homeschooldrama.com blog
How to Write a Play
Did you know that adding drama for your students can also benefit you? Yes, I have found that it is good for me to give myself an opportunity to be creative once in a while. Homeschooling is very busy and there is not always time to do so, but if I’ve had moments of inspiration, I’ve found that I should jump in and allow my mind to be creative.
Hi! My name is Danielle and I have homeschooled my kids from Pre-K through high school. When we started homeschooling, I was concerned my kids may not be able to participate in some of the fun activities like drama that I was able to do growing up, but I quickly found out there are a lot of ways to fit drama into your homeschool and now want to share what I've learned with you.
In our third year of homeschooling with a co-op we decided to do another play. Again, the co-op already had classes for them to take, so this would be separate from those classes. The younger elementary students (Pre-K through 3rd grade) were available in the afternoon as their older siblings were in a writing class, so we had time and a place to rehearse once a week.
The previous school year we had done a simple Thanksgiving play; this time I wanted to do something related to what the kids were reading while studying ancient world history. During our readings, we read many of Aesop’s fables. There are so many interesting characters and great messages to be learned in those fables, I thought it would be fun to do a play based on some of them.
Most people are familiar with “The Tortoise and the Hare,” so that became the focus of the play. Since many animals wanted to go see The Big Race, I was able to include the adventures they would have along the way. Maybe you’ve heard of some of them - the lion and the mouse; the fox and the crow, just to name a few.
(For more information about writing a play you can check out my blog series and the more detailed drama curriculum series - How to Write a Playscript which were both inspired from my playwriting experiences.)
When working with multiple ages, sometimes the youngest ones will not be memorizing a lot of lines or aren’t able to handle participating in all the rehearsals, so there is a way to include them without stressing them or their parents out.
In our play, The Big Race – A Montage of Aesop’s Fables, we decided to make the preschoolers and kindergartners a part of the ensemble cast. These members usually are not named characters and have only a few lines, so this way they can practice on their own and just show up to the last few rehearsals to see what it looks like with the rest of the cast. Also, if any were missing on the day of the performance, it would not affect the play as we would not have to replace their roles. Lastly, they add the cute factor which every play needs. 😉
The 1st through 3rd graders were then assigned roles. Since most of the roles were comparable in size, it was easy to split it up without worrying about who could handle a lot of lines. My daughter that year was already busy memorizing lines for a lead role in another production, so I decided to create a small role that would add some comic relief and still allow her to be a part of our rehearsals and performance. This is the benefit of writing a play based on the students you have available to perform in it.
Sometimes you can add roles where the older students can be on stage with the younger students, so they can help them go where they need to go and say their lines at the appropriate time. You may have seen this at a dance recital where an older student leads the younger ones in the dance steps. It is very helpful, especially if the younger ones are going to be on stage for a long time. In this play, we had cheerleaders and a race official who could lead the younger students.
The older students are also able to help with creating sets with a little help from their parents. We just fit that into the regular time we met and used simple materials like cardboard boxes and paint. Did you know your local copier company has big thick boxes that can work for many backdrops? Also, one of the parents had previously done plays and had a backdrop she loaned us for some extra scenery. You just never know what experience or materials the parents have around you.
When it comes to costumes you usually don’t have the budget or the time to make all the costumes for every actor. When doing a play in a co-op or with a group of homeschoolers, the parents are usually very involved and able to help. If every parent helps with their child’s costume, then the work is divided more evenly and no one person is taking on too much.
When the characters are animals, it makes it so much easier to do costumes. Many people have animal costumes from Halloween or other activities. Also, kids can wear a simple mask or cat or bunny ears and have their faces made up with some whiskers. Lastly, in the ensemble cast of The Big Race - A Montage of Aesop's Fables, the younger siblings could be any animal they wanted to be, so it made it a lot easier for them to come up with a costume. Another benefit for all of us as I created this play.
I’m not the greatest at making costumes, but I have definitely found moments of creativity when given enough time to look around at what I already own. For The Big Race, my son was one of the sports commentators who happened to be a cheetah. One day, when looking down at the bathmat in my bathroom, I realized that the backing and the yarn on the top would make the perfect texture for ears. With my friend’s glue gun, I was able to use the corners for the ears, then I could also use some of the remaining for his face, the back of his hands and her son’s costume, since he was a bobcat. Add a little paint and voila!
Usually, I don’t go around the house cutting up my rugs, but this was perfect, and I needed a new rug anyway. 😊 Human-looking animals are also very easy because they can wear human clothes, so there is less fur to worry about.
With costumes sorted out, the backdrops finished, and rehearsals going well, we were ready for the big day when my friend called to tell me her son’s baseball team qualified for a major tournament. This tournament, of course, was scheduled for the same night as our performance. Unfortunately, he was not one of the ensemble cast; he was the tortoise.
Well, in theater we say, “The show must go on!” so…. remember those kindergartners that were doing minor roles? Time to find one that I felt could fill the role last minute. Thankfully animal characters are also simple because they can be boys or girls, so I found a girl to replace him. The mom gave her the costume and she started running her lines. The trickiest part was helping her know where to run because I had the tortoise and the hare running through the audience to complete the race. I love having scenes that interact with or travel through the audience. Fortunately, I could have a mom helping with direction during the play if necessary, so we were back on track and she, as well as the rest of the kids, did amazing!
You do have the time to fit drama into your homeschool with the younger siblings or any age group. Plays are so fun to do as long as you remember:
you can write a play to fit the needs of your group
the younger students do not need to be at all the rehearsals
the older students can help the younger students and make sets
you don't have to make all the costumes - it's a team effort
the show must go on!
If you're ready to write a play you can start with our How to Write a Play blog series or get more details to write a full play with How to Write a Playscript drama curriculum.
Don't have time to write a play this year? You can enjoy one of our plays already created and ready for your group to perform!
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Thanks for joining us!
Danielle at homeschooldrama.com
*originally published as Add Drama for the Younger Siblings Part 2
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