BaileyKidsMusicals.com
Kid Tested and Parent Approved
  • Home
  • Betsy's Blog on Children's Theater |
  • Children's Musicals
  • Mini Classroom Musicals
  • Songs from Musicals
  • Featured Songs from Shows
  • Tips for Presenting Children's Musicals
  • Putting on a Show
  • Folktales and Superheroes
  • What People Are Saying...
  • Video from Musicals
    • Never Cry Wolf 2007 Video
    • A Successor to the Throne Provost 2013 Video
    • Parizade's Quest 2015 Video
    • Momotaro Summer Camp Video 2015
  • Photos from Productions
    • Photos from A Successor to the Throne 2006
    • Photos from Successor to the Throne 2013
    • Photos from Never Cry Wolf 2007
    • Photos of Never Cry Wolf 2014
    • Photos of Never Cry Wolf 2019 Summer Camp
    • Photos from Stone Soup 2012
    • Photos from Chicken Licken Summer 2014
    • Photos from Parizade's Quest 2015
    • Photos from The Ants and the Grasshopper 2014
    • Photos The Adventures of Dick Whittington 2016
    • Photos from Momotaro 2017
    • Photos from Chicken Licken Camp 2021
  • About Me
  • Contact Info
  • Never Cry Wolf Hair Style Ideas and Tutorials
  • Children's Picture Books
  • Christmas Nativity Script (short)

Making Adjustments

6/23/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Often times going into a show I know many of the children. Then again, even the children I have known grow and make big changes from year to year.  I learned long ago something about creating a Children's Theater Musical --- create the characters in terms of age or size groups.  That way going into production you already have an idea about how to cast.  You just need to make final adjustments when you see the kids.

First, I organize the enrollees into age groups.  Then I look at their heights. Some of the younger children may have to play an "older" character because they are tall for their age.  This play has two definite populations --- adults and children.  Obviously, the smaller children must play the children.  This time, we have one very tall 12 year-old girl who will be a head taller than the other girls near her age.  She will even be taller than all of the boys.  We decided to give her a featured role where her height will be an asset, not a liability.

Over the years I have done "A Successor to the Throne" quite a few times.  I have collected costumes for that show in many size ranges.  I ask the families to send in the heights of their children even before they turn in their Registration Forms.  That helps me organize the costumes to make sure I have enough that will work.

For example, this show has many dance numbers for the girl population.  Five pink Spring dancers, two yellow Summer dancers, three Autumn dancers, and 4 Winter dancers.  Because of the sizes of the kimonos, I know which age groups I must pull the dancers from. P
ractically all of the girls sing and dance in these numbers, but the featured dancers need to fit into those particular costumes.  

Of course, for some of the characters, the final decisions cannot be made until I actually meet with the kids.  If a character has a solo, he better be chosen from the boys who can sing well.  If a character has a bigger line load or must play comedy, she better be picked from the girls who can do those things.

This show has many featured roles with speaking lines and solo songs.  No one character has to "carry" the show, though.  The lines and songs are distributed fairly evenly amongst many characters.  That's why we can presume to produce this show from start to finish in just 30 hours of concentrated rehearsals.  The trick is to have enough adult specialists to help.  Two of my daughters and some nieces will be helping me this show.  I am so blessed!

Picture
0 Comments

Character Values

6/17/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
Kindness, Honesty, Sincerity, Integrity, Courage, Gratitude, Appreciation -these are but a few of the important Character Values we acknowledge are needed in society. Good parents hope to instill these values in their children. Many schools have incorporated programs such as "Character Counts," advocating and teaching these values. But in many areas, these values are forgotten.

Before I began writing Musicals for Children's Theater,  I was in a position to need to choose vehicles for our youngest population in our Theater Camps.  I searched and searched to find material we could use that fit our criteria.  We needed shows with Flexible Cast options.  (Usually we had many more girls than boys who enrolled.)  We needed shows with Featured Parts for every cast member.  We needed Engaging Stories and Singable Songs.  We needed shows that could be mounted successfully with a Limited Budget yet worthy enough be mounted on the main stage with all the bells and whistles.

I got frustrated that so much of the material out there did not fit our mission and criteria.  The shows "talked down" to our youngsters.  The songs and lines were quite "baby-ish" and dumb musically.  Almost every story featured a boy as the Lead character. Most had only a few featured parts with lesser ensemble parts.  Some had Love stories -- a huge no-no when working with this age group!  And a lot of these stories were built on way-out fantasies.  The costume potential was fun, but in reality, they had no other redeeming features.

As I was searching for Children's Musicals for the very young, I saw mostly shows using Grimm's Fairy Tales, Aesop Fables, and other folk tales,  But, the good productions of these stories tended to be for older casts.  I also noticed that most of these productions lacked "heart."  They were so shallow, just skimming over the greater significance of the tales.  

Why do a show for kids, performed by kids, unless it is useful to those kids?

So, I have made it my mission to write Children's Musicals that are entertaining and fun but clearly have "heart," or an overarching moral or value that is never preached but is nonetheless present.

"A Successor to the Throne"​ - Honesty, Integrity
"Never Cry Wolf" - Sincerity, Work
"The Adventures of Dick Whittington" - Kindness
"Momotaro" - Bravery
"Stone Soup" - Cooperation
"The Country Mouse and the City Mouse" - Appreciation
"Parizade's Quest" - Love, Reuniting of Family
"The Ants and the Grasshopper" - Planning Ahead, Gratitude
"The Three Billy Goats Gruff" - Patience
"The Musicians of Bremen" - Optimism, Dealing with age and Change
"The Tale of Chicken Licken" - Overcoming Fear

​Enjoy "Worthy to Admire" from "A Successor to the Throne" sung by Mitchell Bailey age 10.
0 Comments

The Extra Dance Number

6/13/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture
We were driving along, when my son suddenly burst out singing "Shapoopie" from "The Music Man."  Something had prompted him to start singing his own alternate words to this comic dance number.  He got us all laughing hysterically.  Then he said that he really didn't understand why that song was even included in the movie which is possibly already the longest musical in history.  Besides, it is so silly.

My sister explained that sometimes an extra dance number is needed in a musical to perform certain functions.  In a live stage show, an extra dance number might be used to cover complicated set changes or costume changes.  It might serve as a time when the ensemble gets another needed chance to perform, or it can just provide some comic relief.  "Shapoopie" serves all of those roles as well as giving some plot subtext to help develop the "love" story between the main characters.
Picture
Having an "extra" dance number for the ensemble is actually tremendously important.  The performers need to feel properly utilized when they do a show.  There is nothing worse than being cast in a very long show where most of the ensemble members just sit backstage playing cards for hours.  Besides, the energy infused into the show by colorful dance numbers is felt and usually greatly appreciated by the audience.  When a show's energy lags, an "extra" dance number is just what perks it up again.
My Summer Theater Camp Show this year is actually filled with many dance numbers.  "A Successor to the Throne" keeps the entire cast busy from beginning to end.  Many of the dancers are especially busy with quick costume changes and picking up specific dance props such as parasols, fans, ribbon wands, and farm tools (yes, farm tools are used in a dance about working in the summertime).  I have been busy trying to figure out who gets to dance in which numbers and how they get on and off our little patio stage!
Picture
0 Comments

Fifth Generation Soprano

6/9/2022

0 Comments

 
On our hike up the canyon yesterday, I managed to sneak a short video of my granddaughter singing a bit from "Frozen II."  She is still very young, only 2 1/2, and yet she has begun to sing actual songs on pitch.  Granted, the three note motif from the siren voice in "Frozen II"  is built on intervals that are judged easiest for young children to imitate.  The starting pitch descends first down a half step and then down a minor third.  However, my granddaughter even tries singing it in different modulations just like on the soundtrack.  Pretty good for a toddler!
My daughter and I were musing yesterday about how this little girl marks the fifth generation of fine sopranos in our family.  (We are only counting the mothers and grandmothers I have known personally.)  So, starting with my mother's mother Lora (her operatic voice spanned 5 octaves) to my mother Carolyn (beautiful lyric soprano), myself Betsy (another lyric Soprano), my daughter Cami (also a huge vocal range), to her daughter Camilla (destined to sing soprano, too).  That makes five generations of soprano voices.
​
​Of course, that is only counting one direct line, and not even mentioning the many fine singers in her generation.  (I have 25 grandchildren and they all sing well!)  We have stories from our more ancient history of many fine singers and entire families of singers and musicians on down through the extended family lines. We are just happy to continue the tradition of SINGING and playing/composing music.
Camilla, or CJ as she is called, goes around the house singing her own soundtrack.  She favors us with many songs from movies and a lot from "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood."  Because I am her Nursery Leader at Church, I am noticing that she is picking up more and more phrases and melodies from the Primary songs we teach her.  She is sometimes the only child in Nursery, so we sing a lot.
It is clear that this toddler loves music and so does her 1 year old brother Peter.  In Church he also has to have his own hymnbook open so that he can "sing" and wave his arms directing the music.  Their mother started her conducting career at age 2 by sneaking onto stage when the extended family was singing a choir number.  She stole the show while imitating the conducting of her great-great aunt Janie Thompson.

​Toddlers should be allowed to show their developing talents!
0 Comments

    Author

    My name is Betsy Bailey.  I have sung, written and taught music all of my life.  I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows.  This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater.  I would love to hear your comments!

    Archives

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    July 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All
    Acting Games
    Aesop Fables
    Age Appropriate Material
    Auditions
    Benefits Of Children's Theater
    Broadway And Movie Songs
    Character Values
    Chicken Licken
    Children's Chorus
    Children's Theater
    Choreography
    Christmas Nativity Pageant
    Common Core Objectives
    Costumes
    Costuming
    Dick Whittington And His Cat
    Disney Magic
    Drama Club
    Elementary School Music
    Elementary School Stages
    Family Fun
    Flexible Casting
    Folk Songs
    Funny Stories
    Getting Inspiration
    Improvisation
    Inspired Direction
    Japanese Folktale
    Lessons Plans
    Matching Pitches
    Mini Musicals
    Mini-Musicals
    Momotaro
    Momotaro A Tale Of Bravery
    Old English Pantomime
    Parizade's Quest
    Performance
    Resourcefulness
    Sets And Props
    Songwriting
    Stone Soup
    Storybooks
    Summer Theater Camp
    Tales Of The Arabian Nights
    Teaching Aids
    Teaching Singing
    The Boy Who Cried Wolf
    The Country Mouse And The City Mouse
    The Empty Pot
    The Musicians Of Bremen
    Writing And Directing Children's Musicals

    RSS Feed

Copyright: Bailey Kids Musicals, 2015