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In Praise of Choreographers

3/5/2020

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PictureAutumn 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!

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Planning Summer Theater Camp 2020

2/26/2020

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PictureImperial 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!

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Being a Team Player

2/10/2020

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PictureNight 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.

PictureChoreography 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!,

PictureActors 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!

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

1/3/2019

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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!
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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. 

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​"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. 
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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..

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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.
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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!
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The Empty Pot

8/22/2018

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Picture
Sometimes you write a piece and it sits for a while and you wonder what you will do with it.  "The Empty Pot" was written in anticipation of using it for a school production.  Then, the opportunity fizzled.  Then later in the summer, it was produced by another community theater group and directed by a different group of directors.  So, I was not the director for it's premiere performance.  

It had been advertised as having flexible casting, but when I went to see it, I was really surprised that the main character was a girl -- not a boy.  Other than that substitution, the production was very well done.  I just had a hard time adjusting my mind to the concept of that very important character being performed by a girl.  I suppose it worked, but the lyrics were problematic.  I couldn't tell if they were having her play the character as male or not.  They did nothing to disguise her to look like a little boy.  If they had, I probably would have accepted it better.

The next summer, I had the chance to produce and direct "The Empty Pot" for my first time.  We had a very large cast of 45 children ages 5-14.  Some of the older kids were very talented, so, of course, they needed some more challenging material.  Obviously, I needed to add some expanded scenes, songs and new characters.  The new show also got a new title "A Successor to the Throne."  

Directing that production was a very satisfying!  It was all volunteer for a church summer theater camp.  So many talented parents came out of the woodwork willing to share their skills.  We had wonderful parent Group Leaders, Choreographers, Hair Dressers, Seamstresses, Photographers, Make-up Artists and the list goes on.  The children were great, too.  Even the young children did their best to learn the dances and every word to the songs!

So I guess, technically, I still have yet to direct "The Empty Pot."  But I have directed "A Successor to the Throne" multiple times.

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When Applause Isn't Enough

8/9/2013

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         We all like validation.  A pat on the back for a job well done.  A nice compliment when we have done something special.  A smile. A kind word. A thoughtful remark about our comment.  These are important to help us feel connected to other people and to boost our self esteem.
          A second show of a run is usually the hardest.  Coming off of a successful opening night, the performers tend to struggle to pump up to the same energy and focus level of the first show.  As a director, I always try to think of things that will help.  This spring I directed the show "A Successor to the Throne"  at an Elementary School.  The kids were so excited, bouncing off the walls and hardly contained in their skins for opening night. Then they waited all weekend for the second show on Monday night and for a third show for their peers during school the next day.  What they all seemed to want to do was talk about comments from opening night.  I shared with them some accolades that I received and then all their hands went up.  They nearly all had something to say.  So, we just took some time to share.
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          From listening, I realized that very few of these children had ever had an experience doing a musical play like this.  Apparently, the shows the school had done previously had all the standard elements - a handful of leading characters, two or three ensemble numbers sung to a prerecorded accompaniment CD complete with vocal tracks, and only enough parts for a small cast --- but no one, including administrators, staff or parents, really expected very much.  The previous shows were mediocre at best, but adequate enough for an after-school club activity.
         What these children were telling me was that they were so pleased that the show had enough meaningful parts for 50 kids and that no one person was the star.  They all felt important to the telling of the story.  They each had many jobs to do throughout the show that kept them very busy.  They learned some acting techniques and dance steps and they did their own singing!
          The comments from the audience and parents to me were much the same.  The audience was delighted with the music, and the dancing, and the colorful costumes.  They were amazed at how well the children sang and that they could understand every word.  Many people said they had read the book The Empty Pot, so they knew the story, but they were thrilled to see how it came to life with so much added depth and colorful characters.
           The children continued to give wonderful, polished performances for their next two shows with very few fumbles.  They were troupers.  I was gratified to know that they got more than applause.  I am so pleased that their audiences gave them the accolades and thoughtful critiques that they needed to validate their hard work.  It's true, sometimes applause is not enough!
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It's All About the Stage

8/9/2013

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           Earlier this year, I directed a musical for an elementary school. 
I usually work with Children's Theater Groups where I have known my assistants and been very familiar with the stage we were using beforehand.  Going in to a new situation, not knowing a soul, I had to come up to speed quickly on a lot of fronts.  The biggest issue I found was the stage itself.

          The stage had adequate space, good lighting, a nice procenium curtain, large stairs in the front for use as choir risers, but it had some major problems.  1) There was absolutely no space to the sides or back to hold performers or sets or props or anything.  2) The black hanging drapes were hung in such a way as to block any entrances for the performers to get onto the stage.  3) The only feasible ways to move large masses of performers onto the front of the stage (via the risers) was from the hallway doors into the gym which, incidentally, were the only exits for the public as well.  4) There were no costume changing places, no holding tanks for the performers, and no place for a props table except out in the main hallway in full view of the public.  Obviously, whoever designed this stage did not intend to use it for dramatic performances.
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Notice the gap in the black drapes behind the cottage set. It was the only entrance from the back hall onto the stage. We finally pinned the black drapes together at the top so a gap wouldn't show as the actors entered or exited the stage.
         Because, in Children's Theater we are used to being creative with very few resources, we were able to come up with innovative ways around these problems.  But the bigger issue is that I have heard that this type of stage will be the replacement model for all stages being built in school renovations in this area.  Why would anyone think that this is a good idea?
Why would it makes sense to build a stage with no way for the performers to get onto it?  Don't they know that a good performance is all about the stage?

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In Groups of Twos or Threes 

7/18/2013

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Picture
Blocking children in a scene and making the business look natural can be about as easy as herding cats!  

First problem: The little dears get distracted very easily and don't remember their positions.

Second problem: They try to line up in straight lines (which never occur naturally) and when they realize the line is crooked, they spend the rest of the scene telling each other where to stand to straighten up the line.

        A very wise director used to say that the best way to BLOCK for Children's Theater is to group the young children into "friends" or into lots of little groups of two or three each.  That way they can work together in remembering where they should stand.  Besides, small groups on stage look more natural.  Straight lines never happen in real life.  Just go out and watch random crowds standing about.  They stand there in small groups of twos and threes.

          When planting a flower bed, the most natural and elegant design plan is to plant like plants in groups of odd numbers, such as 3, 5, or 7.  Well, 5 can be broken down into a group of 2 plus a group of 3.  And 7 can be divided into two groups of 2 plus one group of 3.  I always try to plan the blocking for large groups of children on the stage to follow this design plan.  Just like planting a flower bed, I will assign actors into groups taking into consideration their heights, their lines, actions, costumes, and access to microphones.  Obviously, I try to put the smallest children where they can be seen, but I don't want to block the taller children by always relegating them to the back row either.  I always try to create movement in the scene or dance that will allow for flow to let more of the actors to be seen.

         In Children's Theater we teach skills by playing acting games.  Some of these exercises are designed to get the children to feel comfortable working on the stage and understanding how to create a good stage picture for the audience.  Then when it comes time for blocking, the director won't feel like she is trying to herd cats!

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ACTING EXERCISE:  Have the children spread themselves out across the stage so that there is plenty of space between them.  Then explain that they are going to create a stage picture. Play some music for a few measures and have the children move around the stage with great abandon expressing the mood of the music.  When the music ends, they should freeze and pose themselves creating a good STAGE PICTURE.  The people in the front should make themselves lower (crouch, sit, kneel, hands down). The people in the middle adjust so that they do not block shorter people behind them but remain taller than the people in front of them.  And the people in back pose with arms stretched high, stand on tippy toes, or climb onto a stage block to become as tall as possible.  Repeat several times using a variety of styes of music.  ADDED CHALLENGE: Have the children always stay as close to their assigned "friends" as possible.

                                        *     *     *     *     *     *     *
Photos from "A Successor to the Throne" 2013
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Held Together by Duct Tape and Straight Pins

7/16/2013

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Picture
When I think of all the little theatrical productions I have done in my life, most have been done on less than a shoestring budget.  All the scavenged cardboard, "oops" paint from Home Depot, bargain sheets from the thrift store, cast off's from the neighbors have been strategically stretched to make the show go on.  It takes some real creativity to take odds and ends and make a magical theatrical world.  Fortunately, along the way I have had some wonderful collaborators.  It has been inspiring to follow the process of going from an idea in my head, to a little concept drawing on a scrap of paper, to a beautifully rendered backdrop on cardboard or sheets.  The sets may have been held together by little more than duct tape and straight pins, but they looked awesome!

          Once I had the crazy idea of doing a show in our Church building with 45 children from our congregation.  I knew we had a lot of talented kids, but I had no idea we had so many wonderfully talented parents who were glad to offer their abilities to support the cause.  Artists and seamstresses, and choreographers and hairdressers all offered to be part of our summer theater camp. A group of homeschool moms were thrilled with this cultural opportunity for their children and offered to teach enrichment lessons as part of the camp.  One Mom took her lunch break from work everyday for 30 minutes just to supervise the children for recess and brought outdoor toys and games and even popsicles for the kids.

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The most amazing part of this particular event, though, was how we created the stage.  This building had no real stage, no curtains, no lighting, and not much in the way of a sound system.  A couple of the dads with construction capability said, "We have the technology to build a stage, so why don't we just do it."  And they did.  They created many 8' by 4' platforms with adjustable legs.  The only problem was that they were incredibly noisy when the kids danced on them.  So, in a flash of genius, I suggested that we use the the stage to raise the audience.  Thus, we created stadium seating for the audience with nary a bad seat in the house!  We hung the painted backdrops on riggings made of electrical conduit pipe.  We used halogen lights provided by our construction crew.  We borrowed a PA system from one of our Homeschool Choral teacher friends and went on with the show.

          The Summer Theater Camp production of "The Empty Pot", or "A Successor to the Throne" as it was renamed, was a great success.  The show went on without a hitch.  The kids delivered their lines, danced and sang their hearts out, and the audience was delighted.  I will always remember the wonderful people who dropped everything to provide support and expertise to make that particular show possible.  Proof again that the ingenuity and creativity of determined people can be legendary -- even if it is only held together by duct tape and straight pins!  
​

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    Author

    My name is Betsy Bailey.  I have sung, written and taught music all of my life.  I enjoy writing and directing Children's Theater shows.  This blog will be directed to topics on creating the magic of Children's Theater.  I would love to hear your comments!

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