musical with this number of students. You will be able to make a large company with this number.

Whole School- if you are producing a production with a whole school you should probably look at an Elementary style musical. There are also a few regular musicals that can be adapted for a whole school. (MTI has some great kids/jr versions that use the whole school).

Questions to ask yourself

Once you have made your decisions regarding cast size, cost and type you are ready to start searching for your play. When analyzing potential plays keep in mind the following questions:

-Is the script well written?

-Does the script have literary merit?

-Does the script contain a lesson that is important or relevant to your students?

-Is the script interesting and relevant to your students?

-Will this script challenge your gifted students?

-Are there parts available for students who struggle in class?

-Is the script age appropriate?

-Do you want to direct this play? Does it excite you?

Where to find plays

Public Domain- There are some plays that are in the public domain and free to produce for public use. Most popular in the public domain is Shakespeare. There are several other playwrights who are also listed in this category but make sure you check with the publisher before producing the play.

Reader's Theater- There are several reader's theater scripts available for use in the classroom. Look for scripts that say available for free for educational use. Most of these scripts grant limited production rights. Most of these script can be used in a production for parents but ONLY if you DO NOT CHARGE for the production. I often use Reader's Theatre scripts for my showcases. This works out well since the scripts are usually only a few pages long and I never charge my parents for showcases. If you are thinking about charging for a showcase you probably cannot use the Reader's Theatre scripts.

Licensing Companies: JW Pepper and MTI are my two favorite places for purchasing musical scripts. If you are looking for a classic elementary style musical (all the kids stand on risers to sing then a few students come down and speak in a microphone) you cannot go wrong with JW Pepper. They have a ton of scripts that are very affordable. Bonus they also offer unlimited production rights- meaning once you purchase the play you can perform it as often as you want without paying more money.

MTI is my favorite place ever to purchase musicals. They are so easy to work with and provide so many supplementary materials that it makes your plays turn out amazing. I also like them because they offer Jr. And kids versions of most of these musicals. These versions come in show kits that you can keep for forever (they offer one year unlimited production rights on their show kits, after one  year you can pay a reduced price to reproduce the show again.) The show kits contain accompaniment CDs, choreography DVDs and a director's packet that will help you though the process. They also offer discounts if you are using only middle/elementary school students in your production. These guys also hold the rights to all the Disney Musicals. These are huge audience draws.  Seriously check these guys out! (I get no money for recommending these guys they are just that good)!

MIT and most other licensing companies offer perusals of their plays. This is a great way to read a play in full to make sure you like it before committing to it. Most perusals cost under $10 and are well worth the investment if you are going to pay hundreds of dollars to produce the play.

Internet - obviously you can find scripts on the internet. Be careful when purchasing/getting scripts from the internet. There is a lot of plagiarism out there. You can still get in trouble even if you "didn't know" you had to pay for the rights.  There are a ton of great scripts out there but you really need to do your research and search out the best one for your class.

Final Step- Do not Skip!

Once you have found the perfect play for you, you must do two things. First get the play approved by your administration. No matter how appropriate you think a play is there is always a chance that a parent will take issue with your play choice. You want your principal to have your back if this happens. Also make sure you have the answers to the questions above. This will help you in defending your choice. After you have approval you are now ready to purchase the rights to the play. Once there rights and materials arrive you are ready to begin the production process!