Children's Theatre...Opinions REALLY Appreciated!

[nanny1]

Hi,

Perhaps a bit long, but please bear with me!

I'm in the early stages of setting up a children's theatre company....At least, that's the long-term aim. To start with, I'm planning to run a weekly 'class' for children to sign up to. Each session would be 45mins-1hr long. I'm looking at running one for younger children and one for older. Hopefully, in time, it'll develop, and the full-blown company will form (HOPEFULLY!).

I've started to plan the content of each of these classes, but could do to find out what parents would appreciate from such things!

I had initially considered that the groups would run as activity sesions, in which the children do some drama exercises, plus act out little scenes/short stories, plus some dramatherapy techniques would be explored (specifically aimed at aiding social skills, confidence building etc). BUT, might parents prefer a series of classes which lead up to a larger-scale play being performed at the end of the term?...so, essentially, the classes would act as rehearsal time for this 'grand finale'.

It'd be great to hear opinions on this!

I'd also love to know...

1)whether it sounds like something that any of you would sign your child up for (am I barking up the right tree, basically!),

2)how old your child is (so that I know what age group this might appeal to most)

3) how much you would consider paying for an hour's session (I'm thinking of running them in 10 week terms)

ANY help, comments would be really appreciated... call it 'market research' !!

Thank you so much!!! I hope I haven't bored anyone tooooo much...

[Wigeon]

You might be interested to see this group which has recently been set up in St Albans in Herts www.dramallamas.co.uk/. Set up by a friend of a friend. Is apparently going quite well and is well-attended.

In answer to your questions:

1. your ideas sound fun in principle! My DD is only 2.5 and something pretty simple / straightforward would be fine for her. Given she can play for 20mins at a stretch with cold cooked spaghetti coloured blue, she really wouldn't need much in a group setting to keep her engaged. Some of your ideas sound too complicated for 2-3 yr olds. But perhaps you are thinking of slightly older children?
   
   
2. 2.5 yrs
   
   
3. I think it completely depends on what area you are in, and what the going rate is for an hour's activity for the age group you are targetting. Things here (Hertfordshire) seem pretty expensive to me (eg £5-£8 for an activity for 2 year olds), but that's what most music / drama / sport things cost here.

[nanny1]

Thank you so much, Wige!

The link is fab...and very similar to what I'm trying to achieve!

Yes, you're right... for the younger group, it'd deinitely need to be a series of short activities! Im thinking of throwing some art and music in the mix for that one too.

The older group, I'm thinking might be for 9-11 yr olds (ish)... But my suspicion is that they may rather work towards putting on a play (and that their parents may also prefer this too). It's just useful to know what parents would most value as I start to put the curriculum together and plan sessions.

Thank you!