Kimberann--
On our permission slip, we stated something like this:
"All parents whose children participate will be required to help with the event"
in other words, if you sign your child up, you may have to
1) sell or collect tickets
2) sell refreshments
3) babysit with the kids backstage
You could have them do the babysitting in "shifts" so they don't miss the whole show.
Just some thoughts..
Shelly
Kelley - the chair of the event usually picks a few songs and/or popular dances (think macarena or electric slide) and at the first rehearsal the kids pick which ones they like. She puts together a simple routine to teach the kids at rehearsal. One year it was Hard Knock Life from Annie, or Grease Lightening.
The challenge that we have this year is what to do with the kids when they are not performing. We do the show in the cafeteria and usually fill to capacity with parents. The kids wait "backstage" - usually the classrooms. We have had problems in the past with kids trashing the rooms or making too much noise and generally being rowdy. The parents would rather watch the show and we have a hard time finding people to keep the kids in line. Anyone have any ideas on how to handle that?
Just something to add to this topic...This year we are having a professional videographer come to our variety show and make a videotape of it. Copies will then be available for sale to the parents. His price for each video is $10. We will sell them for $12. We do not charge admission so it is just a nice way to make a little something off the show.
Kimberann, I am interested in the way your school has all of the kids do something at the beginning and end of the show. Do they sing a song, or something different? If it is a song, what type of songs do they sing? Any specific information you have would be most appreciated. I think this is a great idea!!
We have a yearly talent show. One of the things the chair does is to create a group routine that will start and end the show. Any kids who don't have an act can participate in that. This way the kids that aren't in the "popular" group and don't get invited to join an act can still participate without going solo.
