I posted something lengthly a month or so ago about our Talent Show, which was our first one and it was very successful.

We are a school of about 360, K-8. We held "try-outs" but every child was accepted. What we ended up doing that was so successful was that we broke the night up into a "Junior Talent Show" for grades 1-3 and held it at 5:00 p.m. that way, parents of the younger kids could come and just see a short, quick version (1 hr). Then, at 7 pm we had the regular talent show for grades 4-8. It lasted about 2 hrs. it was a great night--RAVE reviews. I think we'll keep doing it every year.

Shelly

carolync-glad to see that parents must be involved. During our last talent show the doors were locked so that parents could not help during rehearsals. A couple of us decided to stand in the hall and just wait. The year before that only a few parents did the whole talent show and we knew there was ALOT of leg work. They finally gave in and let us help set up the stage and run and get props and such. Because they would not let parents be involved the PTO ended up spending over $80 (something like that) for a Karoke machine when some of the parents had one that could have been borrowed. To my knowledge this machine hasn't been used since. Even some of the PTO Board members were upset because this was done without an executive decision.

Thanks for the lengthy info!!! This is just what we needed.

Thanks!

We have an initial "Save the Date" flyer that includes this information:

Start planning your acts now!
Auditions held after school Monday, (date)

o What’s your talent? Tell jokes, read a poem, grab your friends or family and do a funny skit, do a dance, play an instrument. All students second grade and up welcome to perform
o Family acts are encouraged! Get everyone involved!
o No lip-syncing —musical performances must be “live,” pianist available to accompany your song (with advance notice)
o Performers must audition Monday, (date) after school
o All performers must attend dress rehearsal after school on (date) after school (early closing day for conferences)
o Parents of all performers must help out with the show—there will be many jobs to fill, from refreshments to backstage management—parents will be contacted
o Performers must sign up in the school office by Wednesday, (date)

Dust off your dancin’ shoes, warm up your vocal cords, limber up your fingers, tickle your funny bone, grab your friends or family or prepare to go solo….get ready for a great night of family fun!

Then we send out the following to those kids who signed up:

Family Fun Talent Night Details

We’re gearing up for the ... School Family Fun Talent Night and your child has signed up to perform. I hope your child has been practicing their act at home. Here are some details about the event. Please read carefully and mark your calendars:

o Auditions for the show will be held after school next Wednesday, (date). Acts are required to audition to perform at Talent Night. If this time is impossible for you, please contact (name) (contact information below) immediately to make other arrangements if possible. Acts will be assigned an audition time slot (you will be contacted) and students must have an adult chaperone responsible for them while they are waiting in the school building. On Wednesday, performers must wait outside the gym until the preview committee calls them in to audition.
o Dress Rehearsal for Talent Night will be held after school Tuesday,(date)from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. (early closing date due to Parent-Teacher Conferences). If your performer needs a specific time slot, please let me know and I will try to accommodate you. All students must have an adult present the entire time who will be responsible for them during the Dress Rehearsal. You may leave with your child when your act is finished. We plan to rehearse in the order of the performance, but if you need a specific time slot, let me know.
o Talent Night will be held Thursday, (date) at 7:00 p.m. Performers should arrive between 6:30 – 6:40.
o Parents of all performers must help with Talent Night. See the list on the form below to volunteer.
o Performance guidelines include:
o All students grade 2 – 6 and their families are welcome to participate. Family acts encouraged!
o Instrumental, singing, skits, poetry, acting and dancing are all encouraged (accompanist available if arranged in advance)
o Students will be expected to wear appropriate clothing (nothing revealing, distracting, suggestive or depicting profanity, alcohol, drugs or illegal substances will be allowed)
o Music with lyrics that contain profanity, inappropriate language or reference to drugs/alcohol is prohibited
o All Talent Night acts are subject to approval by the audition committee

Questions? Contact (info...)"

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Family Fun Talent Night Performer Registration - Please return to the office on Monday, (date)
Name of child______________ Parent__________________

Phone number__________ email_____________________

Type of act_____________________________________

Performing with (if applicable)_____________________________

Time Slot Preferred for Audition 3/3/04 p 3:00 – 3:30 p 3:30 – 4:00 p4:00 – 4:30

Adult who will be responsible for student during auditions 3/3/04___________________

Adult who will be responsible for student during Dress Rehearsal 3/9/04________________

I can help with (check all that apply):
pBackstage management at the dress rehearsal pbackstage management at the show
psetting up for the show pcleaning up after the show
pHelping with the sound system pmaking copies
p helping get kids organized before the show starts phelping get kids organized before the second act
phanding out programs pcreating flyer or program pother:


Sorry this is so long, but I thought it might be helpful. Good luck! Talent Shows are a wonderful opportunity for kids to gain confidence and be creative. Every school should host one--they are a blast!

The "Karoke Version" is called a "split track." I was told some CDs are like that, but I had no luck. The way you can tell if a CD has a split track is by turning all the volume to on speaker by the balance button. Our music teacher at the time explained this to me for several minutes. I thought I'd share that. [img]smile.gif[/img]

I wouldn't want to turn anyone down either, but definitely have some "rules" or guidelines. For example, limit each act to no more than 4 minutes. If you are singing, you must use the Karaoke version of a CD, and NO LYPSYNCING (sp?). That's what we do...we don't have tryouts, but we do have rehearsal, so you can kind of "help" those acts that need it.