One of the most interesting and consuming parts about writing a new play is creating and naming the new characters. In 2015, I was working on a new play for the upper Elementary Graders, 4th-6th (ages 10-12). The story that intrigued me was one from The Tales of the Arabian Nights. It appealed to me immediately for three important reasons. First, it is NOT a love story. (It is dangerous to have a love story or even anything close to a love story for this age range.) Second, it has plenty of the elements kids get excited about - magic, mystery and adventure. Third, it has the potential for providing meaningful characters for a large cast.
Kids love portraying characters that have individual names and some sort of back stories. Who wouldn't? There is nothing very exciting about being Guard #6 or Servant #3 or Dancer #5. It is much more satisfying to portray a character with a name and a reason for being - at least for part of the time. I try very diligently to give each child a named character for their feature role and then have them fill additional Ensemble parts. This plan does not always work, but I continue to try.
Why write for a just a generic Troupe of Gypsy entertainers, when you could create Barim who plays the guitar, Mona and Nadia who dance, Jamileh who tells fortunes, Ghalandar who does magic tricks, and Najid who has a trained dancing Bear named Bobak. For the premiere performance, I gave the children a little information concerning their characters and hoped that fed their interest to go on to fill out more of the BACKSTORIES for themselves.
Kids love portraying characters that have individual names and some sort of back stories. Who wouldn't? There is nothing very exciting about being Guard #6 or Servant #3 or Dancer #5. It is much more satisfying to portray a character with a name and a reason for being - at least for part of the time. I try very diligently to give each child a named character for their feature role and then have them fill additional Ensemble parts. This plan does not always work, but I continue to try.
Why write for a just a generic Troupe of Gypsy entertainers, when you could create Barim who plays the guitar, Mona and Nadia who dance, Jamileh who tells fortunes, Ghalandar who does magic tricks, and Najid who has a trained dancing Bear named Bobak. For the premiere performance, I gave the children a little information concerning their characters and hoped that fed their interest to go on to fill out more of the BACKSTORIES for themselves.
Gypsies with Bobak the Bear
Where this story (in the translation I found) follows just a few main characters, a Children's Theater piece needs to be expanded to tell the story through dialogue and action and songs and dances involving many characters. That gave me the opportunity to create and name many new and unique characters. I love stories that come from exotic historical settings. There is such a richness in the cultures and languages of these places. And there is no richer or more colorful setting than that of Ancient Persia.
The more I did research into ancient customs and architecture and designs and musical styles, the more exciting it became. And, for me, it was just plain fun to go through the lists of Ancient Persian names and their meanings to decide what fit each new character. That was when those characters became real to me. They suddenly got a life force of their own and I got inspired by the energy of their emerging personalities.
The more I did research into ancient customs and architecture and designs and musical styles, the more exciting it became. And, for me, it was just plain fun to go through the lists of Ancient Persian names and their meanings to decide what fit each new character. That was when those characters became real to me. They suddenly got a life force of their own and I got inspired by the energy of their emerging personalities.
Finale "Pearls So Rare"
Naming characters in a new play can be very exciting. You never know exactly how the characters will develop and shape the story or just how they will drive the plot along. I was delighted by how my young performers really inhabited those characters.
Comments from the audience:
"THANK YOU for a wonderful experience for all those children involved. My daughter absolutely loved working with you on this."
"THANK YOU! For all your hard work and dedication. I have to tell you that I was really impressed. The show was amazing. All the kids did so well. Such wonderful voices."
"I always love having my kids work with you. Your musicals are so perfect for them."
"You have sparked a real love of musical theater in my daughter. Thank you so much. She will most definitely be doing more singing and acting in her middle and high school years!"
Comments from the audience:
"THANK YOU for a wonderful experience for all those children involved. My daughter absolutely loved working with you on this."
"THANK YOU! For all your hard work and dedication. I have to tell you that I was really impressed. The show was amazing. All the kids did so well. Such wonderful voices."
"I always love having my kids work with you. Your musicals are so perfect for them."
"You have sparked a real love of musical theater in my daughter. Thank you so much. She will most definitely be doing more singing and acting in her middle and high school years!"
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