To think my friend is taking the Nativity play a bit too seriously

[justfloatingpast]

She's been on the phone to me for ages complaining that the part of Mary has gone to a girl who only joined the school a few weeks ago and her daughter has asked to be Mary for the last three years (she's 8) and has never been cast and it's really not fair etc etc etc

I presume practically every girl in the class puts their hand up when asked who wants to be Mary this year, and the teacher has to pick one child.

My friend is really annoyed and wondering if she should say something to the teacher. Her daughter isn't a child who's constantly being overlooked. She plays on the school football team and was part of a group who won a prize for a project and were featured in a local newspaper.

AIBU to think she's over reacting and should just let it go?

DS has been an angel every single year. I don't know if they give him that role in the hope that his behaviour will become more angelic!

There is another thread about the same children getting picked for things. I haven't complained when in a couple of concerts my dd has been sat on the back row. As she is one of the shortest it was hard to see her, but it is just the way things go. I don't envy the teacher the job of trying to coordinate it all.
I was always an angel as a child. I can remember falling over going in one year and was upset I had blood down my white socks (I wasn't in the front row so no one could see it).
2 years ago my daughter was a camel. I wished she had been given a different part because we had the right colour clothes for everything except the camel. In the end it was a fab part. There were three of them and they danced in a line accros the and up the aisle of parents while the others sang a song.

I was a narrator or played the chime bars! One year we did a play called the golden chrysanthemum and I was the main narrator because I was the only child who could say chrysanthemum!

At our school, Mary is the 'worst' part, in terms of it's the only non speaking role and you're only on stage for a bit. I think it's a good idea. The role of Mary is given to the kid who would no way be able to deliver lines as they don't have the confidence. Win win. Kid is happy cos they're Mary.
The 'best' part, as in lead character lots of speaking role, will be a donkey or similar.

I think the teacher has been spot on giving the new girl the part of Mary. It gives her some of the limelight without the pressure of having to say any lines when she might still be feeling anxious about being in a new school. Your friend needs to stop being so self centred.

Alilacat
I was the narrator in my first nativity play, and I wet myself on stage. However I decided that the show must go on, and continued narrating while my poor teacher frantically mopped around me...
That really made me laugh! Along with the potato play and the DD who was a table!

I was Mary once ... not in a nativity but in a 'dramatic reading' at church. I was cast as Mary as the only female in the congregation between the ages of about 10 and 40. I had to stand in front of everyone and say something like "But surely, I am a virgin" ... I was fourteen (and bright red)

Our school is too big for for individual parts, there's usually 20 shepherds, 20 donkeys, 15 stars, and various Marys and Josephs (at least 10 of each). It all seemed a bit odd when ai first watched it, but it kind of works. Also means many parents get their chance to gloat their little darling has a lead role yet again, ha! No nativity for ks2 though so I'm off the hook for a few years until youngest starts the whole ridiculous cycle of it

I was Mary one year but i remember being very disappointed with my Joseph lmao. I had my eye on better options evidently!

My DD was desperate to be Mary and memorised all the words and songs which she used to practice at home. I made her a really good shepherd costume in compensation with a stripy headdress she loved. Day of the play Mary starts to throw up so for the afternoon performance DD is drafted in—her ‘star is born’ dream come true. Except teacher makes her wear her rotten shepherd costume in case I’m upset she doesn’t use it!!!! When the whole point of the Mary dream was the long swishy blue velvet dress...😱

My DD is playing Mary at the nursery’s nativity play. Rehearsing was going well until she apparently had an argument with Joseph, dropped baby Jesus on the floor and shouted ‘I’m not your friend anymore!’ To each other. Hopefully the tree kings can calm them both down.

They’re also singing the Calypso carol and instead of saying ‘Mary cradling the babe she bore’ she keeps singing ‘Mary cradling the bouncy ball’. I can’t wait to see it

I have twin girls who are now 16. At primary one was an easy going child, happy for everyone else to have their favourite parts, used to get excited for her siblings or friends if they had anything exciting in their lives...

One was, frankly, a drama llama who would sob at home like she was absolutely heartbroken after she'd set her heart on a role, or a cartoon character being hurt/dying, or the likes.

You can imagine which one wanted to be Mary... And which one was chosen to be Mary whilst the other was Angel #6...

I was an angel in a nursery school nativity (think this would’ve been in ‘89). I don’t remember taking part in any primary school nativity plays. Was possibly in the choir, despite sounding like a strangled cat when singing.

One year one of my angels vomited over the angel in front just as they lined up to walk in. I had to fetch the sick one's mum out of the audience to come for him and clean up and find another dress for the other one. Needless to say the start was delayed for a while.

Another year a mum came to the first performance and shouted at new that she would 'kick off if that fat girl stands in front of my child again'. They were supposed to be in a straight line but they were 4 years old so ... hey ho. I arranged for the deputy head to be sitting next to her at the second showing but, thankfully, there was no kicking off.

I always tried to make the nativity enjoyable for all the children but some parents take it very seriously.

Shouted at me not new.

For some reason, I always got cast as bloody Joseph as none of the boys wanted to do it.

Pass her a grip.

My friend was always Mary and I was always St. Elizabeth!

I was angel Gabriel in the school nativity & was picked out of the whole school to do it, really excited till my mum told me Gabriel was a boys name! I didn’t half weep in the car on the way home (I was only 7)

I'm Mary and so's my wife...

I was Mary one year, I had no lines but, man, I really stuck every one of those "there's no room at the inn" bastards with the pregnant stink eye.

It sounds like a nice way of getting the new girl included, maybe if you explain it like that to your daughter she might be more understanding? I can see that is a disappointment though, must be hard to choose from everyone who must also want to be Mary

Not busy then your friend ?

In the school I work at the children don’t get to chose their parts but they are carefully considered depending on what they might like, how they talk, confidence (as well as who might actually turn up to the production on all nights, not just when they’re being watched!
the ‘confident’ kids with pushy parents are not given the parts they want for a reason

Very funny.

My dds are surviving despite never having been Mary. We've had the start, a sheep, a shepherd, and an angel. This year dd1 is the well-known nativity character "Geoffrey the Inspecter".

I wanna be the lobster.

(both my sons are Mary)