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

Mini-Musicals Created On the Fly

9/3/2026

"Stone Soup," "The Ants and the Grasshopper," and "The Musicians of Bremen" are all shows that have been recently purchased from my catalogue. That makes me happy for two reasons. 1. It's so nice to learn that these cute little shows will be produced somewhere and 2. I am grateful for honest people who actually buy the entire show packages (not just bits and pieces).

These three small shows were developed for Drama Club presentations. In each case, I was asked to teach classes for a few weeks after school. These students met with me once a week for 8 weeks. I had planned to just teach skills and do some skits. But no, the students demanded that they have their own shows to perform for their families.

At this school, I had been doing Main Stage Children's Musicals every Spring. Even the first and second graders knew about these shows, and had high expectations. (The school only made the Main Stage productions available for 5th and 6th graders.) So, I practically had to write these mini shows on the fly.

However, I enjoy writing for known quantities. As I got to know the abilities of these particular kids, I was inspired to write shows just for them. "The Ants and the Grasshopper" came about because the class had seven little first grade girls and one big second grade boy. Fortunately that boy could sing and move well. It only made sense to write a show for little "ants" and a big "grasshopper."

"The Musicians of Bremen" came about because the 3rd-4th grade Drama Club class only had a ten students. They needed a flexible show they could learn quickly and support each other. They all sang and danced the songs, took turns being Narrators, and even played kazoos.

This show would be easy for a music class to do with the ensemble parts sung by the other students.

"Stone Soup" has had many iterations depending on how many kids were enrolled. The first group was very young, so the songs, dances, and lines were very simple. Over the years it has been pretty popular, though. I personally have mounted this show many times and have modified the lines, songs and dances to fit larger casts.

Here are songs from each show to enjoy.

A Show for Very Young Actors

2/7/2025

Grasshopper with Gene Kelly flair

The Aesop Fables are a grand source of theatrical material. At a point of wondering what to do, I was able to mine Aesop's Fables for ideas. "The Ants and the Grasshopper" was perfect for my situation.

This little musical came about in a burst of inspiration brought on by some desperation. One of the Theater Skills classes I began teaching in the Fall of 2015 had eight First and Second Graders - 7 girls and 1 boy. I was planning to just let them learn theater skills by working with Acting Games, short skits and songs. But it soon became clear that they wanted to do a play with a real performance.

I quickly searched through many materials and decided that I just needed to write them a show. Obviously, I needed to tailor the parts to the personalities and talents I had. The boy had a great voice and could move. It made sense to cast him as the Grasshopper and give him some "Gene Kelly savoir-fare." The girls needed clearly defined traits in order to bring their characters to life. So, I gave each Ant one main emotional character trait such as "Effie, Miss Efficiency," and "Winnie, the Whiner."

When working with 6-7 year olds just one hour per week, there are certain things you just plan for. They will not remember directions from week to week, so you drill, drill, drill all of the LINES and BLOCKING while you have them. They tend to be shy and speak with small voices. So, you drill, drill, drill about PROJECTING the voice. They like COSTUMES, so you'd better have them! Costumes really help both the children and the audience imagine the characters and bring them to life. CATCHY SONGS are very important to a children's show. The songs are the loudest, brightest, and most unified part of the production. Better make them the best they can be. The songs must carry the setting, emotions, and message of the tale. The audience should be able to go out singing the songs with the kids on the way home. The message of this version of "The Ants and the Grasshopper' is taken from a quote by John Maxwell. He said, "Play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. Either way you'll have to pay."

I have since directed this show with many different kids and in different venues. It has been nice to add colorful sets and parts for a broader mix of boys and girls.

Enjoy the Grasshopper's dancing song "Summer Loafin'."

The Dreaded Topics of Change and Old Age

11/26/2024

Mitchell with baby Jericho

My 27th grandchild was born last week. He was well anticipated since this is the first child of my youngest son who didn't get married until he was older. This little boy's arrival was looked forward to anxiously, but few of us have been able to meet him because of some complications at his birth. Although the whole family wants to celebrate and party with this new little guy, we must be patient and wait until he is stronger. Truth be told, we couldn't wait for this blessed change to our family status to get here! Change and old age are not yet issues with this cute little new life!

But CHANGE and OLD AGE can be frightening in other circumstances.

Sadness always comes at the passing of loved ones and people we may not have known personally, but have admired. Sadness (for us mainly) at not having them around to guide us anymore. Certainly not sadness for the ones who have passed on. They are released from this world of pain and strife to a glorious reunion with God and their other loved ones on the other side. But we are left with a feeling of needing to pick up the pieces and find new ways to carry on. Maybe I am just getting old enough myself to have known many great people who have fulfilled their time on earth. Still, that doesn't make the transitions any easier.

In 2013, I wrote a Mini-Musical "The Tale of the Musicians of Bremen." This is one of the German tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. Until recently, I don't think I truly understood that story. I usually dismissed it as un-musical. Who wants to be entertained by animals with obnoxious voices who think they are great singers? In my adolescent thinking, I missed the entire point of the story.

From my more mature vantage point now, I think I am coming to understand it better. This story is about FEAR of CHANGE and facing GROWING OLD -- two topics that the young have no use for whatsoever. Young people are all about embracing CHANGE. And they are usually very EXCITED ABOUT GROWING OLDER. But for people who are truly facing OLD AGE, they encounter complications of ill-health, becoming useless and unwanted, and possibly dying alone.

These are pretty heavy themes, and not the normal stuff of Children's Theater Musicals.

So how can this story be told with songs and staged in a way that is entertaining? Can it actually show many layers of meaning so that those with ears to hear and eyes to see can understand -- but younger children can still find humor and feel joy?

Hopefully, through this mini-musical, the plight of the animals can be seen for what it is --- a fable about facing the universal fears of CHANGE and GROWING OLD with doses of humor and fun songs to delight audiences of many ages.

Mini Musicals with a Moral

2/6/2024

One of the ELA (English Language Arts) objectives for 1st-3rd grades is to retell a story or fable with a moral. What better way to meet this objective than to present a class play?

In the Mini-Musical "The Tale of the Musicians of Bremen," the moral has to do with Age and Change. Children may not recognize how difficult it is for people to grow old and feel useless. Older people often stubbornly resist change. The old farmer and his wife in the story have to face Age and Change in themselves and for their animals. This story shows the animals taking a proactive step to avoid their certain fate (death). The animals are likable and do silly things, but also allow for a discussion about important life lessons, particularly Age and Change.

In the story of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse they each discover that both of their homes have pros and cons. The Country Mouse visits the city with her cousin and is terrified at the noise and hustle-bustle, and all of the hidden dangers there. She decides that the "cons" far outweigh the "pros" to life in the city. She races home to the Country where she already knows what to expect. For the class, "The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse" musical begins a discussion about Comparisons such as Likes and Dislikes. Through explorations in acting and singing, the students can draw examples from the story and their own experiences to become better at determining their own preferences.

And if the songs reinforce the concepts of the moral plus other Language Arts ideas, that is all for the better. For example, the opening song in "The Tale of the Three Billy Goats Gruff," contains an idiom that is introduced along with many other puzzlements, "Why is Grass Always Greener on the Other Side?"

This song is a good jumping off point for a discussion about asking questions to get information using the words "who, what, where, when and why."

Retelling a story or fable with a moral is what these Mini-Musicals are all about. According to the advice of my teacher friends, I have included ideas and worksheets to help meet some of the Common Core Objectives for ELA. The best accolade I ever got from mounting one of these shows came from two little boys. The confided to their dad that they did not know why I kept telling them how proud I was of their hard work. They did not feel like it was work at all. They were having so much fun!

Who says learning can't be fun?

It's All So Exciting

11/3/2023

Such a happy day! I sold another complete Musical show package!
"The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse" is such a fun show. It can be done in either a short version (mini-musical 15 minutes) or a more filled out version (30 minutes). The mini-package includes a script, vocal/piano score, lesson plans, and accompaniment mp3s. It is fairly uncomplicated to mount, even in a classroom or club situation, because it only has 2 production numbers that everyone sings together. This version is best for younger actors (5-9 year olds).

"I Love the City Life" 2-Part is begun by the City Mouse who tries to convince her cousin the Country Mouse about how wonderful life in the city can be.

"A Country Mouse" begins when the Country Mouse decides that being back home in the country is best.

As is the case with a lot of performing situations, the girls usually outnumber the boys. This mini-musical is great for cases like this. Both lead characters are girls!

The expanded version "The Country Mouse and the City Mouse" has more songs, more characters, and more for them to do. Once I had a small club group of 10-12 year olds --- mostly girls. I reworked this show to showcase the special talents of my actresses. So, some new songs were added that quickly became favorites, as well as some incidental and chase music.

"What is It Like?" - for the Country Mouse and her family

"As the French Say" - for the City Mouse, her French Maid, and the Country Mouse (and City neighbors)

"You Can Learn a Lot" - Opener and Finale

Such a fun show. I am so glad it will be performed in the near future.

Being Flexible

4/14/2023

If there is a universal truth in doing Children's Theater, it is that Directors must be ready at all times to be FLEXIBLE. You never know the make up and abilities of a cast until the children show up. And even then, you do not know if these young children will grow and demonstrate untapped talents or retreat into stage fright.

Often, you must choose a piece to perform before you see the children. This play must do the job of advertising and enticing the children (or parents) to want to sign up. And yet, you cannot be certain if you will have the actors with the right qualities to mount the production. You cannot know even the ratio of boys to girls that will ultimately be involved. So, your best course is to find a piece with parts that can be played by either boys or girls, with or with out much developed talent. Being FLEXIBLE is key!

A few years ago I was asked to provide an after school Drama Club at an Elementary School. Adding a Drama Club was new to the after school club options. So, we did not know how many children to expect. I was told only that there could be between 10-20 1st-4th graders signing up. I also needed to pick a play that could be FLEXIBLE enough to work for a group of that size and be mounted in just 10 hours of rehearsal time (including a performance) over the space of 10 weeks.

Obviously, I needed a small show since I would need to teach other rudimentary skills to these few children. I decided to try out one of my Mini-Musicals. I chose "The Tale of the Musicians of Bremen" because it could be done with a FLEXIBLE cast. That turned out to be a good decision because we ended up with just 3 boys and 8 girls all in the 2nd to 4th grade age-range. Having three boys was just enough to cast the Farmer, the Rooster, and one of the Robbers who were definitely Male characters. The other characters could be either gender.

Most of these children were very young with no experience in acting, singing or dancing. So, everything was new for them. They worked very hard to learn their show in just a few weeks. The biggest problem was that they could only practice once a week, so they had six days to forget all they worked on in the last rehearsal. When they finally got to use props and wear costumes, that really helped. And when they got on stage in front of an audience, they performed like pros.

What a fun and FLEXIBLE tale from the Brothers Grimm!

And what fun to write with a German Polka flavor!

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

9/12/2018

"Back when the world was very young" was the phrase my father used to begin his stories. Sort of like "once upon a time" but specific to his stories about his own youth. He got so that he didn't care if the kids thought he was a contemporary to Noah! Anyway, I find myself thinking that phrase when I am asked to tell stories about my own youth.

When my two brothers and I were very young, my mother made little hand puppets out of felt to reenact the story of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." On rainy days, she would pull them out and instruct us how to do a puppet show. We even made a puppet theater out of a big cardboard box with red curtains and everything! My brothers often fought over who would get to play the troll and who would be the biggest billy goat who gets to knock the troll off the bridge. This was my inspiration to create the mini musical.

Back when I was in college, (there's that phrase again) I got to tour Scandinavia with the BYU A cappella choir. I had previously done some study of Edvard Grieg's music and learned many of his songs and piano pieces. Touring his home in Bergen and traveling up the fjords into the stunning mountains made me feel a connection to his music and to the incredibly beautiful land of Norway. I couldn't resist using quotations from his music as I wrote my take on the "Three Billy Goats Gruff."

Along with my talented artistic daughter Katelyn, we created some wonderful visual aids and worksheets to help the elementary school teacher use this 15 minute mini musical in her classroom.

So excited that it will be performed this fall in Dallas Texas!

The Ants and the Grasshopper Performance

11/18/2015

These First and Second graders gave a darling premiere performance of "The Ants and the Grasshopper." They donned their little costumes and used their props, sang their songs, danced their dances, and delivered their lines before an appreciative audience of family and friends.

Because this was an "in class" recital, we asked the audience to imagine the backgrounds and sets (particularly the Ant Hill that was just a screen). The children did not have to worry about problems that come with using a stage - lights, sound, microphones, or curtains. They just performed to their best abilities. They stole the hearts of their audience.

In the end, the Grasshopper recommended to the audience that he had learned his lesson. Instead of always loafing and singing and dancing during the summer, he was going to make time to store up food for the winter. He learned that it truly is better to "Pay now and play later." The Finale song was catchy enough that the whole audience joined in singing the reprise. What a fun show! Kudos to the Kids!

The Ants and the Grasshopper

11/3/2015

Introducing the newest Mini-Musical from Bailey Kids Musicals. "The Ants and the Grasshopper" now available.

This little musical came about in a burst of inspiration brought on by some desperation. One of the Theater Skills classes I began teaching this Fall had eight First and Second Graders - 7 girls and 1 boy. 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 a story that would catch their fancy in oder to develop acting skills.

I quickly searched through many materials and decided that I just needed to write them a show. Obviously, I needed to tailor the parts to the personalities I had. The boy had a great voice and could move. It made sense to cast him as the Grasshopper and give him some "Gene Kelly savoir-fare." The girls needed clearly defined traits in order to bring their characters to life. So, I gave each Ant one main emotional character trait such as "Effie, Miss Efficiency," and "Winnie, the Whiner."

When working with 6-7 year olds just one hour per week, there are certain things you just plan for. They will not remember directions from week to week, so you drill, drill, drill all of the LINES and BLOCKING. They tend to be shy and speak with small voices. So, you drill, drill, drill about PROJECTING the voice. They like COSTUMES, so you'd better have them! Costumes really help both the children and the audience imagine the characters and bring them to life. CATCHY SONGS are very important to a children's show. The songs are the loudest, brightest, and most unified part of the production. Better make them the best they can be. The songs must carry the setting, emotions, and message of the tale. The audience should be able to go out singing the songs with the kids on the way home. (That's when you know you've done your job as a author and director.)

The message of "The Ants and the Grasshopper' is taken from a quote by John Maxwell. He said, "Play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. Either way you'll have to pay." Works perfectly for this wonderful Aesop Fable. Here it is in the Finale song.

The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse

10/25/2015

When choosing a piece for a class to perform, there are basically three options to choose from -- full production with costumes, props and scenery, etc.; Reader's Theater with no costumes, props, or even blocking; or Workshop with limited costumes props and suggestions of scenery as necessary. Depending upon the time constraints, your choice may be simple to make. In my case, the Workshop scenario was the best, and probably ONLY option.

I have been working with a group of eight 3rd to 6th graders in an after-school Drama Club "Theater Skills" class. These students have all been in shows before and desperately wanted the class to culminate in a performance before an audience. The problem is that they have very few rehearsals to pull it all together. So, I picked a little 10-minute mini-musical for them which would challenge their acting skills, but would be short enough that they could memorize lines and movement and songs and blocking within their very limited time constraints. The students will also be responsible for their own costumes, except for mouse ears and tails that I will supply. They have just a few more class periods to work. Hope they can learn quickly and work well together.

They story was already well-known to them, "The Tale of the City Mouse and the Country Mouse." However, their challenge is to bring it to life with new characters and situations and to master speaking in a "Country" dialect. They are actually having fun experimenting with interpreting the lines with a drawl or a twang. My job is to allow them some free experimentation, gently guiding them to speak with just enough character, while maintaining clear enunciation for the audience's sake.

Another aspect of this Workshop presentation is to perform the piece without props or scenery. In fact, they will be performing on just the front risers of the stage. They will be the "warm-up" act for the main production (which incidentally will have the scenery set up already for their show on the stage). Their task is to interpret the story complete with songs and movement on the front risers through their excellent acting abilities. They think they are up to the challenge. They are raring to go. I wish them luck!

Bailey Kids Musicals copyright 2015