Nativities - how are parts chosen?

[SteppedOnTheLego]

As the title suggests - how do kids nativity parts get chosen? When I was a kid, it was always the kindest, best behaved girl in the class who was rewarded with the coveted part of Mary, whereas the part of Joseph went to the most outgoing boy who didn’t mind having several lines but wasn’t necessarily the nicest boy, kids who were studious were narrators, the ones who’s attendance couldn’t be relied upon were carol singers etc……for reference I was cast as a bell ringer 😂
But can any primary teachers shed any light……how do they choose which kid has which part?! What are the requirements for a Mary, a Joseph, one of the Three Kings etc?!

Nepo babies

In our school, I'd say it was usually the very quiet girl who couldn't be relied on to speak audibly who would get Mary. It's not much of a role for expressing yourself!

I expect it varies hugely. When my son was 4 he got the part of Joseph - he was blonde and just about the youngest in the class and tiny and Mary was a huge boy (boy only school) towering over him so may be not the best casting!

Usually we decide on who is a confident speaker/
reader and won’t get too shy up on stage. We do take into consideration attendance incase the little one is off a lot.
We also hold auditions in the classroom, to give all children a chance. There are usually lovely little quiet ones who are desperate for the shot so it’s always nice to give them a choice to audition and decide if they are happy enough standing on the stage. We do remind children they are performing in front of family
and friends who want them to do well and no matter what happens, will be proud of them, like us.

Our nativity encompasses p1-3 with p1s being the singers, p2 acting and p3 narrating so everyone’s got a really good chance of doing something, with everyone clearly being seen.

A child who’s fairly reliable, but who also needs a bit of a confidence boost and doesn’t already have an ego.

I was always in the background, because my Mum was a teacher in the school, and she never wanted anyone to think 'nepo baby' (or whatever it was in the 1980s.)
I did once get the Narrator part, as I was a very nice little public speaker, and could read well above my age. I always wanted a part where you could dress up, though!

Yes, definitely. Mary just gets led here and there and eventually smiles at a doll.

Narrators are the reliable readers. Inn keepers and Joseph need a loud voice.

@HollaHolla me too ; I had the best narrating voice so always had the “welcome parents”‘speeches etc but I wanted to dress up!

usually a combination of most confident/brightest kids. Always the same one had speaking roles throughout the year. Having a parent in the PTA seemed to also help.

Children with good attendance too. Can't risk the main parts being off on the day.

A school my kids went to did it by height. Did away with any arguments about favouratism, it was straightforward. Tallest dark haired girl was Mary, tallest blonde girl was the Star, tallest dark haired boy was Joseph, tallest fairhaired boy was Gabriel. Then it went by height to Kings then Shepherds and angels for fair haired girls and dark haired girls wore sort of Princess Jasmine outfits and "assisted" the Kings. The most popular role for girls was assistant to Kings as they liked the costume. The inn keeper must have fitted in somewhere. The big production was year 2 and for a few months before there would be speculation about growth spurts and comparing kid, never any upset.

Younger kids went to a school where it was random and always lots of upset about main parts going to teachers/PTA members kids. It never felt very nice.

Put simply it's teacher revenge.
Naughty kid, parents a massive pain = chorus
Parent bring in stuff for teacher/quiet kids = Mary, Joseph, Wise Men
OK kids that need a break, bit noisy and talkative = Shepherds
Gang of kids who go round together = animals
Star pupil = narrator

My sister is a teacher and she says the bright kids are usually the narrators as they have the most to remember.

I think gender also factors I to the choices - all the girls want to be angels and the boys want to be wise men.

Most schools make sure every child has at least one line (don't they?), regardless of whether they are Mary/Joseph/Innkeepers/shepherds/sheep/wise men/angels/villagers or octopus number 2.

This. Boys the same.

Mary and Joseph are often minor parts these days. My DD was a Midwife... which was one of the two biggest parts. Mary and Joseph appeared in the last scene.

She was given the part because she was confident, good at reading and the teacher thought she had reliable parents to help her practice (its what I was told at parents evening!)

In contrast her elder sister played a variety of animals over the years, which she was happy about as she did not want to be seen or heard.

I think some of the above is spot on (as the parent of a very studious girl who always complains about being a narrator when she wants to be Mary, who seems to just walk in a circle round the stage in our version).

I’ve been impressed with how many parts our school has managed though - we have four camels doing a hilarious song, lots of lovely little additions so that different kids can shine / participate in a way they feel comfortable.

Having watched 90 Reception kids at a nativity last year I'd say:

30% with ability to sit still and not remember lines to songs - back row as various animals
30% ability to remember lines and sit still-ish - middle row as various animals
30% in need of crowd control - front row directly facing a row of TAs sitting on the floor in front of the first row of parents
10% able to remember lines given speaking parts

It was masterfully done and I expect honed with years of experience.

At that age, i don't think anything else came into it, they'd only been at school for half a term when parts were allocated.

DS was front row 🤦‍♀️

I was a shepherd one year. I remember my friend yanking the t-towel off my head and punching me cos 'my sheep decided to bite her'.

I think she was in the chorus every year after that.

In my school Mary was usually a quiet, well behaved brown-haired girl (including my sister one year!). No idea how the other parts were chosen. I was identified early on as having a decent singing voice, so I always had to be in the choir and never got a speaking role.

Not a teacher, I work for a church, and this time of year I'm casting nativities, choosing readers for services, picking which kids get to light advent candles etc. Depending on what kind of role it is, my criteria includes:

• will they actually be there at the service in question
• will they reliably turn up to practices (and the service itself, I've had to recast 5 mins before too many times!)
• do they actually want a speaking part and are they confident enough to have a try, or would they prefer to have a less prominent role
• are they sensible enough to not burn themselves on the candle/ throw hay at each other / beat each other with the shepherds crooks
• are they good at being funny, or more serious moments
• which children can I intentionally highlight who have additional needs / are looked after or previously looked after children / have had a really tough time this year, where it will give them and their families a boost at Christmas if we give them a chance to shine. Especially those who may be unlikely to get picked at school.

It's an absolute minefield! And I have an ongoing spreadsheet to make sure I don't keep choosing the same kids for the same things every year.

Interesting that several people mention Mary and Joseph being minor parts, in my kids nativity according to the script we’ve been sent home with, the kids with most lines are Mary, Joseph and the narrators
maybe because it’s a very small CE primary so a very traditional nativity?!

My daughter is always a narrator because she's a great reader. My son wanted to be the donkey, he asked his teacher and she let him be the donkey.

The older children, years 5&6 , have to audition for the Christmas pantomime parts.

IME - the teacher’s kids (and their mates) get the parts 🤣

DS3's teacher: DS3 has chosen to be a star!🥰

DS3: No I didn't, I want to be a robin like my best friend!😡

Me: You'll be a beautiful star darling(and the outfit's probably easier to get hold of)!

I wish mine would be shepherds so I could send in tea towels and dressing gowns, just once!

I was an angel in my nativity. I walked into the hall with my halo askew, hair all
over with a malevolent look on my face. Then proceeded to spend the entire show behind Mary pushing her hat over her eyes. I was a bastard 😂

Dd is very shy and would happily play a tree or a sheep.