My PROCESS/ A guide process for future branches
- I started with the idea - bring the power of musical theatre to young minds
- Developing a rough draft program. In this stage I decided that I wanted to teach a musical theatre class with song, dance, and acting.
- Venue - I searched for organizations in my area that had summer academic programs for kids. (I specifically looked for a program that allowed for guest speakers and programs to come work with the children.) Once I found Freedom School I contacted their ACTIVITY DIRECTOR there. She agreed to have me come teach and said she would suggest multiple dates.
- Found a theatre- I was already partnering with a board member at Matthews Playhouse and she said she would host the kids at a performance of their show. Found Dates and Times- I communicated the dates of the show at Matthews Playhouse, and Freedom School happily agreed to commute the kids to the show. *** Consider if the organization you are working with has buses if you plan to bring the children to a show*** I then collaborated with freedom school to find two more dates and times to teach my class
- I planned these on the two consecutive weeks leading to the performance so that the kids could participate in the class before they saw the actual live performance!
- MY ACTUAL DATES AND DURATION: Classes: July 10th and 17th from 1:00 - 2:30 (1.5 HOUR CLASSES), show 1pm- 2pm. (I had the kids show up 20 mins early to get settled in the theatre)
- I planned these on the two consecutive weeks leading to the performance so that the kids could participate in the class before they saw the actual live performance!
- Creating My Exact Class plan - (MY REAL DETAILED PLAN BELOW)
- I worked to create a plan that involved teaching the kids about the three main aspects of Musical Theatre: Acting, Dancing, and singing. I also wanted the kids to use these activities to produce one final short Musical Theatre Performance. The final performance would be a dance to a song they learned and would be singing and acting to! I chose the song "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from the Lion King because that is the show they were going to see. ***If you are taking the kids to a show consider having the song they learn and dance to be from that musical***
SPECIFIC PROGRAM:
JULY 10
1:00-1:10 Introduction/ Introduction to Musical Theatre and RULES
What is Musical Theatre?
What Show are we going to see?
1:10-1:35 Introduction to Acting/ Acting Games
(Remind to Act while Dancing)
Remind to practice what was learned!!!
JULY 17
1:00-1:10 Introduction to the Day
1:10-1:15 Review the rules
1:15-1:35 Acting
Continue “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”
2:00- 2:17 Costumes
2:20- 2:30 Cooldown
opportunity to teach it. Over the multiple classes I taught, the show, and the outside classes I assisted with (Bullet 9) I had 6
student volunteers and 3 adult volunteers to help me. (Please view the "thanks" tab to recognize these people). I also had 4
freedom school employees helping me along the way. These people are extremely helpful and make your job much less
difficult! The more the merrier. I found these volunteers by contacting friends, and young adults at Matthews Playhouse and
explaining my program and what I needed. Use friends, family, and community members to build an awesome team.
7. Gather the materials - All I needed for my class was a speaker and the animal masks and crayons. I purchased the crayons
and masks on amazon and used a speaker I already owned, but one could find a cheap speaker on amazon as well if they
do not already have one.
8. Go to the location and teach the class- I was assigned 12 children from grades k-2. I personally would recommend working
with younger kids as they will be the most invested in the material and have the most to learn! I lead my class by following
the guided plan I made and had an absolute blast while doing it!
9. Spread your program out beyond the class. Later in the process I was given an opportunity to help teach 30 more kids at
Matthews Playhouse directly. I tried to find anyway to spread my program outside of freedom school and also built this
website as a tool to do so!
*** IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PHOTOS FOR A WEB/AT ALL, YOU NEED TO GET PHOTO SLIPS SIGNED BY A GUARDIAN OF EACH CHILD!!! (Many places with children's camps/ children's programs will already have these on file, but always check first.)***
10. Sustainability- I got permission from freedom school to use their location each year. (They would save a slot
automatically for my program.) Then Matthews Playhouse agreed to keep running the program!(Providing volunteers and
a curriculum.) They even agreed to continue allowing the children to see a production each year for free! If you want your
program to continue beyond yourself confide in the organizations you worked with to gain sustainability. If you are
working solo with an organization (no theatre company) you can ask them if they will secure their location each year. If
they have company volunteers ask them to continue your program for you. (Leave them materials to do so/this website). If
there are no on site volunteers you can find others in your community that agree to continue your program. (A theatre,
another organization, volunteering community members.) If you are working with an organization that provides the
children and a theatre you can ask the theatre if they will continue the program. (Many theatre have some sort of volunteer
team who would love to help - interns, parents, students!) You can also go to schools in your local community, because
many schools have volunteer hour requirements if you need more volunteers to help continue (or start) your program.
Finally, if you are just working with a theatre see if they can take the program on themselves! They should be willing to as
these are their kids/theatre students they would be helping. Even if it is sustainable you can still take part in the program
and help lead it forward!
11. Thank your volunteers- I made sure to give a special thanks to everyone who helped me along the way :)!!! Check out the
thanks to my volunteer tab!
JULY 10
1:00-1:10 Introduction/ Introduction to Musical Theatre and RULES
What is Musical Theatre?
What Show are we going to see?
1:10-1:35 Introduction to Acting/ Acting Games
- Name Game
- Freeze Animals
- Captains Coming
- Warm up
- Super Bubble Gum
- Mommy Made Me Mash My M and M’s
- Learning a song -“I just can’t Wait to be King”
(Remind to Act while Dancing)
- Warm up
- Shake Down
- Basic Dance Moves (jazz square, 3 step turn, step touch, pivot turn, grape vine)
- Begin Learning a dance to “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”
Remind to practice what was learned!!!
JULY 17
1:00-1:10 Introduction to the Day
1:10-1:15 Review the rules
1:15-1:35 Acting
- Short Name Game to review
- Freeze Animals
- Captains Coming
- Warm up
- Mommy Made Me Mash My M and M’s
- Super Bubble Gum
- Oh How I love to sing
Continue “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”
2:00- 2:17 Costumes
- Learn about what costumes are and their purpose in theatre
- Color the masks (Each child receives one mask to color in class and one to color at home. They also will each get their own box of 24 pack crayola. Plastic bags with their names will help organize the goodies)
2:20- 2:30 Cooldown
- Remind about the show. BRING THE MASKS!
- Talk about what an audience is and how to be respectful
- Talk about the class experience and what we learned
opportunity to teach it. Over the multiple classes I taught, the show, and the outside classes I assisted with (Bullet 9) I had 6
student volunteers and 3 adult volunteers to help me. (Please view the "thanks" tab to recognize these people). I also had 4
freedom school employees helping me along the way. These people are extremely helpful and make your job much less
difficult! The more the merrier. I found these volunteers by contacting friends, and young adults at Matthews Playhouse and
explaining my program and what I needed. Use friends, family, and community members to build an awesome team.
7. Gather the materials - All I needed for my class was a speaker and the animal masks and crayons. I purchased the crayons
and masks on amazon and used a speaker I already owned, but one could find a cheap speaker on amazon as well if they
do not already have one.
8. Go to the location and teach the class- I was assigned 12 children from grades k-2. I personally would recommend working
with younger kids as they will be the most invested in the material and have the most to learn! I lead my class by following
the guided plan I made and had an absolute blast while doing it!
9. Spread your program out beyond the class. Later in the process I was given an opportunity to help teach 30 more kids at
Matthews Playhouse directly. I tried to find anyway to spread my program outside of freedom school and also built this
website as a tool to do so!
*** IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PHOTOS FOR A WEB/AT ALL, YOU NEED TO GET PHOTO SLIPS SIGNED BY A GUARDIAN OF EACH CHILD!!! (Many places with children's camps/ children's programs will already have these on file, but always check first.)***
10. Sustainability- I got permission from freedom school to use their location each year. (They would save a slot
automatically for my program.) Then Matthews Playhouse agreed to keep running the program!(Providing volunteers and
a curriculum.) They even agreed to continue allowing the children to see a production each year for free! If you want your
program to continue beyond yourself confide in the organizations you worked with to gain sustainability. If you are
working solo with an organization (no theatre company) you can ask them if they will secure their location each year. If
they have company volunteers ask them to continue your program for you. (Leave them materials to do so/this website). If
there are no on site volunteers you can find others in your community that agree to continue your program. (A theatre,
another organization, volunteering community members.) If you are working with an organization that provides the
children and a theatre you can ask the theatre if they will continue the program. (Many theatre have some sort of volunteer
team who would love to help - interns, parents, students!) You can also go to schools in your local community, because
many schools have volunteer hour requirements if you need more volunteers to help continue (or start) your program.
Finally, if you are just working with a theatre see if they can take the program on themselves! They should be willing to as
these are their kids/theatre students they would be helping. Even if it is sustainable you can still take part in the program
and help lead it forward!
11. Thank your volunteers- I made sure to give a special thanks to everyone who helped me along the way :)!!! Check out the
thanks to my volunteer tab!
MAterials to get you started!
TANGIBLE MATERIALS (Everything here is option, the beauty of theatre is that all you need is yourself, but some other possibilities are below. The speaker is highly recommended)
-SPEAKER***
- Song Lyric Papers
- Costumes
- Craft Materials
- Props
- Piano
- Photos (Camera/video camera)
ALL OTHER MATERIALS:
In order to start your branch/ own program you should use the 11 step guide above. While many of the steps are optional there are 3 things that should specifically happen during the program: A lesson on Acting, Singing, and Dancing. These elements are the core of Musical Theatre and need to be part of the program on it. Below I will outline exactly how you can add these elements to your curriculum! I have provided a guide curriculum above that can be followed or you can create your own using the elements below! These are all suggestions feel free to mix and match anything you see below!
ELEMENTS TO ADD TO YOUR CLASS: Under these basic outlines are specific instructions and activities for each bullet!
*** = Your program should include this
* = Strongly Recommend
- ***ACTING***
- ***SINGING***
- ***DANCING***
- Introduction *
- Costume
- Props
- FINAL PRODUCTION* - this is a great way to share what the kids learned and give them the opportunity to truly experience musical theatre and be a part of it.
For each of these topics you can define them and explore how they contribute to theatre. If you see a live performance ask the kids to identify these elements
- RULES* - I have found that without establishing rules the children believe there are none. This should be the first thing you start with - make sure to state the rule "No talking while your teachers are talking", and my personal favorite rule "No saying hate, bored, and no refusing to try. “
- Audience - Audience Respect
- Production
- Cast
- Ensemble
- Stage
- Lighting
- Set
- Actor/actress
- Projection vs. Screaming
DETAILED GUIDE (For each of the class elements above)
INTRODUCTION
- Start by asking the question "What is musical theatre?"
- Mention the three main aspects of musical theatre (Acting, Music, Singing) and tell the children that they are going to learn
these three types
- Ask the kids if they have ever seen a Musical Theatre show before
- "What is the difference between a live show and a movie?", "What does this mean?"
- Name Game- this is a great way for everyone to get to know each other
- Dancing names - In this game everyone stands in a circle and upon their turn says their name and does a dance
move. Everyone in the circle copies this dance move while saying the person's name. If there is time go back around
the circle and see if the circle can remember everyone's name and dance move
- Same Letter Adjective - Everyone in the circle says their name and an adjective that starts with that letter of their
name
- Mix and match questions - Have everyone say their name, grade, age, favorite ____ , and a fun fact. (You can mix
and match the different components/questions)
ACTING
Introduction
-Ask the kids what they thinking acting is.
- Define what acting is
Warm up Activity
- Tongue Twisters
- Open and Shut
MAIN ACTIVITES
- Musical Animals
- Play jungle/upbeat music and call out an animal. The children will act out that animal until the music stops! Then the
children should freeze. Call out another animal and start up the music again. Repeat as many times as possible!
- Let the children have an opportunity to pick a character or animal for everyone to act out
- Woosh
- http://dbp.theatredance.utexas.edu/content/whoosh-whoa-zap
- Can I come in
- All players stand in a circle except for one which starts in the center. Have all the players in the circle place a piece
of tape under their feet. The person in the center begins at a person asking them "can I come in" in a dramatic
acting voice. The person asked replies with a voice mirroring the asker "No go ask your neighbor". While this is
going on people in the circle make eye contact with each other and switch spots. As people are moving around the
circle the person who is in the center of the circle asking the question "can I come in" tries to steal a spot in the
circle. Once successful the person's whose spot was stolen becomes the center asker and continues.
- This game helps build character expression, and builds ensemble connection. It also helps warm the
actors up!
- Captain's Coming
- http://www.beyondthechalkboard.org/activity/captains-coming/
- Staues (Night of the museum)
- One child is chosen to be the night guard for a themed museum. (Have the group decide on theme before
each of the rounds.) The night guard turns around and counts to ten as the rest of the group poses as a statue
in the themed museum. The night guard then turns around and begins walking through the museum. Each of the
statues are secretly alive and need to continue to move throughout the game without letting the guard see them.
(As the night guard is facing away they should move.) However, if the guard sees a statue moving they are out of
the game/ removed from the museum. The last statue standing wins the game.
SINGING
Introduction
- Ask the kids what singing is
- Tell them the proper way to sing:
- Projection vs. Shouting
- Posture
- Using Deep Breaths
Warm Up
- More Tongue Twisters
- Use the ones suggested above of find your own online!
- Vocal Warm ups (You can change the key for each of these) If you have a piano at your disposal that will work, but
accapella will work also. Find volunteers who can help lead the warmups or if you feel comfortable lead them yourself.
- Mommy Made Me Mash My M and M's
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggrmfvr8ovY
- Super Bubble Gum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_JuYtROB4w
- To stop the train
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRQWzkJHC_c (Arm movements are completely optional)
- Chester Cheetah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mSu0piJmK8
- Oh how I love to sing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Nt7muRH2tY
(These videos will show you the tune of the warmup)
***Ask the children if they want to sing a warmup by themselves or with you for the class. It's great practice, and you will be
surprised how many love/desire to sing alone for everyone***
MAIN ACTIVITIY
- I would recommend having the body of the class be the learning of a specific song.
***(If you do a final production THEY SHOULD LEARN THE SONG THEY ARE DANCING TO IN THE PRODUCTION - if they are seeing a show I would suggest doing the final production using a song from the show to give them experience with the show!)***
- If they are going to see a show I would recommend choosing a song from that show for the final production *
- Try learning in tiny pieces and handing the kids a piece of paper with the words on it if they are able to read.
- Listen to the song on a speaker as you learn it so they can sing with the cast or recording!
- If they are ready let them try it on their own with an instrumental version or solo
DANCING
Introduction
- What is dance?
- Are there different kinds of dances?
- What dance experience do you guys have?
Warm Up
- Shake down - Start at eight and count down to one four times as you shake your right hand(first countdown), left hand(second countdown), right foot(third countdown), left foot(fourth countdown). Then repeat this by by counting down from six then four then two then one, each time increasing in speed. This will help get the blood pumping and show the kids how to isolate body parts.
- Stretching
- Balance activities/yoga
MAIN ACTIVITIES
- Dance lesson (Based on the age of your audience different moves can be taught, the suggestions below)
- Jazz Square
- 3 step turn
- Pivot Turn
- Step Touch
- Grape Vine
- Ball Change
- Pony
- A Choreographed Dance - before the class starts you can choreograph a dance to the song the kids are learning. Again if
you are seeing a show this should be a song from the show you see. (Consider which song is upbeat and possibly one the
kids already know.)
PROPS
Introduction
- What Is a prop?
- How can they help in theatre?
- Can anything be a prop? When does a prop become set?
- Prop rules (No touching other people's props)
MAIN ACTIVITY
- Making props (This can be anything from a note pad to a rainstick) If you are seeing a show this should/can be related to
the show you are seeing like the other parts of your class. )
- Seeing props - bring anything from home that could be considered a prop (almost anything). If you have anything specific to
the show or from another recognizable show that will also work perfect.
COSTUME
Introduction
-What are costumes?
-What role do they play on stage?
- What costumes have you seen in your life?
MAIN ACTIVITY
- Dress up
- Making costumes (Craft)
- This like the rest of the activities can be focused around the show you are going to see (if applicable).
For example: If you are seeing Cinderella the children can make crowns and tiaras using paper. Depending on the age
different crafts can be completed.
- Seeing real costumes - If you have access to any costumes from a theatre company you can bring them for the children to
see. Pictures could be an alternate for this as well.