Often I am asked: How much time does it take to rehearse and mount a children's theater show?"
The answer, of course is: "That depends..."
The answer, of course is: "That depends..."
If you know already that you are doing a 2-week summer camp and only see the children 3 hours a day Monday-Friday --- you do the math. 2 weeks x 3 hours of rehearsal per day = 15 rehearsal hours. That's not very long! Those few hours also have to include some breaks and "get-to-know-you" time. So obviously, you won't be choosing to do a long complicated musical!
The Bluebirds trio with Foxy Loxy
However, with enough helpers (and a few seasoned young actors that you suspect you know their capabilities) you can accomplish amazing things in those 15 hours. Motivated kids will do a lot of practicing on their own --- memorizing lines, songs, and dance moves --- at home when they are not at Camp.
Ducky Lucky with his family of exercise enthusiasts Another key to ultimate success is to pick a show that can be divided into smaller sections for rehearsal purposes. You need to look for a show that has parts for many characters who are not needed in every scene. Try to avoid shows that only have a few of lead characters who are integral to ALL of the scenes and dances. It is helpful if the scenes have dances or songs that could be learned separately with a portion of the cast. That way you can "divide and conquer" more easily.
Loosey Goosey with her brood For a small Summer Theater Camp of about 25-30 kids, you will still need at least four adult staff members to pull it off. (I often also recruit a few Junior staff helpers, too. Older teen-aged former camp kids are prime candidates.) Assuming you are the Director and will do the blocking and main artistic directing, you really should have at least three assistant directors - someone to teach the songs, another to teach the dances, and another to be the Stage Manager (who also does the odd jobs like fitting costumes, running down-time craft activities, or managing all of the back-stage issues). The four of you will probably also all chip in to create the scenery, props, costumes, and set-up.
Turkey Lurkey As the Director, you will be responsible to coordinate all of your assistants and their efforts. You will need to create a schedule, talk through the "look" of the show, make sure all of the songs are learned on time, preview dances, and clue-in the choreographer to staging and blocking issues. Pre-Camp meetings are a must plus a healthy number of on-the-job brush-up meetings!
Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, and Chicken Licken with their family An example of a script that lends itself to the "divide and conquer" plan is "The Tale of Chicken Licken." The cast is divided into barnyard fowl families. They each have a song and carry a scene. Then there is the story-within-the-story group that also can practice separately. Even though most of the cast is on stage throughout the show, they can learn their special scenes separately, then put the whole show together later in the rehearsal period.
With enough planning, big successes are assured!
With enough planning, big successes are assured!
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