Maximize Your Rehearsal: How to Ensure a Perfect Start
Being a director is no easy job. If you’re working at a school, chances are you’re also the producer, costume designer, stage manager, and more. It can be overwhelming, which is why we have made a list of a few things you should plan out before rehearsals even start. That way, you can focus on being creative and spending time with the kids!
Ice Breakers
The first few days are nerve wracking for everyone. That’s where ice breakers come in! Name games are great for students to get to know each other and loosen up.
Try this one:
Have students circle up and place one in the middle. Then go around the circle and have them say their name. When the game begins, a student will say their name, then the name of another student. Whoever’s name is called has to say THEIR name and the name of a DIFFERENT student before the student in the middle tags them. If they are tagged, they go into the middle.
Some other fun activities are 2 Truths and a Lie, One Word Story, and Telephone.
Rules
It’s important that students know the expectations of the program. Write them down, and read them out on the first day. If desired, send a form to parents wit the rules and have them acknowledge them with a signature.
Here are a few classic rules:
Be kind, caring, and respectful to yourself, each other, and adults
Take care of the place you are in and pick up any trash you see
Timeline
Making a rough timeline of what days are for things like song learning and blocking will keep you from having to rush later on. As the rehearsals progress, you can schedule more precisely.
Making sure you are well-prepared for the first day of rehearsals will significantly ease the process. One way to ensure you hav everything you need is by using a package by Free Spirit! These packages include a downloadable master script, piano and vocal score, performance license and more. With these resources you can be ready to let the show begin!
Free Spirit Plays & Musicals provide scripts and music for original plays specifically designed for children. Written by actual teachers and musicians with years of experience producing crowd-pleasing, high quality shows, these plays are moving and humorous adaptations of classic stories that each have rave reviews! These plays are sure to inspire a love for musical theater in the performers and audience alike.