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.
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.
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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