April 12, 2014

Choosing The Most Suitable Play Scripts For Kids

By Anita Ortega


For many people, the highlight of the school calendar is the annual school play. This is the one time that every child can have a chance to shine, even if it's in a minor role like that of a tree or a rock. Staging the production can be a stressful experience if you're the teacher entrusted with the job but if you know how to choose the most suitable play scripts for kids, half the battle is won already.

It's very important for the production to be suitable for the target audience. If the show is to be performed mainly for young children, you need to choose something that is short enough to hold their attention and that has lots of colors and movement. Parents and audiences of high-school age will prefer a production that is a little more sophisticated.

It's equally important to consider what your cast will be able to handle. Young children simply won't be able to master the sophisticated monologues of Shakespeare, for instance. However, they often find simple songs and dance routines easy to remember.

Your budget will be one of the main deciding factors when choosing which production to stage. When you need to keep things economical, it's often better to opt for a smaller production that's set in contemporary times. It tends to be cheaper and easier to simply buy costumes from the discount store or to let the cast wear clothes they already have than to try and create something from scratch.

The venue should also have an impact on your decision. The smaller the space you have in which to stage your production, the smaller the production should be. A huge theater auditorium works best for large productions like musicals. An open-air venue can be perfect for a fairy tale or a story set in the outdoors, since you can then use the natural surroundings as part of the set. However, it will be more difficult to transform a park setting into a desolate alien planet or the streets of New York and plays with a futuristic or city theme are best performed indoors.

Many plays geared towards younger audiences contain a message that will be especially significant to these children. Therefore, you may want to decide on a serious issue that needs addressing in your school, such as ethnic diversity or bullying. You can then choose a script that has been developed around this theme.

There are many benefits to allowing and encouraging children to take part in a stage production. They get to express themselves artistically and creatively and they can develop their verbal as well as their physical skills. Moreover, they learn important life skills such as how to work well with others to achieve a shared goal.

There are many different places where you can look for suitable scripts, from the local library to online. You may even want to try your hand at writing a new script, either on your own or in collaboration with your cast. If you decide to stage an already existing story, be sure to check the legal aspects such as performance rights before you make your final decision. Luckily there are many free plays available for you to choose from.




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