Hi friends,
I’m Kelcy Wanamaker, and I’ve helped put on the Forestville Elementary School play for the past three years. It has been so much fun, but it is a lot of work and if we are going to be able to do it again this year, I will need a lot of help!
Below are descriptions of different roles that need to be filled. I’ve tried to break up what the co-directors have done in the past into smaller jobs so that it wouldn’t be as big of an ask for any one person. However, anyone who volunteers must be willing to show up and be there for all of their assignments. I either need all of the following roles filled, or I need 2 other people who are willing to fill all the roles with me as co-directors.
Please keep in mind that volunteering for any of these positions does not provide your child any specific role in the play and volunteers get no special treatment (good seats, free tickets, no actor fee, etc.). That said, I would love to work with any of you who are willing to work as a team and make this happen for our 5th and 6th graders.
Morning rehearsals will start at 8am sharp and run until 9am on Tuesday through Fridays when school is in session. Our tryouts and starting date will be decided as a team. Tech rehearsals run for about 4-5 days before the play performances and are held after school until 6 or 6:30pm. The play, if it happens, has already been picked. There are a couple of dates I am leaning towards for performances, but would be willing to discuss the performance date with other lead directors/choreographers to make sure we can all be there. A co-director will need to be willing to help out with all the following roles:
Music Director(s) – This person will come every morning that is scheduled as a day to learn music. They will help the kids warm up their voices and direct the kids, helping them learn the notes and words of the music and working towards memorization. They will not be required to come on choreographer days or scene days when there will be no songs practiced. They will need to come everyday near the end and to all the tech practices to help kids warm up and make sure they are singing all the parts correctly. I am willing to break this job up and have people each take a song or two, but then all of them will need to come on the days when we will be singing all the songs.
Choreographer(s) – This person will use provided material and online resources to choreograph the songs supporting the flow of the play and story and will teach the kids the choreography. I’m hoping for choreography that keeps kids moving around the stage and helps all the kids have a chance to be on the stage. I would prefer to avoid choreography where the kids all stand in lines and do things in that same place for the whole song. I am more than happy to split the songs up among several people, but again, that means that whenever your song will be practiced you will need to be at morning practice and everyone will need to attend tech rehearsals.
Lights Technician – This person will need to order/rent lights and schedule drop off/set up/pick up/payment for lights and be willing to either run the lights themselves or find someone who will run them during the show. This person will need to stay in contact during the rehearsals and be to every tech rehearsal and all performances of the show.
School Liaison – This person will work with me as the director to figure out what rooms we need when and work with the PTA and the school schedulers to make sure we always have all the rooms we need scheduled for all rehearsals and performances. They will need to make sure to take care of scheduling custodians for the performances and make sure the custodians get tipped.
Sound Technician – This person will be in charge of helping to set up sound for tech week. They will also work with me to figure out which actors are marked when and how hand-offs occur. They will need to be at every tech rehearsal and will be in charge of checking all the kids mics, helping make sure they get them on right, and that the mics work. They will also run the sound board during the play – this means turning the mics on and off when they are or are not being used and monitoring the feedback.
Photography/Videography – This person will be in charge of scheduling and be the lead contact person for the photographer and videographer for the play. They will also be in charge of receiving the final product and disbursing it to all members of the play/cast.
Costumer – This role includes all of the following:
- Working with me to design the costumes to fit tone and mood of the play
- Finding/buying/making the costumes and accessories while staying within a set a budget
- Figuring out what items actors need to bring from home and what their base layer will be
- Communicating with each actor’s family to make sure they understand what they need to provide and when it needs to be brought in
- Going through everyone’s supplied costume to make sure they have brought in what they need
- Attending enough rehearsals and knowing the script well enough to have thought through all costume changes to determine if there will be enough time and how they will work** Depending on the amount of costume changes, this needs to be given significant attention
- Watching the choreography to make sure that costumes and choreography are compatible
- Organizing and storing brought in costumes and setting up the back hallway for costume changes each day of tech rehearsal and for the performances.
- Dealing with any costumes left behind after the play
- Deciding and communicating how hair will be done
Hopefully that all made sense. If you have any questions or need clarification, let me know! I am willing to commit to being at every rehearsal, but I will always need at least one other person to be there with me. It is a lot of work to put on these plays, but it’s a big reward at the end to see how much the kids have enjoyed it and grown. If you are willing and able, please contact me at bkwanamaker@gmail.com and let me know what role you would be willing to fill. If we can either fill all these roles or get 2 co-directors, then we will be able to move forward with the play this year.
Thanks!
Kelcy Wanamaker