to feel disappointed over nativity casting

[madamearcati]

We are a small village school and every year the school has a nativity and so does the unattached pre-school.
It always seems to be the nicest looking children who are the angels and Mary and Joseph. The ones with the round cherubic faces ,pink cheeks and usually blonde hair
It can't be coincidence !In fact I once heard the TA discussing whether it would be 'ok' to cast an absolutely drop dead gorgeous mixed race little girl as an angel (because of her colouring )
Before the inevitable 'sour grapes' comments I would like to point out that my DD will be off for the nativity this year recovering from a minor operation.

I am at TA's comment!!

i had brown curly hair as a child and have never forgotten that imo due the the small class size (7 girls) we were all angels, the ones with long blonde hair and me

• last year at DS2's infant school Joseph was a Pakistani boy, who also happens to be a practising Muslim, and Mary at the Juniors was a black girl - with an absolutely gorgeous voice (that has nothing to do with her colour I know - but Imentioned it as I'm that she attends another church so I can't nab her for my church choir so thankfully I know that wouldn't happen at the DS's school.

One of the teachers at our school is like this. She has all the best looking children in her class (she is the head of year).

Am astonished at the TA though. My dd is mixed race and I would have gone MENTAL if I had overheard anything like that. She was a snowflake.

well i am a bit gutted that despite ds' teacher raving about his confidence and ability dramatically he will be a baby reindeer. And once dd got cast as Mary (hallelujah ) but was so naughty in rehearsals it was taken away from her....

Really?!
Glad my dc will be going to a nice, multicultural school in the city if this is true. If this is true what the TA said, I'd be kicking up a stink and reporting it tbh.

MAry and Joseph were from Egypt (weren't they?) so really no little blond/blue-eyed kids should be chosen anyway (apart from the fact they are ACTING. And it's a primary school).

oh well I doubt the DS's will be anything this year - they do a "traditional" nativity at both the infant and junior schools so no "extras" - you don't get a part - tough shit really. Although they're quite good as they do try and "spread out" the various parts/readings through the year so that most children get to do something, and if they miss out totally during one school year they seem to make sure they're involved (in reading or "part") in the first thing they do in the next school year.

at TA's comments.
In our school it's usually the children who are more articulate or confident who are chosen for speaking roles - a lot of them would prefer not to have a speaking role and are happy being sheep and donkeys on the sidelines!

Our school just picks the children who are the best at saying the lines. I would be bloody annoyed if I overheard the TAs comments. It is hard to believe that people even think like that let alone actually act upon it.

My DD was Mary a few years ago and hated it because Mary is silent. She really wanted to be the donkey last year - but the donkey is ALWAYS the most coveted role in her class

My dd was cast as Mary because she knew the nativity story when her peers didn't, she's not blonde or cherubic although lovely in my eyes
My other dd was a wise man because she did the best camel riding impression She had been Mary the year before but much preferred the wise man costume.
Pretty sure the cast at our school isn't chosen on appearance though.

ahh at the DS's schools they do the "narration" through songs/bible readings - so the children that are cast don't generally have to say anything (although the junior school often doesn't a "musical" style one so they do need to be fairly confident at singing).

That TA is a racist. End of.

As if Mary, if she ever even existed, was blonde and blue eyed, anyway...

Wow, what a nice TA.

We live in a little village too. When ds was at pre school here, when it came time for the christmas things, I got pulled aside and told it was ok if I didn't want ds to attend the week before xmas if the sctivities would offend me.

I am a quater indian, and a bloody catholic ffs. My olive skin obviouslt threw them.

Agree with the others - it's down to whether the child is confident enough to speak, absolutely nothing to do with colouring. Probably the most beautiful girl in my younger son's class is mixed race and she's also very popular (and this is in a predominantly white school, ie under 10 non whites in the entire school).

When my DS's were at nursery school DS1 was the Innkeeper and DS2 was the Narrator (with a mic!), he loved standing up in front of everyone!

A career on the stage beckons methinks

Off-topic for a moment, but I remember dd1 being pissed off about not having much of a speaking part in the Nativity at Infant School- she was one of the three inn-keepers expected to sadly shake their head and perhaps gesture to the stable in the middle distance...instead she scuppered proceedings by flinging open the imaginary door when Joseph knocked and cried "Of course- would you like an en-suite?"

That buggered things up for a while...

My Dses have never had starring roles either, and I always maintain that it's the children of parents likely to kick up a stink who get the main parts (and I don't care if any of you think it is sour grapes ). The last 2 christmases at this school, and again this year, it is the same girl who is playing the lead role in the "activity " play (as DS2 insists it's called)her mother is always up at the school and DS2 says she is in the class first thing complaining and then after school too, the mother that is not the girl, so I think they give her the lead role to keep the mother quiet.

Am looking forward to all this parental nativity angst!

Bitoffun, love your dd's improvising. She sounds hilarious.

None of the reception children speak ,the older ones do the narration, so it definitely can't be that.

Saltire I can promise you I have never had any input into my DC's roles.

But if it works in your school maybe you should try it?

Mine have never had star rating, but I always assumed it was because they had no ...err....actual talent. The children who got the parts were not always better looking (sometimes they were that too), but they were usually good on the stage. When it's done like that, I have absolutely no quibbles.

My DD was Mary in Yr1 and I wouldn't say she was the prettiest kid in the class at all. Bobbed brown hair and specs. They said they'd chosen her as they knew they could rely on her to behave and sit still.

Saltire - last year the Nursery childrn had their Nativity castings given by letter to their family at pick up. I opened the letter to find that dd2 had been cast as Mary. I went back to the teacher with the letter to suggest there had possibly been a mistake, and did we have the wrong letter! So I suspect you are not entirely correct in your assumption

I did feel relieved when ds had a non-speaking part this year, he just wouldn't want to practise at home. I haven't noticed that the most 'angelic' looking children get the best parts, it goes on who could be relied on and learn the lines.

BitofFun - LOL! your dd sounds a character.

Saltire, that sort of parent often has an impact on whom I choose for roles.

Like the one who came into my class waving her daughter's Saturday drama queen certificate when I was casting for the Summer production.

I tend to be very impressed and discuss how wonderful for a few moments, then lead into how I'm sure they'd understand the need for other children to be given the same wonderful opportunity to discover their geniusnosity.
Therefore the child is going to be third village goat and can they please brush up on their method acting by practicing goatish behaviour.

Oh, and we have had every possible combination of ethnicities playing all lead parts over the years. Odd how human prejudices get in the way of a good story.