"Poshest" roles in a typical nativity play

[SympatheticSwan]

Lighthearted obviously.

It's this time of the year again and, as a foreign parent, I am again amazed by the level of intrigue around the casting decisions for the school's nativity play.

AIBU to ask you to help me understand what is the "hierarchy" of roles in a typical nativity play? I deduced myself that Mary is the lead role (but it does not seem that Joseph commands the same level of respect for boys), and livestock ranks below all, but what about the rest? Shepherd? Three wise men? Townsfolk? Innkeeper? Talking penguins?

Narrator
Mary
Joseph
Gabriel
Three kings
Innkeeper
Shepherds
Other angels
Livestock (various)

I’ve cast nativities where the biggest/main/best role has variously been a sheep, Herod, a time travelling child, a star, an angel, the innkeeper and a camel. Mary is usually a tiny, non-speaking role, but I had her sing a solo once (the beauty of which was only slightly spoiled when she clonked Jesus’ head on the side of the stable).
One year I had a female Herod and 3 female kings. They’re all under 8, no-one cares.
Mostly I start by asking who wants a speaking part and taking it from there. Everyone gets to dance and sing (unless they really don’t want to).

In my day Mary had to have long blond hair. I had short dark hair, but I could read and had a carrying (loud) voice, so was Angel Gabriel, standing behind the piano, mostly. Not bitter, no...

Mary is sometimes a part with very few lines. It depends which production they are doing. There are sometimes more lines for the sheep, space aliens, or other random characters the school ave decided to introduce this year.

By the law of Sod, DD1 and DD2 never once got to play the same part in six Nativity plays. Never once got to reuse a costume ourselves- though we did loan them to other children!

Goodness me what utter noneness people come up with on here sometimes . They are kids in a christmas play for heavens sake.

I couldn't disagree with you more. This is precisely the kind of nonsense I come to Mumsnet for.

More nativity role stories! More!

May I recommend the old 'Flint Street Nativity' TV film to gauge the importance of roles? It's about a tenner on Amazon. The quality isn't great, but it is hilarious and touching and so accurate and the cast are all 1999's finest then-current stars. It's become one of my favourite run up to Christmas traditions.

When I did my Nativity play - Christmas 1980 - not everyone in the class (of nearly 40 kids) even got speaking parts. There was no wheeling the entire class onto the stage to sing musical numbers en mass to make sure all the parents came.

I was an Angel, being the tallest in the class and was delighted.

You were very lucky to get a speaking part. Half the class were lucky if they got to hit a chime bar. You knew the teacher really hated you if you got to play - the claves.

What was really good though was that someone had made all the costumes a few years before and they were beautiful and got used every year. There were no Asda shiny nylon efforts. They didn't exist.

Just be careful if the child playing the innkeeper is a prankster. It's the oldest trick in the book for the innkeeper to say, the following, especially if they've been turned down from their ideal part:

"Come in! There's plenty of room."

Mary seems the most coveted role but all she has to do is sit still and doesn't need to learn any lines. The best readers, most reliable children would be narrators. The three King's (and occasionally a camel) had to be trusted to walk from A to B but if the first one had their wits about them the others would follow, the same applied to the shepherds. I used to ask children what they wanted to do and usually let them have the desired role, I always had boy and girl angels, shepherds, animals and kings. If there were several candidates for Mary I'd either make an informed choice or do a lucky dip. I once chose the wriggliest boy to be the Star as, at least, he'd be in view all the time. He had a fabulous cheeky grin and looked really cute.

It would appear my DC1’s school have more children than commonly accepted nativity roles this year, so very very obscure “farm animals” have been cast....we have chickens, ducks, rabbits - even a blacksmith DD has been cast as one of many stars in the sky.....ie wear a gold sparkly T-shirt and stand on a platform at the back of the stage nice and easy for me on the costume front!

My dd is the narrator this year. She’s extremely proud that she’s landed that role and wants to buy a new, posh dress for the occasion

There were no Asda shiny nylon efforts.
I hate those. I used to make costumes or use the ancient ones in school if parents couldn't provide them, one grandma made an amazing angel outfit for her grandson. We made sheep and cow masks and chicken wings in class as I liked to involve the children. I think that ended when I left.

Goodness me what utter noneness people come up with on here sometimes biscuit. They are kids in a christmas play for heavens sake.

Clearly you've never met Alpha Mum who has a child who must be Mary. I once really offended the Alpha Mum when her child was Mary three times in a row because I said how disappointed she must be for her child to be typecast at such a young age.

I was always a snowflake :o

Floaty white costumes with lots of glitter. We must have shed it everywhere.

I thought angels could only be girls for years and years and refused to believe Gabriel was a boy's name because of the 90s tendency to cast him as one of the girls.

It's soooo true that Mary was always the blondest child in the class.

I do the church nativity with the kids from the Sunday school. The parents want them to be the main parts like Mary, Joseph etc. We usually have a live baby Jesus which is hotly contested for. The kids first fight over who gets to be the donkey, then narrator because they don’t have memorise lines, then all the boys fight over angel gabriel because he has a cool costume complete with swords or king Herod because he shouts a lot and are then happy to be shepherds. The girls all want to angels. Nobody ever wants to be a wise man..

Mary, Joseph, Angel Gabriel, Kings (with Herod at top as long as your dc is ok with being a baddie) other angels, shepherds, innkeepers (slightly subjective this one - have a line but boring costume and are kind of baddies, even the begrudging one with the stable), stars (though this might move up if they do an interesting dance or something) , animals, others. Narrator always goes to the best reader but costume can be dull so can be backhanded compliment.

It's soooo true that Mary was always the blondest child in the class.
Not in my class I can assure you.

I'm old (50+), there was no buying costumes in those days, we had the traditional teatowels on the head held on by snake belts, shepherds wore dads shirts with a rope tied round the middle and all the angels, of which I was one, had halos made from wire coat hangers covered in tinsel and wire coat hanger wings covered in old net curtains Ah, the nostalgia!

I got to be Mary in my first nativity play. I was so nervous, I dropped baby Jesus. I think I was a sheep the following year!

Did any one know what frankincense and myrrh actually were when they did their own nativity?

Dd was the donkey one year.
Quite a surly donkey though

DS (then 4) was given the lead role in his Xmas play and refused to wear the halo in favour of a chicken hat.. every time someone got up to say a line he would follow them around pecking the air and clucking. In all honesty I was bit mortified at first but soon realised all the kids were longing to be the “Christmas chicken” he got loads of compliments after for his stellar performance and it’s now a role in the early years nativity at his school.
Can’t wait to show his future partner his chicken dance. I don’t think the kids really care what role they are given, it’s usually the parents who are overly invested in it.

My daughter is Mary this year. She would rather be the Donkey though! Thankfully she doesn’t have any words as her recall is terrible

It depends on the production. In recent years we've staged The Hopeless Camel, The Grumpy Sheep and The Happy Donkey so any of those were the main parts. Mostly Mary and Joseph have no lines in the ones we've done.