Over the last few months I have acted out the part of Alice in Wonderland. I know I "give myself very good advice," but like Alice in the song, "I seldom ever follow it." The primary rule for doing children's theater is to have your helpers lined up BEFORE you start the project! But did I follow that rule this go around? NO!
So, you can imagine the problems that have compounded as I have tried to manage everything for the play almost single-handedly while also memorizing huge amounts of music for concerts for a major Choral Director's Convention with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir AND prepare for a daughter's wedding all at the same time. No wonder my body gave me signs of stress -- tension in the neck and back, headaches, canker sores and fever blisters, and no sleep!
As the director, you try to keep a calm demeanor and try to ignore them, but the body just gives more outward signs! Fortunately, the concerts were completed well and are now out of the way, and the wedding happened to everyone's satisfaction and the happy couple are off on their honeymoon. Now I am left with just one major project to complete in the next week and a half. Too bad there is still so much to do and so little help to get it all done.
Along the way, I have had one constant helper, and a few others who came in for strategic strikes, but in this kind of project, you really need at least four dedicated helpers --WITH SPECIFIC JOBS to do! And each needs to be present to help support the other helpers and take care of the "shepherding" chores OR ELSE YOU NEED MORE HELPERS!
Director, Stage Manager, Music Director, and Choreographer are the main four helpers to get things started. But it would be well to get help with designing, making and fitting the kids in costumes - Costumer. And if you have pre-recorded music instead of piano accompaniment and a large hall, you need a SOUND SYSTEM and people to set up and take down the sound system and all of the microphones, run the sound board balancing the levels and cues, and have people put the body mics on the young actors.
Now, how about LIGHTS and BACK STAGE CREW? Can sixth graders really do those jobs and not goof around without adult supervision? (So, let's count -- at least 3-6 more people to run sound, lights and stage crew.) What about PROPS? HAIR and MAKE-UP? The bigger the cast, the more adult supervision you need, especially if you have a stage with no wings and no real way to get your actors on or of of it except from the risers in front of the curtain, but the kids need to stay in the back of the stage out of sight of the audience and the DIRECTOR.
YES! I DEFINITELY NEED MORE HELPERS!!!!!!! I HAVE KNOWN THAT ALL ALONG, BUT I TOOK THE CHANCE THAT HELPERS COULD BE PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY. SADLY, I DID NOT FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE.
NOW I AM PAYING FOR IT -- once again, if you undertake a children's theater project and expect to live through the experience, GET YOUR HELPERS LINED UP AND CONTRACTED BEFORE YOU GET STARTED!
IT IS VERY GOOD ADVICE -- SO FOLLOW IT!!!!!!!!
So, you can imagine the problems that have compounded as I have tried to manage everything for the play almost single-handedly while also memorizing huge amounts of music for concerts for a major Choral Director's Convention with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir AND prepare for a daughter's wedding all at the same time. No wonder my body gave me signs of stress -- tension in the neck and back, headaches, canker sores and fever blisters, and no sleep!
As the director, you try to keep a calm demeanor and try to ignore them, but the body just gives more outward signs! Fortunately, the concerts were completed well and are now out of the way, and the wedding happened to everyone's satisfaction and the happy couple are off on their honeymoon. Now I am left with just one major project to complete in the next week and a half. Too bad there is still so much to do and so little help to get it all done.
Along the way, I have had one constant helper, and a few others who came in for strategic strikes, but in this kind of project, you really need at least four dedicated helpers --WITH SPECIFIC JOBS to do! And each needs to be present to help support the other helpers and take care of the "shepherding" chores OR ELSE YOU NEED MORE HELPERS!
Director, Stage Manager, Music Director, and Choreographer are the main four helpers to get things started. But it would be well to get help with designing, making and fitting the kids in costumes - Costumer. And if you have pre-recorded music instead of piano accompaniment and a large hall, you need a SOUND SYSTEM and people to set up and take down the sound system and all of the microphones, run the sound board balancing the levels and cues, and have people put the body mics on the young actors.
Now, how about LIGHTS and BACK STAGE CREW? Can sixth graders really do those jobs and not goof around without adult supervision? (So, let's count -- at least 3-6 more people to run sound, lights and stage crew.) What about PROPS? HAIR and MAKE-UP? The bigger the cast, the more adult supervision you need, especially if you have a stage with no wings and no real way to get your actors on or of of it except from the risers in front of the curtain, but the kids need to stay in the back of the stage out of sight of the audience and the DIRECTOR.
YES! I DEFINITELY NEED MORE HELPERS!!!!!!! I HAVE KNOWN THAT ALL ALONG, BUT I TOOK THE CHANCE THAT HELPERS COULD BE PICKED UP ALONG THE WAY. SADLY, I DID NOT FOLLOW MY OWN ADVICE.
NOW I AM PAYING FOR IT -- once again, if you undertake a children's theater project and expect to live through the experience, GET YOUR HELPERS LINED UP AND CONTRACTED BEFORE YOU GET STARTED!
IT IS VERY GOOD ADVICE -- SO FOLLOW IT!!!!!!!!
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