How do teachers decide which child plays which role in a play/nativity?

[Gingerbready]

Just as above

Generally the favourites, the pupils whose parents are involved with the PTA, not the children who behave well & work hard quietly.

I think the reason for the school plays is gets a bit lost.
To me, it’s to give performing children a chance to do what they are good at. A chance for children who need their confidence boosting. And for parents to see their children.
Some years i couldn’t even tell you if DD was there.

The nursery teacher at school was very good. Every child got a part and a costume, even if they didn’t speak they spent sometime on stage.

Every single Nativity I've been too they've always casted the blondest, blue eyed girl to be Mary. It's always baffled me because Mary has never had a speaking line just held a doll. And 2 wasn't she from the middle East (around Bethlehem area) and not Scandinavia?...

It's like they see blond, blue eyed as the only innocent virginal children.

@PeppermintSoda

In year 2 there was a mum who liked her kids to be the centre of attention. Her dd was in the orchestra/band in front of the stage and the mum was annoyed she "didn't get a chance to shine." She said there was no reason for her dd to be in front of the stage and not on it so the next performance the band were moved up onto the stage. I was surprised the school went along with it

I had a parent get very abusive because another girl stepped in front of her daughter. They were angels and supposed to be standing in a straight line so it was accidental. She shouted at me after the performance, was extremely rude about the size and appearance of the other child and said if it happened again at the next performance she would 'kick off there and then'. I arranged for the male deputy head to sit next to her and there was not a peep out of her.

Another child with SEN refused to get changed into a costume but we let her wear it on top of her school uniform and disappear behind a screen with some toys if she needed to. Her parents were really glad she was able to take part at all. I had no problem accommodating the needs and quirks of the children but a small minority of parents could be very difficult.

@EThreepwood

It's like they see blond, blue eyed as the only innocent virginal children.

Not all teachers are like that. Not all teachers are white themselves.

My DC was Mary in nursery as they reckoned she'd be fine with the attention/ could manage to do as told. She chose to be as sheep for this one though.

My quite shy DD2 was overlooked throughout primary. It may well be that she didn't put herself forward for big parts, and also her speech wasn't the clearest. (I was on the PTA the whole of her time there too! )

However when they did the y6 leavers performance they added bits to her role because she was rehearsing so well, and after the performance a number of parents came up and said in surprised voices how well she had done.

She'd done out of school drama since y1, but just hadn't had the chance before.

Can't complain though, DD1 was Mary & Herod (different years) and Stephano (The Tempest).

Dh and I did smirk to each other when dd was Mary and the girl who had been consistently really mean to her all year was her donkey. My mother gets the picture out every year 😁

Totally depends on the school/teacher. My DH has run the Xmas play several times and always asks the children what sort of part they want (non-speaking, few lines, lots of lines, narrator) and tries to accommodate everyone- which tends to result in some shared parts and quite a few made-up extra characters with a line or 2.

When my DC were in primary school the play was always run by a TA who also led the choir- any solos in the choir and decent roles in the play always went to the same group of children. My DC1 was one of 'the chosen few' but DC2 not so much. There was one particularly WTF instance where she auditioned kids for a solo in a song she wanted to include in a concert but told the children that none of them had quite got the range for it so she sang it herself with some of the chosen few as backing singers (you know, instead of choosing a song that children could manage)!

In my DC school, the ones who will be a PITA at rehearsals unless they get a main role get chosen.
The ones who are “quietly competent” get ignored every time - not just school plays, but everything else. My DD competes at regional level in a sport. Sshool team was just selected by the teacher, with no trials. DD doesn’t “look” sporty and doesnt excel at PE otherwise, so wasn’t selected. She competed as an individual (as did a few others) reserve, and teacher was suitably embarrassed.
Teacher

I think kids should be getting public speaking opportunutird throughout the year as if the shy ones are never allowed to do so when can they learn?
Either that or everyone have a line or 2 and advance the story that way. It's supposed to be a learning experience for all and kids aren't going to learn sitting in the wings
If they want to be part of a fabulous production they can do am dram!

I was picked for a lot of stuff through school although was told I couldn't be Gabriel as I wasn't blonde 😭😭😭😭😭

@IHateCoronavirus what you've said is really reassuring. DS has learning difficulties but loves singing and I know he's love to participate in a school nativity but would struggle to concentrate. I hope he has a teacher like you when he starts school.

I would imagine they consider which children can do and want to have one of the bigger roles. My eldest has a brilliant memory so could learn great swathes of text but is really hopeless at acting. His stage career peaked in yr 6 when he played a pencil 🤣.

Youngest ds struggle academically so learning lines (or even reading the text) isn't something he would want to do. But, school make a massive effort to praise him to help build his confidence and he was picked to be class Ambassador this week which I am so thankful for as it means the world to him.

Hi Peppermint....Mrs Innkeeper decided she would intermittently prompt my DS with his words and stage directions when he knew very well what to say and do...if she had left him alone to do it....he grew increasingly cross until he announced to everyone "yes alright....I do know...'

Ha ha. Oh dear that does sound a bit annoying but funny

In ours, which children are "pets" or friends of children in the class. Failing that most able speakers and readers.

Interesting the differences, real or perceived. I must remember to ask my aunt what she used to do (now retired, taught year 3 and 4 largely).