So what is going to be the theme of your school show this year? Stars, sheep or spacemen?
Will you opt for the traditional Nativity with your best singers as angels with tinsel halos and tooth-less grins or will you be avant-garde and go for a space-age theme complete with a rocket using all the silver foil the local supermarket has in stock?
Either way the parents will LOVE it! The children do too although whether the same can be said for the hard worked staff at the end of term, is another question.
We thought we would offer a few words of advice to help you in directing the next ‘West End Showstopper’ at your school.
- Keep it short – better to have a well produced and entertaining 30 mins rather than a 3 hour epic that will have the audience fidgeting in their seats. The children will be able to learn their lines better and the school caretaker will be delighted that he can lock up earlier.
- Choose a production where lots of pupils can be ‘Stars’ for a minute or two rather than one or two children having long major roles.
- Don’t worry if it goes a little bit awry – the children will still have a great sense of achievement by performing to their friends and families.
- Let the art department get involved in the school show, designing programmes, posters and props.
- Children LOVE dressing up so avoid school uniform and let them enjoy the magic of acting.
- Avoid character-masks – they make so hard for the audience to identify their son or daughter.
- Masks also make it hard to tell ( and that includes the video camera) who is speaking.
- Have Wizard Video make a professional video of the school show and avoid the ‘forest’ of mobile phone cameras.
- Don’t get too atmospheric with the lighting – Parents wants to see little Sam on the stage and Granny needs to be able to watch the video without staring at a dark screen.
- Turn the production into a social event with mince pies and mulled wine for the parents (and one for yourself ,of course – you deserve it!)
