"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?

At our school, Mary and Joseph are the worst roles. Only non speaking parts. The main role (as in the most lines) is something completely random like a camel or a tree.

I was always a snowflake

But were you a special snowflake?

stucknoue I had a Whoopsadaisy Angel too - proud Mum moment, right up until she howled so much they had to promote her from star to extra angel on the day her alternate had the role.

The local paper featured Mary and Joseph regardless.

Her younger sister was a common or garden angel the following year but she and her friend (who has beautiful angelic red hair) stole the whole show sitting in the front row squabbling and bashing wings.

My youngest refused to participate unless she got to be a camel.

CherryPavlova
My daughter was once a human calculator.

I feel there is more to this story than you have let on and you should tell us the rest.

I always remember ‘sparrow number three’ being the most wanted part. I’m sure any actor approaching that role needs to give a high amount of gravitas. The audience certainly enjoyed it

Recently my grandchildren have been: a sheep, a cowboy, an angel, an elephant and a spaceman.
One of them this year is going to be a turkey. I am not sure how we are going to make that costume.....

When dd was in her first nativity at nursery she desperately wanted to play the part of 'the Jesus baby'. She was most disappointed to find that the part was already taken by a doll and she was in fact playing sheep number 3.

All in black, red hat with a rubber glove attached averylongtime

I was quite pleased that DD is narrator this year - less so when she said "but there's loads of them!". She coveted an angel role... and her best friend is "the main angel" according to her so there's serious role envy a play.

My DS peaked as Joseph in nursery. He was a chicken in reception though and has never again reached those dizzy heights. As a train-obsessed 3 year old he did chug his way to Bethlehem though so he wasn't really cut out for it.

I was very proud when DS1 was Alien#1. It was a narrator role with the most lines. I suspect he clinched that role by breaking with tradition making a spontaneous acceptance speech for Star of the Week in assembly a few weeks before practice began I'll credit him, he's one of the top 3 in the class that can be clearly heard at the back of the hall.
I was quite touched when he was younger and had a choice of shepherd or angel and he chose angel. He was small enough to fit into a pillowcase! One other boy chose angel too.

DS2's this year has quite a fair spread of lines across groups like the shepherds and angels.

The hierachy will vary from script to script. There will be a range in each class of children who don't want to talk, children who aren't very clear but willing and children who are good at acting and clear to follow.

I was gutted when I was just a villager in normal clothes with nothing to do but walk up in a line and present a wrapped up shoe box as a gift at the end. I really wanted to be an actress and in the absence of a talking role wanted to be an angel and wear my white bridesmaid dress..

I think that the child(ren) with the solo and the child with the most number of lines (narrator?) need to be factored in too. Mary is obviously a major character in theory but she doesn't speak in the nativities that's I've watched.
From a child's perspective I wanted to be a star or angel but got cast as innkeeper's wife and narrator. I wouldn't have said no to singing solo either.

I was one of two clowns in my first nativity. It was a Catholic primary school in the mid eighties!

The only one of my DC to do a nativity so far has been a "villager" and, the following year, a "town citizen." I'm not sure that the difference was as he wore the same costume on both occasions and the role involved walking across the stage once during a song. He was proud of his accomplishments nonetheless, as were we.

As a child I was always the narrator because I was good at reading outloud and remembering lines. But I was always stood off to the side, almost unseen by the audience, whilst the action was happening on stage. I wanted to be Mary but was never given the chance. My illustrious career as a lead actress earning millions stalled before it had even begun. I am still good at reading though

DD played Herod one year at church. I suspect it was because when she played an angel the year before, she'd been involved in a brawl with the shepherds during the service...!

It’s many a year since I was in a nativity but, aside from the main roles, I remember the hierarchy being tree, star and angels, with angels being the best. I was gutted to be a tree in my first nativity but was thankfully promoted to angel in my second. You got to wear a tinsel halo which, for a six year old, was the very pinnacle of achievement

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

No, but neither did the teachers, judging by the props they used to represent them. Ours were just cardboard boxes covered in different colours of metallic paper - gold for gold, obviously, silver for frankincense, and purple for myrrh. For years, whenever I thought of myrrh I had a Pavlovian reaction that made me crave Dairy Milk.

The prettiest blonde girl was always Mary at my school. I didn't qualify for either criterion, but I did usually get to be an angel, which wasn't a speaking role but did involve standing at the front with your arms out to the sides, and you got a tinsel halo. I didn't like speaking so I was fine with that. Animal roles were also popular because you got to clown about and make baaing noises or whatever. But this being the early 80s, not everyone got a part. Once all the roles had been cast, anyone left over just had to be in the choir.

Loving some of these tales! Nothing sweeter or funnier than a wee ones nativity! Marys frequently slam baby Jesus into the crib in a highly unmaternal manner! Someone always needs a wee. Someone always waves at the audience. The tinies always sing "rocking" and bump elbows when someone goes the wrong way. My mum remembers my dragon of a nursery school headmistress telling parents before the kids came in to perform that "we laugh with them, NEVER at them"! A school my aunt worked in once had Gabriel bring the baby Jesus doll to Mary, to show he'd come from God. As Gabriel handed the doll over, the little girl playing the angel said to Mary-"don't get too fond of him, he'll be dead for Easter!"

There are lots more plays with animals/stars etc as the main part now, too and as much as I love the basic story, it's nice to see some variation. One year our star part went by default to the best recorder player- it was about a shepherd girl who could only bring her gift of song to the baby Jesus.

I never found the narrator costume "boring", to answer a Pp. I was grateful; would much rather have worn one of my own pretty dresses than have to dress up as a man (never wore trousers & still don't, went to an all girl school so someone would have to "man-up", frequently me with short hair & a deep voice and they always had boring costumes in comparison to others) or an animal (usually too hot or everyone laughed at ears/tail) or having to wear something of dubious ancient origin from the school costume cupboard. Being a 90s kid I think I had a blouse & pinafore dress both times I narrated - both of which would've been favourite outfits . Always felt really sorry for a girl at a friends school; she'd been cast as a donkey early on in her school career & was a donkey there after because "she'd got most of the costume already". Even years later, people remembered "Emily H was always the donkey"!

The Angel Gabrielle, The Star & Herod normally get solos to sing at our school!

I am pleased to read that my DD wasn't the only Mary to drop Jesus. I'm sure Jesus has been dropped thousands of times.

DD is at uni and tagged me in a thing on FB saying those who played Mary or Joseph in the nursery/school play, statistically go on to be higher earners

One of the best school nativity plays I've been to starred little Freddy as the Inn Keeper. Freddie was the son of the local entrepreneur, so he knew a good customer when he saw one.

When a weary Joseph asked for a room at the inn, Freddie cheerfully replied, "Yes, certainly, come on inside, we've lots of rooms."
A terrible stunned silence fell over the whole cast, broken only by the sound of suppressed laughter as the Headmistress tried to stuff a hankie in her mouth.

When I was in infant school I remember being the star that Mary and Joseph followed one year. I think other than that I was a shepherd?

My younger sister was once the door to the inn Mary and Joseph "knocked" on her back and she had to turn around and wag her finger and say "there's no room at the inn!" And then Mary and Joseph moved off to find another inn

I'm sure there was a thread sometime last year where many primary teachers confessed that actually, being cast as Mary is not really a great compliment, as they always give it to a nice but slightly vacant child as all they have to do is sit there and look cute

I was the narrator one year which everyone was jealous of! I was also Gabriel one year despite being a girl.....although I think it's because I'd been off with tonsillitis but they still wanted to give me a good part!

Oh yes the innkeeper always seemed to be given to someone confident and funny