Disney's "The Little Mermaid, Jr."

Our 6th graders performed "Disney's The Little Mermaid, Jr." this past May. All 123 of them! We had a blast. It was so much work, but I loved (almost) every minute of it. We had phenomenal students and an awesome group of parents that helped with costumes, make-up, and sets. If you are considering this musical, here are some things to think about:

1. Some of the staging can be challenging, but that can be a good thing to push creativity and imagination. 

2. It is a great musical for a large cast. 

3. Both boys and girls enjoyed participating.

4. There are a lot of online resources for ideas and inspiration.

Although it required an incredible amount of work, the final result made it worth the effort. The group of 123 sixth graders bonded through the experience. Each student either performed on stage or participated in stage crew or tech crew. Students, teachers, parents, and friends enjoyed the performances and were amazed at what the 6th graders accomplished.

Due to the size and talent of the class, we double-cast many parts. We were extremely fortunate to have not one, but TWO talented singers and actresses who happened to have red hair and were perfect Ariels. Here are a few pictures from our production. For additional photos click here for cast photos, here for action shots, and here for close-ups of face paint.

If you decide to produce this musical, I guarantee that it will have a positive impact on all involved!

Musical Madness

Wow! The end of the school year is always crazy in the life of a music teacher. We always have two large programs scheduled for the end of our school year: one for 4th grade and one for 6th. Typically, our 6th graders perform a musical in May. It is a tradition that the students look forward to from the time they are in kindergarten.

Memories from last year's musical, "Disney's The Jungle Book Kids":

This year, our state testing was moved to May, which put a kink in the works for our musical. In addition to regular testing, our 6th graders participated in pilot testing for the state. When the testing schedule was set, our principals made the decision for us to change from a traditional musical to a  simpler choral program. The only prerequisites were that it couldn't require a lot of extra rehearsal time, and it had to be "fabulous." 

It took a while to decide on a plan, but we finally decided on a choral production that focused on the sixth graders' time at our school and the fact that they were moving on to the junior high school. The theme of the show was about reaching for dreams. Although the students were disappointed that they weren't doing a musical with drama, they worked hard on challenging choral music and enjoyed learning choreography for several songs. 

One of my favorite choral numbers was Rollo Dilworth's "The Dream Keeper." We did the two-part version, which you can listen to below. Our kindergarten students even loved it and asked to sing it in class the next day. :)

Other choral numbers included Schram and Staggers' "Dreams that Children Dream" and "The Beat of a Drum," arranged by Jay Althouse. Choreographed numbers included "Anything is Possible," arranged by Althouse, "On My Way," by Phil Collins, "Reach," arranged by Roger Emerson, and Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten."

The program was called "On My Way," and we used brightly painted doors as stage decorations. At the end of the Phil Collins song, students exited the auditorium, changed from dressy sequin tanks and white dress shirts, and later returned in their "On My Way" t-shirts to complete the program. One student said that changing clothes was her favorite part of the program. You just never know what will be important for each individual!

While the rest of the grade level was changing clothes, a few students performed Philip Phillips' song, "Home." They did a great job!

Every student completed a questionnaire prior to the program. We used their answers to create a script for videos and live spoken parts to bring the show together. Every student had a spoken part, either live, or in a video.

One of the biggest issues we had was finding room for 117 students to have space to dance and be seen on the stage. We set up risers on the stage and two sets on the outer edges of the floor. We assigned each student one choreographed number for which they would leave the risers and perform on platforms in front of the stage. Although it wasn't perfect, it allowed the students on the risers to have enough room to move, and it gave each student a chance to be featured in a dance.

The choral production was a success, but most people missed the traditional musical. Our principals have agreed to let us bring it back next year. I'm looking forward to it, but for now I am going to enjoy my break!

Happy Summer!