"Biting Off More Than You Can Chew" is a saying that means you may have higher ambitions than you have time to reasonably accomplish. People do this all the time. The conductor of my Community Choir announced last week that we would not be doing a couple of songs on our concert that she had planned because we didn't have enough time to actually learn them. Sometimes teachers intend to get through the book by this time in the semester, but actually don't. (Unfortunately, some of my teachers still included those chapters on the final!) And working with young children can be hard because they very likely have never been on stage before.
This is always a worry for anyone who is planning out a strategy for children's theater rehearsals. Doing a Summer Theater Camp is difficult to gage as far as that goes. Most directors do a three week, three hours per day Camp session. I have learned that I reasonably only have two weeks I can count on for families in my area to commit to a kid's summer camp. There are so many other opportunities for kids' summer activities, that I just just had to choose shows that would work for this age group in the shorter sessions.
That doesn't mean there is no anxiety, though! The key is to have enough trusted help!
This is always a worry for anyone who is planning out a strategy for children's theater rehearsals. Doing a Summer Theater Camp is difficult to gage as far as that goes. Most directors do a three week, three hours per day Camp session. I have learned that I reasonably only have two weeks I can count on for families in my area to commit to a kid's summer camp. There are so many other opportunities for kids' summer activities, that I just just had to choose shows that would work for this age group in the shorter sessions.
That doesn't mean there is no anxiety, though! The key is to have enough trusted help!
Teenage helpers working with the "Stone Soup" 2023 cast to learn choreography.
Still, when writing a completely new show, (even knowing what I have learned over the years) there is always that possibility that I have bitten off more that we can chew. This is untried material and many of the cast will be children I have never even met before. I don't know their abilities, and they probably won't have any previous experience with theater or understand the pace we have to work at to pull off a show.
Yet, I have high hopes. I just finished the umpteenth draft of my new Children's Musical "The Frog Prince." I've gone on to working on costumes, finishing recordings of the songs, designing scenery and props, and starting to come up with rehearsal plans. Fortunately, I know a few of the kids who have been in my shows before that I can count on to lend some maturity and stability to the cast.
As far as help goes, this year, I may have a dream team of helpers. Two sisters, two daughters, and a granddaughter have agreed to do particular jobs from doing the choreography, to teaching the songs, to being the stage manager, to creating costumes, to painting scenery, to video recording the show, and more --- they are my stacked deck!
I also know a few candidates who could do the lead roles. That makes me feel more secure. Even this song, "To Be a Princess" that has a few French language phrases, has a hope of being performed well. Yay!
Yet, I have high hopes. I just finished the umpteenth draft of my new Children's Musical "The Frog Prince." I've gone on to working on costumes, finishing recordings of the songs, designing scenery and props, and starting to come up with rehearsal plans. Fortunately, I know a few of the kids who have been in my shows before that I can count on to lend some maturity and stability to the cast.
As far as help goes, this year, I may have a dream team of helpers. Two sisters, two daughters, and a granddaughter have agreed to do particular jobs from doing the choreography, to teaching the songs, to being the stage manager, to creating costumes, to painting scenery, to video recording the show, and more --- they are my stacked deck!
I also know a few candidates who could do the lead roles. That makes me feel more secure. Even this song, "To Be a Princess" that has a few French language phrases, has a hope of being performed well. Yay!
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