Category: Choosing A Show

Creatively Mounting a Children's Musical

8/22/2025

Having fun learning choreography

In the theater world, we call the preparation, casting, rehearsing, and doing all things related to producing a musical play MOUNTING a production. Putting on a full-scale musical or even a scaled-back production involves many elements and takes time and energy.

So, how much time should I allow to do all it takes to MOUNT a production?

That will depend on a few things: Schedule, Budget, Helpers, and the Stage, well actually, the availability of rehearsal and performance spaces.

Stage – “It’s all about the stage” or lack thereof. In the theater world, this is a common mantra. Creating the illusion of the world in the story is literally a function of the stage and its limitations. Sometimes a show must be MOUNTED in a portion of a classroom with none of the conventional perks (lights, sound, curtains, backstage prep area, space, space, and more space). Sometimes a show will be MOUNTED in a gym with a stage, but the stage still has few of the conventional perks. This show, "Stone Soup," was mounted on a backyard patio with a simple backdrop, and a few cardboard houses.

Schedule - My rule of thumb for doing a 20-30 minute children’s theater production is to plan 20 to 25+ hours of rehearsal time. For a longer, more complicated show plan 30-35+ hours at a bare minimum. Now, MOUNTING a smaller in-class mini-musical with fewer complications may only take 6-10 hours of dedicated rehearsal/teaching time depending on how many extra teaching activities you want to include. Plan the schedule very carefully to work the children in short segments. Vary the activities every 10-15 minutes so that they stay invigorated through singing, movement, doing worksheets, thinking/memorizing/lecture time, and acting segments and still be able to get much accomplished in each session.

Practicing spacing for production number

Budget – Most shows can be MOUNTED with any amount of budget depending on how creative the Director is. Sets and Costumes can be very expensive especially when multiplied by the size of the cast. Some productions do not absolutely require elaborate sets and costumes. Find shows that have suggestions for alternate ways to MOUNT them. Decide what you can afford and design the production accordingly

Vocal Coach doubles as scenic painter

Helpers – In order to do a musical, the main “helpers” are the Director, Assistant Director (or producer), musical director or vocal coach, stage manager, choreographer, costumer, and scenic designer, and they may even want helpers to help them. If you do not have people to do these jobs, the few helpers available must do all of the jobs. Depending on the size of the cast, try to use the 10:1 rule. For every 8-10 children have at least one adult helper. That way, the jobs can be equally divided and the children’s varied activities can be more easily managed. (Junior Staff helpers can be a bonus!)

Junior Staffers helping teach choreography

So, once again, the production has to be designed within the confines of the space available. In order to be successful, Directors must be creative! Sometimes the show won’t move to the stage until the last couple of rehearsals. In order to effectively rehearse, the rehearsal space must closely match the stage dimensions. Be sure to measure and set up barriers as necessary to make the practice space resemble closely the feeling of the actual stage.

So get out there and start MOUNTING one of the Musicals or Mini-Musicals on this site! Break a leg!

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What If's

7/29/2025

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What if the age range for a show is listed ages 5-12, but you only have 10-11 year olds? What if you have many more girls than boys in your cast? What if you have a very limited budget and cannot create enough costumes, props and sets for a show? What if you have a difficult stage situation? What if you have no microphones?

And the list goes on...

First off, I love 10-11 year olds. They are the perfect age for Children's Theater. They are young enough that their voices are still light and high (usually). There will be many variations in heights. (Growth spurts will not have happened in earnest for the boys yet. For the girls, maybe, but there will be many height differences.) They are still young enough to play children, small fanciful creatures, or even magical objects. Some of the bigger kids can play adults. So if you have all 5th graders, you are in luck.

Many community theater groups typically attract twice as many girls as boys. Schools tend to have a more equal spread of girl and boy participants. In any case, the best hope is finding a vehicle that has flexible cast requirements, meaning there will be very few gender specific characters. That way, you can cast characters as either male or female, particularly lead roles. Many stories have male protagonists. This is difficult when you have just three boys in your cast and none of them is a leading man that can sing, dance, and act. But you do have multiple triple threat girl actresses. So if you choose a show with flexible cast requirements, the problems can be solved.

When an audience (parents and grandparents, mostly) comes to see a live Children's Theater show, they are already in the mindset to suspend their disbelief. That means you can be very creative with sets, props, and costumes and the audience will accept and believe. Let the children show off their acting, singing, and dancing skills. It's amazing how little else is required.

What if your stage has no lights, sound, curtains, back stage area, or even a good way to get the actors on and off gracefully? Be creative. Choose a show where changes in lighting is not necessary. Be creative with scenery to provide a back stage area. If you only have one or two stand up mics, use them judiciously. If you have no mics, have more performances to smaller audiences. Most problems need not be insurmountable. They just need creative solutions.

"The Tale of the Country Mouse and the City Mouse" was written for a small group of 10-11 year olds for a Drama Club. They desperately wanted a show they could perform for a real audience. So I created this show for them. We had ears and tails for costumes, and no sets or props. The audience was small, so we didn't use microphones, lighting, curtains closing between scenes, or anything like that. Yet the kids did a wonderful performance and the show was well accepted by the audience. Having two lead parts for girls helped, too.

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Junior Broadway Shows

7/21/2025

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Meredith Willson once said, ". . .when you start a play and you type 'Act one, scene one,' your writing is every bit as good as Arthur Miller or Eugene O'Neill or anyone. It's that fifth word where amateurs start to go wrong."

Last week I went to see a production of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man" done as a "Junior" production performed by mostly late elementary to young teen-aged kids. The show was done simply by a community children's theater company. Much of it was done very well. And it was fun seeing one of my grand nephews singing and acting in the show. (Such a cute guy!)

However, by definition, a Junior production is shortened and much of the original script is whittled away. Unfortunately, with that goes much of the brilliance of the show. (This was Meredith Willson's masterpiece, for heaven's sake!) It's just hard for me to watch a show that I have directed, and worked so hard to get to know intimately, missing so many of the best parts. These kids did their best, I'm sure. I do not fault them. I just had a hard time with that slashed script and score.

Another thing that is difficult for me when watching a Junior version of a big Broadway show is when the parts are mostly played by treble voices. It's hard to follow and be able to distinguish characters when their voices are pitched in the same octave. Young actors don't have the mature vocal chops to pull off the sophisticated vocal arrangements in SATB or TTBB, either. For example, in this show, the poor barbershop quartet was mostly unison with a little 2-part harmony. (It was a sad point, indeed.)

I applaud Children's Theater Companies that choose material to perform that fits the talents in their group. The best vehicles are shows that are short enough for children to learn in the allotted time, have characters that can be portrayed convincingly by child actors, with songs written in ranges that fit the kids' abilities. I realize that shows with a Broadway or Movie heritage have more box office draw, but they do not necessarily work the best for children and adolescents.

Besides, I don't like the idea of messing with a composer's masterpiece...

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Chinese New Year

1/7/2025

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Chinese New Year, or the Lunar New Year, or the Festival of the New Moon, or, the Spring Festival, are all names for basically the same event each year.

In Chinese culture, Chinese New Year, and Lunar New Year have the same meaning, although the former is still the preferred term. That is because Chinese New Year goes beyond the commonly-known animal zodiac system and incorporates other cultural and religious elements from ancient Chinese culture. It is the most important Festival in Chinese culture.

When my youngest children were very young, we were given a book titled "The Empty Pot" by the artist Demi. One of our friends kept talking about how that book would make a good Children's Theater production. Finally, I decided that indeed that ancient Chinese folktale would make a good musical and I could make that happen.

The story is so beautiful because it tells of a young boy with a green-thumb that shows his integrity. The Old Emperor gives out seeds to all of the children and tells them that whoever grows the most magnificent flower from his seed will become Emperor. What he doesn't tell them is that the seeds are poisoned. None of them could actually grow.

In a year's time, at the Spring Festival, the children come before the Emperor with their flowers. Only one boy brings an empty pot to present to the Emperor. In exasperation, the old Emperor divulges how he doesn't know where the children got their flowering plants because all the seeds he gave out were poisoned. Only one boy had the integrity to bring his empty pot. That boy is declared the new Emperor.

The first version of "The Empty Pot" was 30 minutes in length. It works well for a younger cast. I have since written an expanded version of the show with featured older characters and special songs. "A Successor to the Throne" (60 minute show for ages 5-14) has become a favorite Children's Musical in part because it shows the seasons changing over the course of a year.

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Choosing a Spring Musical

12/27/2024

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One of the hardest things for a school Drama teacher or Elementary School General Music Teacher to do is choose a Spring Musical.

The problems are many.

First, you never know exactly who will come out for auditions. Will you cater to just the upper grades, or will it be open to all students? Do I need to cap the cast to a certain number? What if I only have girls try out?

Second, do I have a decent budget that can handle buying a popular show, providing costumes, props, and sets? Do I have access to enough body mics (or any mics) and have a decent mixer and sound system for playback?

Third, will I have any helpers? Choreographer, music director, accompanist, sound tech, stage managers, costumers, set designers, etc.?

Fourth, how do I plan rehearsals? Will I have access to places to practice music and dancing? Will we have access to work on the stage?

Fifth, do I even know what kind of show would be good for my potential actors? Choosing a musical before you see the kids is an act of faith. But you need to choose one for marketing and advertising purposes well before auditions.

And the list of questions goes on and on...

I have done musicals at schools, community centers, churches, and even in parks and backyard patios.

Directing plays at a Church or Community Theater, as a director you go about the process usually aware of many of these situations. You pretty well can count on getting help from the community you are dealing with. You probably already know the stage and technical difficulties as well. You may already have access to costumes, props and set pieces you can adapt and use. You may be well acquainted with the sound system and lighting situations.

Directing shows at a school may be altogether different. You may be forced to hunt or beg for helpers from the other teachers and aides or from parents. None of them may have the talent, time, or inclination to be as dedicated to your project as you really need. (You may also be pleasantly surprised! I have.) You may need to be very clever with how you allocate time for rehearsals and lean on some High School kid volunteers.

My advice is to start advertising for helpers early in the process. Depending on the sizes of your show and cast, you will need at least 4 dedicated helpers --- assistant director, choreographer, music director/accompanist, and costumer. (If you can get stipends to pay them, that can help.) Other jobs like stage managers, set designers, dressers/make-up/hair, backstage monitors, sound and lights techs, etc. may be done with more part-time volunteers. Sometimes, parents or older siblings are wonderful volunteers, but they do like to be able to see the show.

If you are new to directing, good luck to you. It helps if you start with doing less complicated shows with smaller casts. It also helps to have your helpers in place so that you can have meetings with them to get on the same page early in the process. Having a show that can be rehearsed in smaller bits can be useful, too.

Here are a few suggestions for flexible, easy to produce shows from my catalogue:

"Stone Soup," "The Musicians of Bremen," "The Tale of Chicken Licken," and "The Frog Prince."

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Creatively Mounting a Children's Musical

What If's

Junior Broadway Shows

Chinese New Year

Choosing a Spring Musical

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