Betsy's Blog on Children's Theater | BaileyKidsMusicals.com - BaileyKidsMusicals.com

Social Distancing is Definitely NOT Satisfying!

3/23/2020

Mothers provide guidance for online school.

The coronavirus Covid-19 Pandemic has really brought our world to a halt. With all gatherings of over 10 people made illegal for the time being, people are being forced to be creative in how they interact with people and try to continue their work. Some people can utilize the internet and work from home. Others must go into work, but be careful to maintain six feet of space between coworkers at all times. Some people are losing their livelihoods altogether because their jobs rely on large gatherings - restaurants, concerts, school activities, sporting events, Church activities, and the list goes on.

On one hand I have been saddened by the temporary closure of schools. The poor teachers have been frantically trying to post lessons and work via the internet so that their students may continue to progress in their classes at home. On the other hand, I have been so proud of my daughters and daughters-in-law and how they have managed to take those on-line lessons and also plan their own activities for their children at home.

Teachers (like my daughter who teaches performance classes of Band, Orchestra, Choir and is the Vocal Coach and Choreographer for the middle school musical) are having a tough time. Her Title I Middle School students are not allowed to take their instruments home, so the band and orchestra students simply have no instruments to practice with. The choir classes this term were enrolled solely to perform in the school musical. Her only option for the Band and Orchestra classes has been to provide General Music worksheets, fingering chart memorization activities, and required listening assignments. For the Chorus classes, she decided to create videos of snippets of the School Musical's Ensemble songs with choreography that the kids can practice to. Still holding out hope that school will come back in late April and that the Musical and Concerts will be able to take place!

As glad as we are to have the internet and many streaming sources, we are finding that staying far away from people is really NOT satisfying. Our culture is one of Service and Interaction with People. Social Distancing is especially difficult when trying to teach performance classes. We NEED each other. Hopefully, we can all be diligent for this most serious time so that it can be of brief duration. Praying for a successful outcome and that the progression of the coronavirus will be stopped in its tracks!

Because They Were Already There

3/13/2020

While watching a podcast the other day by Shoo Rayner, a popular British children's author and illustrator, I heard him answer an audience question. "How do you decide what to draw in an illustration? What goes on in your mind?"

In order to address that question, he told about his journey to how he got to becoming an illustrator and later, an author. He said that first off, he always loved to draw. From the time he was a child, he also used his drawing to tell stories. He said that he created his first book when he was just 5 years old. But as he was growing up and planning his life, he tried lots of jobs -- print design and set up being one of the formative ones. However, in college, he thought that he should be a scientist. But, he found out that he just wasn't good enough in math. His professor suggested that since he was always drawing, he should transfer to the art department. After trying so many jobs and failing at most of them, being in the art program was liberating. (He could get a job doing what he was good at and actually interested in? What a concept!) What caught my attention, though, was how he admitted that having those early experiences gave him a broader knowledge of life and a better base for understanding people and telling stories. An illustrator is ultimately a storyteller.

He also told about how he goes about planning the pictures for a story book. Because he grew up with television and movies, he said he thinks cinematically. As the story goes along in his head, he "sees" what is happening in pictures in his mind. (Where an author uses words to paint the picture for the reader, an author/illustrator uses pictures to paint the scene without needing to use words. In fact, using so many words on the page that say what the picture portrays is redundant and boringly unnecessary.) So, as he is planning the story, he is already visualizing the action in his head, and then, when it comes time to draw the illustrations, they are already there.

I have been thinking about how I have gone about writing scripts and songs for Children's Theater. After thinking about the STORY, SETTING and CHARACTERS for some time, and contemplating the children who might be in the cast, the limitations of my "stage," costumes, sets, props, choreography, and so on, the SCRIPT and SONGS almost came by dictation --- because they were already there.

One show in particular came about this way, "Parizade's Quest." I saw in my mind (mostly in visions through the night) the scenes, actors, costumes, and dances, then worked madly by day to put what I had already visualized onto paper. And just like an illustrator uses pictures to economize words, I could use songs instead of dialogue to move the plot along. Inspiration is miraculous!

In Praise of Choreographers

3/5/2020

Autumn dancer

Over the years, it has been my privilege to work with some very talented choreographers. Quite often, these people just appeared out of the blue ready to provide their services. They may have been parents of a cast member or two and heard what I was attempting and wanted to help, or they were dance majors in college just wanting a chance to choreograph an entire show, or they were already on staff at the school and willing to take on another assignment. Regardless of how they came to cross my path, our collaborations became something wonderful!

My first show at Provost Elementary was a leap of faith, for sure. I was approached by the After-School Clubs coordinator to direct the school musical. She had first called the Theater Department at BYU to try to get a college student to come direct, but my friend Teresa Love in that department knew that I had recently relocated to Utah and recommended that they call me instead. The show we agreed on was "A Successor to the Throne." I said that I already had costumes and props ready to go, but would they please find me two assistants and a choreographer.

Not knowing the strengths of my assistants or the choreographer caused me some anxiety at first. The assistants were young aides (college students working part time at the school) who did well for rehearsing lines and general managing of the cast members and their stuff. One even had some real theater skills. They proved very capable at doing what I needed them to do. The CHOREOGRAPHER Greg Rawlins (another BYU student), turned out to be brilliant. He not only came up with beautiful dances, he worked well with the kids encouraging them to do very professional quality finished work. He even painted flowers on the plain pink parasols to give the dances added interest. See his work on the video "A Successor to the Throne - Provost Elementary School 2013."

Chelsea Ally taught dance at Provost Elementary through a grant from the Beverly Sorenson Foundation. We were so lucky to have her expertise to also choreograph several of the school musicals. Too bad we did not get video from those productions. Her ability to pull performances out of kids who had "never danced a step before in their whole entire lives" was remarkable. She did "Never Cry Wolf," "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," "Momotaro," and "Chicken Licken."

I have been amazed at how lucky I have been to have many other talented people just appear and want to help. Several parents of kids in my casts have admitted that they had dance training in the past and were comfortable "teaching and maybe even doing some choreography." Wow! That was an understatement! These moms were just great! I am lucky to also have talented dancing daughters who helped their mother out on occasion.

Looking forward to working again this summer with my daughter Camilyn Workman who has agreed to choreograph this summer's Theater Camp. Cami was a principal dancer in the very first production of "A Successor to the Throne 2006" (See "Autumn Dancer" photo above.) The kids are in for a treat!

Planning Summer Theater Camp 2020

2/26/2020

Imperial Garden Dance

Someone commented to me the other day that summer plans for kids get busier every year. I am not sure that's exactly true, but it may be. I am sure that depending on how many children are in a family and how old they are might play a big part in how busy the schedules are for that family.

Anyway, determining when to hold my Summer Theater Camp has certainly become more challenging over the years. Because I cater mostly to the families in my neighborhood, I learn about all of the plans and scheduling difficulties of these families. My Camp has to compete with Swim Team, Young Women's Camp, Youth Conference, and even 5th Grade Science Camp, not to mention family vacations, Family Reunions and the 4th of July.

We all prefer to do the outdoor backyard Camp in June when the weather is somewhat cool (by summer standards in Utah anyway). Later in the summer has many more complications with Utah's Patriotic and Pioneer holidays. August is very short because school starts in the third week. Besides July and August are usually very HOT! As I sent around a questionnaire about possible dates for Theater Camp, nearly everyone said that they preferred June.

That left me scratching my head trying to figure this all out.

Last year, we held camp over three weeks, but called different ages of children on different days to skirt around everybody's conflicts. Guess that is what we will end up doing this year, too.

The good news is that I have picked a show, "A Successor to the Throne." This was actually the second show we produced for a summer theater camp in our backyard in about 2011. My daughter and her friends directed it with a group of the neighborhood children. It was a great success, even though we had some mighty rain storms that threatened to halt the show. At the last minute, the sun broke through and the show could go on.

Ah, the joys of outdoor children's theater!
* * * * * * *
One of my favorite parts of this show is all of the Chinese Dances. The girls get to dance using parasols, ribbon wands, dance fans, puppets, and lots of flowers. They have a fun time and the dances are beautiful!

Fancy Valentine's Day Dinner and Dance

2/20/2020

For several years now, my daughter's family has been hosting a fancy Valentine's Dinner. It has been a time to set the table with elegant place settings, eat dinner in several courses, and practice "best table manners." Occasionally, they have invited guests to dine with them, but not always. There are already eight children in this family. This year's menu included French delicacies deftly made by mom Kathryn and oldest daughter Makayla. A delectable time was enjoyed by all.
And the desserts are usually the very best part of the evening!

But, perhaps the most fun activity this year was the dance party in the basement. After dinner, they all went down to the playroom where the toys had been pushed up against the walls or cleared away. They were instructed to form two lines. Kathryn had been planning this secretly for weeks. She wanted her family to learn a dance, but didn't know what to do because she knew she had far more girls than boys. Her sister Carolyn suggested teaching the Virginia Reel because everybody just dances with everybody.

So, as they were learning "forward and back," bow to your partner," "do si do," and "swing your partner," 5-year-old youngest son Thomas said, "I know this dance. We learned it in Music Class." From then on, Thomas led the way and they all had fun dancing the Virginia Reel. A perfect ending to their fancy Valentine's Day Dinner.

The Virginia Reel folk dance is easy to teach and learn. The Country Mice dance it in "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse" musical. What a fun activity for beginning dancers.

Being a Team Player

2/10/2020

Night Patrol martial arts routine from "A Successor to the Throne"

Being an author, composer and director of a Children's Musical automatically sets you up for looking like a control freak. And it is easy to get into that mind-set of wanting to put your vision and JUST your vision into play. However, if you are wise, you will welcome other helpers and be open to their contributions. You need to be aware, though, that those helpers will come with their own ways of doing things that may be very different from what you envisioned.

Choreography for Dancers in "Never Cry Wolf"

While there is a recognized and respected hierarchy of jobs in the Theater, sometimes small community or school groups have to do their best with whatever they get. The Director oversees choosing the show, recruiting helpers, auditioning, casting, and overseeing all decisions related to what happens onstage and even backstage. The Producer sees that the needs of the Director are met -- finds the performance venue, rehearsal venues, oversees budgets, resources, and manages financial and personnel matters. Musical Director - teaches songs, may accompany the show or direct a group of musicians, or manage recorded tracks. The Choreographer plans The choreography and teaches dances, may oversee some Dance Captains. The Costumer oversees all aspects of costuming from designing to making, fitting and repairing costumes, also manages sewing committee. Stage Manager is responsible for planning movement of scenery, pulling drapes, lighting, stage crew, and entrances and exits of actors. Other helpers may include Scenic Designer, Lighting Designer, Sound Engineer, Hair and Make-Up Designers and crews of folks who work for these people. In Children's Theater, it is helpful to have Group Leaders assigned to 5-6 children to help them manage their costumes and changes, learn their lines and dances, and otherwise help them be where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do.

Most small Children's Theater shows are produced by a few people doing all of these jobs. The larger the cast, the more difficult the work loads of these few people. My advice is to either limit the size of the cast or recruit more helpers!,

Actors against cute set from "The Adventures of Dick Whittington"

Over the years, I have learned to be accommodating of other "ideas" as I have learned to work with the helpers who came and volunteered for combat duty. Sometimes, these helpers took my little ideas and developed them in beautiful and exciting ways. (I was humbled, astonished and overwhelmed by the amazing results!) Sometimes, our ideas were polar opposites, but we figured out compromises that ultimately worked. In any case, the focus should be on the kids and what they should get out of their experience in a Children's Theater show. All adult ego's should be checked at the door. We need to be TEAM PLAYERS!

Audience Vantage Point

12/16/2019

Last Saturday I was invited to what I thought was a 5 year old's Ballet Class Showcase. Turns out that it was a combined Tumbling and Creative Dance showcase. At any rate, I was dismayed at some of the problems that occurred. First off, the building was quite new and beautifully appointed with several large studios, changing rooms, a play area for little siblings, rest rooms, kitchen, offices, large foyer, and ample parking. They even had tubs of costume leotards and tutus in Christmas colors for the little dancers and tumblers to wear for the class showcases. Clearly, this studio was invested in training young people for performances. However, when I walked in to join my daughter's family, I became acutely aware that where we were sitting would afford us absolutely no hope of seeing ANY of my granddaughter's or any of the other children's performances.

Problem No. 1 - The audience chairs were arranged 10 rows deep on the floor of the studio.

Problem No. 2 - The tumbling mat (and dance space) was not six feet from the first row.

Problem No. 3 - These little pre-school tumblers and dancers were no taller than the chairs and much of the time they would be performing on the mat at floor level.

Didn't the Teachers and Staff people see that these would be big RED FLAGS? Surely, they had done shows there before!

Anyway, the performance got underway, and the audience tried the best they could to adjust so they could see, but even standing up in the back offered no solution. Most of us watched the performance through the grace of the 12 raised iPhones held up by arms of the people on the 2nd row.

After the 1/2 hour showcase, I found myself seeking out the director of the studio and making a suggestion. I introduced myself by saying that I had done a lot of professional Children's Theater. I then told her that if she had arranged the chairs in two rows around the perimeter of the studio floor and had the children tumble and dance in the center, the audience members would have all been able to enjoy the performance. Then we left.

Our little dancer's socks had been dropped on the way out of the studio, so my son-in-law dashed back in to retrieve them. When he found us, he said that there were people madly rearranging the chairs in the studio. Well, I am glad that they took the suggestion and I am glad that our group was the first of many Class Showcases that day. Hopefully the follow-on audiences got a much better vantage point!

Looking Ahead in 2019 to "A Successor to the Throne"

1/3/2019

So glad to close the book on 2018. It has been such a hard year of watching my husband's health decline as he has been fighting pancreatic cancer. However, the first few days of 2019 have been markedly better for him -- less pain and able to eat better. I am very hopeful that his health might improve!

In the meantime, I can look forward to seeing "A Successor to the Throne" produced at a Charter School in the area. I have made my costumes and props available to them, as well. However, that means I must dig them out of my very packed storage shed. But it can be done -- after the snow melts away!

"A Successor to the Throne" has been such a favorite show. It is based on an ancient folktale presented in darling paintings by Demi in his adorable children's picture book "The Empty Pot." While researching how to bring this little Chinese folktale to life, I was impressed by the colorful Chinese culture of music and dance. Because this story revolves around the calendar year, seasonal dances became a must. So, this show opens with a Spring Festival "Spring Is Here" with dancers dressed in pink. They dance with beautiful pink parasols as other actors dress the set with flowers.

"Summer Comes" is a work song for the men in straw hats who use hoes and rakes to till the earth. Summer is ushered in with dancers using red fans showing the hot and sunny weather.

Autumn dancers in orange kimonos dance with ribbon wands and scarves. The mothers sing a melancholy song about how the earth gets cold and dreary as "Autumn Lingers on the Breeze." The set is redecorated with orange, yellow and red fall leaves.

Winter comes in to the song "Wintertime" with dancers dressed in ice blue kimonos carrying ice wands and long white scarves representing blankets of snow. Children run under the scarves and blow snow crystals toward the audience..

Another dance is the "Imperial Garden Dance" where the dancers wave colorful Chinese dance fans in fluid formations. Most of the older girls in the cast join in this dance. These Chinese dance fans are simply beautiful as they float and wave high and low in flourishes.

The boys as the Red and Black Guards get to do a martial arts sequence, too.

And of course, no royal entourage is complete without an Imperial Processional with lanterns, flower wands and of course a puppet dragon. THIS SHOW REALLY HAS SPECTACLE!

Over the Briny Sea

2/8/2016

While doing research to begin writing "The Adventures of Dick Whittington," I knew I needed to write an authentic sounding sea chanty for the sailors to sing. I came across the most charming description of what a sea chanty really was and knew in an instant that was what I wanted to recreate. The article stated that in the heyday of merchant sailing (1600-1800's), one of the most important skills a sailor had to posses was a ready singing ability. The sailors used songs to help them in their labors aboard ship. The tempo and rhythms of the songs kept the routine hoisting and pulling chores synchronized and safe. The caller would sing out the verses and the crew would answer with the refrains. The verses could literally go on endlessly.

   Now the topics of the authentic sea chanties I researched were definitely not appropriate for use with Elementary School Children. So I endeavored to come up with a topic that was G-rated and understandable to my young actors. I also learned that the sea chanties could be either in triple meter or duple meter. I elected to have the boys sing about sailing over the briny sea in 6/8 time. In the story, the ship is setting sail from England about 1600 to go trading in Morocco. I even tried to use some authentic nautical terminology. (Not easy to enunciate quickly in rhythm.) It is fun to hear the boys continue singing the song going down the hallway after rehearsal. They must enjoy singing it. (They call it their Pirate song.)

   The boys have been learning a little dance combination, too. All variations of walking, hopping, and changing directions. So far, so good. The movements seem simple enough that even the less coordinated look good doing it. Soon we will add the costumes and then we'll be in business.

   Enjoy this Learning Tracks performance of the Sea Chanty "Over the Briny Sea" from the new Bailey Kids Musical "The Adventures of Dick Whittington."

Variations of Walking

1/21/2016

We are one week into a new production of "The Adventures of Dick Whittington" and I am finding that I am already way behind. The good news is that I have two wonderful assistants. The bad news is that they have different skills than I am used to having. One is a lovely pianist and the other is good at managing the children. Neither of them have had much experience in doing Children's Theater. So, where I have always been the one who does the overall directing and teaches the songs (since I wrote them), I need to utilize the pianist to teach the songs. And where I have usually had a terrific dancer as one of the assistants, it looks like I will also need to become the choreographer.

Well, as one of my choreographer friends used to say, "These are children with basically no dance experience. All you can do is teach them variations in walking."

So, what are the variations of walking she talked about? Walk, run, march, skip, slide, gallop.... And then you can always change the speed, direction, and intensity of the movements -- bend, lunge, lean, kick, point, hop, jump, twist, twirl, pivot, tip toe, sneak.... You can also vary the levels, planes and proximity of the dancers -- have different groups do different movements at different times in different spaces. Oh, yes, you can use arm positions and gestures, and my favorite, hand them a prop. There, this should be easy.

But what about paying attention to using historical details? This show is based on an old English Pantomime of Elizabethan times. What were the steps and dances popular in those days? Better do my research. Well, as I was writing the music, I did have music styles of the period in mind such as gigue, schottische, gavotte and reel. Are not these dance styles as well? Looks like I have ideas already forming in my mind for the dances.

My second assistant did say that she enjoyed doing Mexican dancing. Dancing is dancing, right? So if I came up with the choreography, she should be able to learn it with the kids and then be able to run their dances while I work on other things sometimes, right?

Variations in walking -- I think there is a lot more to it than it sounds!