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Cast the Shy Kids First
ArtReach’s School Plays Let Your Kids BlossomTheatre is a fantastic way to draw kids out of their shells. The written lines give shy kids something to say without having to worry about the difficulty of conversation. Without too much effort they are suddenly engaged with others – speaking, emoting and having fun with new friends! Almost every one of ArtReach’s School Plays has roles that require lots of movement and very few or no lines. Kids who have trouble memorizing facts in class will love being free to perform without having to remember anything but the action of their scene!
"This will be a wonderful moment on stage that child will never forget!"
Peter Pan - Multiple Peter Pans help each out!
Peter’s Shadow, Tinker Bell & Crocodile are stars without memorizing any lines!In Peter Pan, each pirate has a name and personality. The part of Smee is less famous than Captain Hook but it’s a great part! Smee has a hilarious scene with Tiger Lily that will draw belly laughs from the audience. This will be a wonderful moment on stage that child will never forget! Very shy students or kids with learning disabilities will blossom in roles written just for them.
Tinker Bell, Peter’s Shadow and, of course, the Crocodile have tremendous fun on stage without the burden of memorization. And take advantage of the multi-casting option for the large roles. When five kids play Peter Pan they will likely become a band of brothers and help each other along throughout the entire process!
When choosing a play for your class or group, instead of thinking who will be “best” in a given role, think of who will get the most out of the experience. Open up your mind to casting decisions that will bring out the hidden talents in every child in your cast. You’ll be surprised how often the least obvious choice is the very best one!
Take a Tip From Andre
The Possibilities for Alice in Wonderland are EndlessIf you’ve ever seen the movie “My Dinner with Andre” you know that Alice in Wonderland has a rich theatrical history. In that movie, Andre Gregory describes his experimental approach to theatre and talks about The Manhattan Theatre Project’s production of Alice in Wonderland. Andre’s much ballyhooed production in the 60s gave the children’s story a twist for grownups, proving that theatrical possibilities are limitless.
It’s always fun to dress up like a character in your favorite movie which is why most schools use designs they’ve seen on the screen. But a little bit of imagination can really get kids excited about making their School Play something unique and special. If you are directing ArtReach’s Alice in Wonderland, you might want to mix it up by asking kids for their own ideas. Discuss and look at pictures of the traditional designs and then ask them how they might do it differently. Here’s a unique production of ArtReach’s medium cast version of Alice in Wonderland by Trafalgar Middle School in Montreal:
"Theatrical possibilities are limitless!"
Trafalgar Middle School, Montreal - Alice in WonderlandIt makes us smile to see these pictures because the ideas here are decidedly French! And here’s a picture from ArtReach’s original professional production of Alice in Wonderland.
Let your imagination soar and don’t be afraid to open your mind to new ideas. When you break with the designs that you have already seen in a movie, you make your production extra special. Alice is in Wonderland after all, and anything can happen there!
Using Pop Culture to Kick It Up a Notch
Jazz it Up for a Cool ShowWe like to think of ArtReach’s School Plays as a solid, well-structured place to hang your own ideas. Although we embellish familiar stories with tons of humor and participation, we seldom stray too far from the original story as you and your kids know it. You won’t go wrong if you stick to the script. We know some of your performers may be very young. They have experienced the magic of the fairy tale quite recently and may still be captivated by the wonderment of a glass slipper or true love’s kiss. For them it may be best to present the tale in the time and place that seems the truest to the story.
However, if you think your kids would prefer to jazz it up go right ahead. Add rock songs, write rhyming raps, dress everyone like the stars of Glee! If you have a teacher or student who is a great composer, by all means enlist their talents! We all know the Wizard of Oz spin-offs of The Wiz and Wicked. Go ahead and use ArtReach’s script as the first step toward your own Rock Musical! Here are some cool Dwarfs from Snow White (Gellett Elementary School, Sarasota, FL) and Cinderella’s Step Sisters from A Christmas Cinderella (Theatre Works, LLC of Stewartstown, PA):
"Liberating and inspiring? Now that’s what we like to hear!"
ArtReach's Snow White & A Christmas CinderellaWhen you purchase your School Play Package you have the rights to make any changes and adapt the script to make it perfect for your special performance. Terry Overfelt produced a contemporary version of ArtReach’s School Play with High school students at Rock Bridge High School (MO). She had this to say:
"Peter Pan was wonderful! WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! Your giving us permission to adapt the script was liberating and inspiring!"
Liberating and inspiring? Now that’s what we like to hear!
Adapting the Script for Your Kids
Adapting the ArtReach Script for a Large Cast of StudentsOh, no! Everyone Wants to Be in the Play!
We hear it everyday: "Last year we had 20 kids in the cast and this year 50 kids showed up wanting to try out!” First of all congratulations – last year’s show was such a hit everyone wants in on the act!
But, what do you do? Should you hold auditions and give the parts to the best actors, the ones that show real talent? Or should you pack the stage with every child that wants to be there? Here’s a picture and quote from one of or ArtReach fans:
"If you want to involve every child you can easily do it!"
ArtReach's Wizard of Oz, Columbia Children's Theatre, MD"Don't know if it's a record or not... but Columbia Children's Theatre is presenting ArtReach’s The Wizard of Oz with 156 children!"
Jerry Stevenson, Columbia Children's Theatre, SCCheck out lots of large cast ideas here: ArtReach’s Wizard of Oz.
When you purchase ArtReach’s School Play Package you have the rights to make any changes to the script in order to make it a perfect fit for your kids. If you want to involve every child you can easily do it! Each script gives you suggestions for adding more parts. Think herds of Munchkins, Lost Boys, Mermaids, Pirates, Mice – you get the idea.
But don’t forget that each School Play has been carefully crafted to give each cast member his or her own special moment in the spotlight. So we suggest you give each new added character a name and a bit of action and/or at least one line. This doesn’t have to be much, mind you. Just one second in the spotlight.
Use your imagination noodle and create something unique. For instance, in A Snow White Christmas you might have added characters actually become the snow and dance, as the Snowflakes sing. The naughty Boys & Girls in the Land of Toys in Pinocchio might have a moment of mischief, playing a game of catch and annoying Pinocchio with their ball. The added Mice in Cinderella may play a quick and funny game of hide and seek with Cinderella. You get the point – don’t just add characters that stand around – add something unique and fun to the story, making sure everyone in the cast feels that they are fully a part of their School’s special performance.
Have you thought of a unique way to add characters to ArtReach’s School Plays? By all means, let us know and we’ll pass your ideas along!
How to Read A Play
From Drama for Reading and Performance, Perfection Learning Collection OnePhotos of Roach Middle School Production of A Thousand Cranes, Frisco, TX
Reading a play is different from reading other kinds of literature because a play is different from other kinds of literature. Short stories, poems, novels, and so on are all complete on the printed page. But a printed play-also called a script-is not complete. It becomes complete when it is performed by actors for an audience. The play is what happens on the stage or screen. Because of this, you-as reader-must bring a little more of yourself to reading a play. Of course you will bring your imagination, as you do to reading short stories and novels. And you will also make an effort to visualize the characters and actions, and to imagine their thoughts and emotions. What else can you do to help make your reading more complete and satisfying? Here are some tips.
Read the stage directions. (They are often in parentheses and printed in italic type, like this.) Stage directions are not meant for an audience; they are messages from the playwright to the people who stage the play. They may tell the actors when and where to move, what emotions to express, what props (handheld objects, such as a newspaper or a coffee cup) to pick up and what to do with them. They may tell the director where to position the actors or what the overall mood of a scene should be. They may tell the designers what the set looks like, what costumes the actors should wear, what music or sounds are heard, or what time of day the lighting should suggest. Stage directions are usually not read aloud, even when the actors rehearse a show.
"You-as reader-must bring a little more of yourself to reading a play."
A Thousand Cranes, Roach Middle School, Frisco TXUnderstand the stage areas. Stage directions often include abbreviations like R for right or L for left. (These mean the actors' right or left sides as they face the audience.) Other abbreviations are U for upstage or D for downstage or C for center. (Downstage means toward the audience; up and down are terms left over from the days when stages actually slanted.)
Pay attention to the characters' names. They tell who says what speeches. o Read the speeches aloud. They are, after all, meant to be heard. Read with as much feeling as you can, to get the most out of the speeches. Even if you're reading the play by yourself, you can play all the parts, changing your voice for the different characters. This will give you a better understanding of the characters, who they are and what they are doing.
Look for a subtext. This is, simply, what the characters are thinking or feeling, and it is not always the same as what they are saying. For example, a character may say, "Of course I'll take my little sister to the movie, Dad," but actually be thinking, "How can you do this to me? What will my friends think?" Theatre Conventions A convention is an accepted way of doing things. The more plays you see on stage, the better you will understand the conventions, the things that make a play a play. Here are some common conventions. Narrator Sometimes an actor will speak directly to the audience, to explain who the characters are or what is happening. Sometimes a character will speak directly to the audience and then go back to speaking to the other characters. When they do, they serve the function that a narrator serves in short stories or novels. The "Fourth Wall" In realistic plays, the actors may behave as if the audience simply isn't there. It's as if the audience is eavesdropping on the action through an invisible "fourth wall" of a room, whether the set is actually an enclosed room or not. Dramatic Time The time an action is supposed to take onstage isn't necessarily the time that same action would take in real life. For example, actors may take seven minutes to eat a meal that they would spend twenty-five minutes on in reality. Just accept what the play tells you about how much time has elapsed.
"Seeing a play performed live onstage can be a truly thrilling experience."
A Thousand Cranes, Roach Middle School, Frisco TXLapses of Time. If you go to the movies, you're probably familiar with the convention that several minutes or days or even years elapse from one scene to another. It's the same with plays-a curtain or change of lighting may suggest that any amount of time has passed. When you read a play, the stage directions will usually specify what is happening. The World Offstage Actors are trained to keep in mind, when they enter or exit, just where it is they're supposed to be coming from or going to. This helps them create their characters more realistically. When you're reading a play, try to imagine the lives the characters are leading when they're not onstage. This will help you understand the characters and their subtexts better, and will give you a better understanding of the play as a whole.
Sharing the Experience. Seeing a play performed live onstage can be a truly thrilling experience. As a reader, you can share some of that thrill if you read attentively, with imagination, and if you try actively to enter into the world of the characters and of the play. In this book are many different kinds of plays in different styles from playwrights all over the world. Enjoy them.
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