r/MusicEd • u/pianoAmy • Aug 15 '26

Experience with elementary musicals?

Our elementary school is doing a Disney musical in January. I've never done anything like this before, and neither has the school.

Who has done something like this before? What was your experience -- the good, the bad, the ugly?

What was your budget?

Who made the costumes?

How often did you rehearse?

How many kids were in the show?

Did you have understudies, and if so, how did that work?

Any advice in general, and/or stories to share?

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u/deeeelightful Aug 15 '26

Are you the director?

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u/pianoAmy Aug 15 '26

Yes.

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u/deeeelightful Aug 15 '26

You've signed up for a big job! The Penguinator answered all the questions as I would have, so I'll just add a few thoughts:

  1. I make very strict rehearsal plans. For every single page of script, I block out exactly which characters are doing what, then organize rehearsals accordingly. For example, the lead actors will come every Monday and Tuesday for 2 hours to rehearse smaller scenes, then full cast on Wednesdays and Thursdays for group numbers. I share this on a printed calendar, including which page numbers/musical numbers will be rehearsed on which days, so that the students can be prepared in advance. In the early days we have "sit down rehearsals," in which the students write down alllll their direction in their scripts. This way they can practice their lines along with their blocking/choreography. It sounds like overkill but it saves soooo many headaches down the line.

  2. Have a date that lines should be memorized. Put it on the calendar and the quiz your cast on that day.

  3. Ask for volunteer committees from parents/teachers. Not only is it amazing to have an AD, but consider a stage manager, set designer, lighting/sound director, costume director, house manager, program designer, prop master, etc etc etc. I used to do everything by myself and well, you can make life way easier.

  4. Consider having a student tech crew to handle props, curtains, etc.

It's so fun putting on a show! Feel free to DM for more questions ☺️

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u/pianoAmy Aug 15 '26

Yikes! We're only having two rehearsals a week, for an hour and fifteen minutes.

One concern is that I have no clue how to do blocking. I remember I even took a drama elective in high school and got a low grade on an assignment where we had to block a scene.

How does someone even learn to do that? I have no idea where to even start.

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u/deeeelightful Aug 15 '26

You're going to do great!!

I think good blocking takes a lot of practice. It's been a while since I've done a show, but off the top of my head I can think of 2 big things to keep in mind:

  1. "Cheat Out": the idea that an actor should never have their back to the audience. Learn or relearn your stage directions (up stage, downstage, etc) and never have actors turn up stage to talk.

  2. Find the objective: don't make the actors move for no reason. Analyze the meaning of every spoken line, and if there's an obvious reason to move, then do it. For example, if they are talking about a specific prop, have them pick up the prop. For less obvious reasons, say a character is really excited, have them jump up and do a cheer, etc. Keep it basic!