Speaking Parts Process

Speaking parts in a musical help to tell a story.  Really, we could just sing the songs and be done!  But turning this into a story gives opportunities for students to explore the world of performance.  In addition to the learning the music, students learn a speaking part, practice it while speaking into a microphone, and then gain the confidence to perform it in front of an audience on a stage.  Some students are quite content with singing in the Stage Chorus and not taking on a speaking part -- this is perfectly okay!  For those students ready for a speaking part, they need to practice their lines and set them to memory.  They need to practice saying the lines out loud, soft, fast, slow, high-pitched voice, low-pitched voice, singing the lines, whispering the lines, and, of course, saying the lines in front of others.

Last Friday, March 14, I scrambled to make up for lost time during our surprise snow days.  I asked teachers if I could double up classes so that I could meet students who missed class Wednesday and Thursday.  Everyone was really understanding and flexible, so I was able to meet with all First Grade and Second Grade students.  This was important so I could have students let me know what speaking parts, if any, they were interested in doing for our musical, "HATS!"

I then take those lists and spend hours trying to make sense of all the choices.  I put together all the names of students who are interested in particular parts, and then names get pulled (as in, "from a hat"). If students showed interest in more than one part, then they had more of a chance to end up with a part. But if they only showed interest in one or two parts, those parts may not have been available.  I do wish there were parts for everyone who showed interest, but that is just not possible in this particular show.

At this writing, part selections are still in the draft phase, but I will try to hand out parts to students on Wednesday, March 19.  If your child is given a part and is happy about it, great!!!  But if they are not, PLEASE have them return the part to me as soon as possible so I can reassign it.  There are many students who expressed interest and will not end up with a part, so if something becomes available, it is important to give as much time to the alternate students as possible.