"I don't want to be a goat"

In our play we have a group of goats.  They are group of 5 year old boys and girls who sing "The Lonely Goatherd".  They had been doing a wonderful job at rehearsals until one particular rehearsal when one of the the little goats asked permission to sit in the front row with the "students".  Thinking nothing of it I allowed him to sit in the front row.  That was my mistake - the next day he came to rehearsal and refused to sit in the "goat" row, because he was a "student".  For the next three rehearsals he stated that he "did not want to be a goat".  He came in his goat costume, went on stage with the goats, and stood completely still during their song because he was not a goat and was not going to sing with the goats.  Finally on opening night something kicked in and he decided that it was ok to be a goat, but still told me that he looked funny.

Out of the mouth of babes

Tonight we had a performance of "It's A Small World".  We have a large group of little 4 year olds, who are getting tired.  As we were getting their little group into a semi straight line so they could make their way to the back of the stage one little girl was in tears.  We tried to get her calmed down and ready to perform, but she would not have it.  Her reaction was "My mom says, when little girls get tired they get moody and crusty".

What does Handy mean??

My group of Americans are singing Yankee Doodle.  They are mostly 5 and 6 year olds.  The other day as they finished singing and dancing to Yankee Doodle one little girl came to the front of the stage and said, "What does is mean to be handy?".  (mind the music and the step and with the girls be handy)

It's a Small World

We are currently in the rehearsal stage of It's A Small World.  We have a cast of 115, ranging from 4 year olds to 11 year olds.  I have 4 assistants who do a wonderful job of helping out and keeping everyone where they need to be.  We have not had the full cast at a rehearsal except for the first day, but today is the day.  The day that we will put it all together, with all cast members there we will attempt to start at the beginning and go to the end of the play.  Hopefully everyone will be where they need to be and will remember their parts and songs.  They can do it!!!

Welcome to my world!!

Welcome to my world - behind the scenes of Children's Theatre.  For the past 11 years I have been directing a Children's Theatre group at the local community college.  We have performed everything from Peter Pan to Oztentatious: the True Story of Dorothy Gale. I have directed groups of 25 and groups of 130; from 4 year olds to 16 year olds.  We've had set break, props get lost, costumes forgotten, cast members get sick, and in our last production a broken arm on the stage.  But we have also had lots of laughs, wonderful audiences, wonderful cast members, friendships created, confidence bolstered, and we've all learned a thing or two.  I've decided to take the time to share with you the things that happen at our rehearsals and performances.  So, join me on a journey behind the scenes.