This Fall I have been surprised by the interest in my Mini-Musical, "The Ants and the Grasshopper." This little musical came about in a burst of inspiration brought on by some desperation. One of the Theater Skills classes I began teaching one autumn had eight First and Second Graders. I was planning to just let them learn skills by working with Acting Games, short skits and songs, but it soon became clear that they needed something more.
A simple screen was the Ant Hill As a teacher, have you ever had that awful realization that what you had planned for your students just wasn't enough?
Well, I went into the project of teaching this After School Drama Club class with lots of ideas about what to do. But then that went out the window when I met the children for the first time.
These kids I did not know. There were seven girls and one boy. After working two times with them, it became clear that they needed a story to motivate them to learn acting skills. So, I bit the bullet and wrote them a little show
Well, I went into the project of teaching this After School Drama Club class with lots of ideas about what to do. But then that went out the window when I met the children for the first time.
These kids I did not know. There were seven girls and one boy. After working two times with them, it became clear that they needed a story to motivate them to learn acting skills. So, I bit the bullet and wrote them a little show
The Ants are carrying oversized seeds. The script came along quickly. I decided to retell the Aesop Fable "The Ants and the Grasshopper." I needed the characters to have equal line loads and a few songs they all could sing together. It made sense to have our boy be the Grasshopper since he is twice the size of any of the little girls. Besides he had a good singing voice and loved to move.
I ended up writing three songs and two dances: "The Ants Working Song," "Summer Loafing'" (for the Grasshopper), "Winter's on the Wind" (dance), "Strummin' 'til Spring" (dance), and the Finale "Pay Now and Play Later."
I ended up writing three songs and two dances: "The Ants Working Song," "Summer Loafing'" (for the Grasshopper), "Winter's on the Wind" (dance), "Strummin' 'til Spring" (dance), and the Finale "Pay Now and Play Later."
The Grasshopper entertains the ants all winter in exchange for food and shelter. I decided to use the John Maxwell quote as the MORAL of the tale: "You can pay now and play later OR you can play now and pay later. Either way you have to pay."
Since this was a Theater Skills class, we did an in-class Recital for the parents. We use a screen for the Ant Hill. The costumes were very simple. We used black T-shirts and knit pants for the "ants." Little colorful tutus worked well since they were all girls. (They thought it was a ballet recital.) I made "feelers" with black pipe cleaners attached to little headbands.
Since this was a Theater Skills class, we did an in-class Recital for the parents. We use a screen for the Ant Hill. The costumes were very simple. We used black T-shirts and knit pants for the "ants." Little colorful tutus worked well since they were all girls. (They thought it was a ballet recital.) I made "feelers" with black pipe cleaners attached to little headbands.
The Grasshopper wore a green T-shirt with a vest with "tails" and a green fedora hat with attached green pipe-cleaner "feelers." He also fake-played a Ukulele. The Ant Queen wore a skirt of gold fabric with a royal cape and of course, a tiny crown.
Most of the kids went barefoot, but funky shoes would also be fun.
This mini-musical can be produced without much -- hardly any scenery at all, just some suggestions of props, and hints of costumes. It is pretty simple to produce and a lot of fun! I guess that could be the reason for all of the interest...
Most of the kids went barefoot, but funky shoes would also be fun.
This mini-musical can be produced without much -- hardly any scenery at all, just some suggestions of props, and hints of costumes. It is pretty simple to produce and a lot of fun! I guess that could be the reason for all of the interest...
RSS Feed