School play....why do auditions???

[Schoolmum2468]

It's school play season AGAIN...and again the same old story happening again. (3x DC...always the same story)

I told DH weeks ago when we found out the play who would be given which parts. And low and behold....I was correct.

And my DC has come home in tears because they weren't given any of the parts they auditioned for. Even the extra part the teacher asked them to audition for

The child who told mine not to bother going for part A because it was their part...yup got the part

The pushy parents child got the main part (AGAIN!!!)

"Shy" children who have now come out of their shells now they're the eldest in the school.... literally background scenery.

My DC's friend is also upset because they wanted a speaking part and got 1 short line "no way" type of thing

My DC wanted an acting part and got narrator (again). They've been told in the past that it's because they're a good reader....but now in yr6 after years of being narrator (both in end of year plays and Xmas nativities) they thought for the last play in primary they would try really hard to get an acting part.

So what is the point of asking children which part they want and going through auditions if teachers are going to ignore all that and just chose who they want.

And why not give other children a little bit of a chance in the spotlight if they want it. Chances are the shyer ones are going to be even more lost in secondary and this may be their last chance. It's a school play....why not add lines for children who want them. It's primary school not a theatre production!!!

If any teachers can explain why they do this year upon year....please enlighten me.

I’m going to bite because I’m a primary teacher. This really is not the norm. It sounds like you have had a bad run but instead of being annoyed about it keep encouraging your kids to try for parts in secondary if that is what they want.

In terms of pushy parents/confident kids - 2/3 of my children got the lead role this year, they are not loud kids, one is shy. It’s a big school. I didn’t know until they brought scripts home and certainly didn’t hint in any way they should get it. It just doesn’t work like that.

When I was a kid, in my class, there was a kid who did drama lessons outside of school. They always got the prime part. I supposed it helped, that her parents paid for things for the school. Then the good looking kids got prime parts too. In year 6, the teachers son, who was in her class, also got prime parts too. It put a lot of us off auditioning, as it was a foregone conclusion.

School here has a talent show and every year it’s won by a child who does extra lessons outside of school. So a nice paid for prize. Not all families have the means to pay for piano lessons.

They are all equal? It’s not a level playing field is it really? Which makes a mockery of the uniform policy.

Not once in my post did I mention "the best". Before any performance, my primary consideration is who wants a speaking part and, as I said, I give any child who wants one at least one line. Shy kids are not discounted. That's the very reason I let kids try out, so those who might not show in class that they would be good at doing a part can demonstrate that they can.

My own DC are the shyest children you will ever meet. One of them even has selective mutism so I'm extremely aware of giving opportunities to shy kids. They have still always auditioned for the school plays and been given a speaking part based on how they auditioned. They would never have got one based on how quiet they are in class.

Again, as I said before, I teach in a one-form entry school and my DC go to one, so probably easier to give parts to all those who want one than in schools with larger year groups. Most schools buy in scripts and though they often have a lot of parts there probably won't be 60+.

It's also very unusual, in my experience, to be in that many plays in primary school. It's usually KS1 Christmas play, where Year 2 get the speaking roles and Year 6 end of school production. By the time the kids are in year 6, nobody can remember who did what in Year 2.

I can tell you that organising a play is a huge amount of stress and effort for staff and takes up a lot of time. Endless rehearsals meaning you miss much-needed teaching time. Evenings at school for performances. Time and money spent on props and costumes because there are always kids that don't come in with what you've asked for.

Every year our primary school has a maths competition. Every year the competition is won by a child whose parents pay for extra maths tuition. That’s how it goes.

Children who attend drama, singing, music,dance, dance, football, rugby, swimming, netball, running classes will be better than those who don’t. Who would have guessed eh?

I'm a primary school teacher - and the mum of a perpetual narrator. I can only imagine your child's disappointment and your affront on their behalf.

Here's a few thoughts...

1. I genuinely don't know what each child did in the play last year. When they join my class at 9, I'll be informed of roughly where they are academically, any barriers to learning, friendship difficulties and so on. But I probably didn't see their performance as an 8, 7, 6, 5 year old. I don't know if they were an angel, a sheep or a wise man at the age of three.
2. Not everyone can get what they want. That can be disappointing, especially if they expected one thing and got something different. But no-one can have 6 actors in the same role: you have to choose. Which doesn't feel fair.
3. Sometimes the choice is difficult. We have to pick between kids who both did really well in audition.
4. Plays are a lot of work! It's not practical to write and rewrite them (trust me, I've tried!).
5. It's not the teachers' main focus. In Y6, it's a welcome relief from all of the (may I say unnecessary) stress of SATs. A little comic relief. But those teachers particularly work incredibly hard under immense pressure - hats off to them - so they have mused and struggled with how to get those children to progress, and that's their main reason focus, whilst being nurse-mum-counsellor-mediator-advocate etc.
6. These emotions can be a great learning point. In education, resilience is one of the key learning behaviours. If your child can be led to process their disappointment and overcome it, they can come back more determined, and this will proel them forward as a person, and as a learner.
7. It's not their only chance. They can do drama in secondary school. They can audition for plays there, or maybe attend stage school out of school. They can work to home their skills.
8. Teachers know their class. They really do try to fit the characters to the roles.
9. Pushiness doesn't pay. I am more inclined to be accommodating (e.g. over seating arrangements) to parents who ask and explain the impact on their child, rather than those who make demands.

Hope you get some closure on this, albeit emotionally. x

No, that’s not how that logic works at all. Every child can be included in the play, and will gain the skills associated with that. Every child is included at maths lessons. If there was a mathlete competition, only those 6 best maths children would be included in that.

Same with sports day - I think sports day is generally rubbish but I don’t suggest hobbling the best runners so all the kids get a chance to win. It doesn’t work that way!

When we had sports days there were winners as there should be as realistically its a good life lesson all round that we can't always be the best at something (and that's okay) but we can still celebrate others achievements; but we could all take part and everyone got some kind of congratulations from the teacher afterwards as we walked back through the classroom door. Mine was usually along the lines (but more diplomatically) well done for trying even though you suck. It did give me confidence to do it again the next year.

Pretty school stuff never used to be as perfect though, like school plays were often shite but part of the learning and enjoyment was the prep (admittedly more time to do so in lesson time appreciate its more in teachers own time now which is awful)- no one goes expecting Shakespeare or an Olivier winning cast and performance.

I work in Primary school and know that at most schools every child gets the opportunity to do everything. Drama is an integral part of the curriculum- teachers use it throughout other subjects such as English, History, PSCHE, RE etc. to help children understand characters and bring a less formal way of learning to the curriculum. There are often drama workshops provided externally linked to a particular topic for the whole class, there are opportunities to come to the front and help in assemblies, there are chances for children to make a speech in front of others to campaign to be class council rep.

Therefore, the teachers know full well which children enjoy performing, which children can perform reliably for an audience etc. They are are all nurtured and encouraged and the shy ones praised for small achievements to and encouraged to step out of their comfort zones. But at the end of the day when it comes to a big performance like a pantomime, where it's going to watched by several hundred parents it is usually auditioned for as that is a fair way of choosing- those with the best skills get the best parts because that's the way you produce a good show, although everyone is involved in some way.

Why should school plays be any different from other subjects? For example, every child takes part in regular PE lessons- but if there is a competition between other schools then of course they pick the most able. Every child does English daily- but for a recent local poetry competition, those that wanted to enter wrote a poemt and the best poems were picked to be entered- they didn't choose mediocre ones they knew wouldn't win to 'give them chance'.

Plays are competitions though are they? If they're seen as such then why? Has the fun been removed from every aspect of school now?

Meant to say aren't competitions

In an ideal world that is true, but not all teachers really do know their pupils that well. I remember that in DS's year there were a couple of kids in the year 6 production who were absolutely brilliant and brought the house down, yet we had never seen them before other than in the standard bit parts like shepherds in the nativity play. Throughout his school career, it had always been the same children in the leading roles who had loud voices but couldn't act for toffee - we always suspected one got cast because her mother was.a teacher. The difference was that in year 6 they had a teacher who was new to the school and cast solely on merit.

But of course kids can still take part. They can take part in many different ways outside of the leading roles if they’re not suited to the leading role! Same as how children can still participate in sports day even when they come dead last in every single event.

Maybe they are just better at acting? And they got thr part because they are good and will do well

@Thinkingpod "Maybe they are just better at acting? And they got thr part because they are good and will do well." Yes, that is why my kids got the main parts every bloody year. They were good at it. One of them now makes an (almost!) living doing it. But that's no reason for a school not managing plays in such a way that other kids never get a look in. Interestingly, my actor child also runs a youth drama group and makes absolutely sure that there are no stand out parts in the annual performance. They have a showcase where those that want to can have stage time as individuals or small groups, but the main show is inclusive.

When I taught in y6, everyone had a chance to do a speaking role.

I always chose the ones who did the best at the audition to play the parts.

I understand that some parents are disappointed but in reality, nobody wants to sit through 1.5 hours of school play whilst the lead mumbles their way through the lines with a blank face.

I think it’s just life - you don’t get picked for the sports teams because you’re just ‘okay’ at the sport.

Sorry, just to follow up - I gave all the children three pages from the script with three characters on and they all read the same thing then I chose from them - this was after my second production where some of the kids had ‘decided’ on their role before we’d even seen them. Gotta manage those expectations!

I love how all the parents of shy, quiet children all fervently believe the main purpose of a school play should be for everyone else's children to take a step back so as to give their child a chance to shine. If they were any good, they'd be the ones getting complained about by others. I don't want my DCs wasting their time being props so that less talented kids can 'have a go'. That's what the drama lessons are for. They had their chance. The end of term shows are the reward for having done well in class. We need to stop treating mediocrity as a virtue, and start celebrating excellence. If you want your kid to have the lead part - become that pushy parent. Enrol them in Lambda. Take them to the theatre. Get them to put on plays for family and friends in their own time. Get them to join a choir. Make sure they have 100% attendance at school. Signal to the school that you are invested - maybe by joining the PTA. Or by helping with the productions even when your DCs aren't involved. Be the one that the other parents complain about (and they will ...). All of this will earn your child the right to be Joseph. Otherwise, you just come across as a deluded parent of a mediocre kid.

The end of term shows are the reward for having done well in class
No, I'm pretty sure it isn't. Or for 100% attendance. Or Mummy joining the PTA. What are you on? 😂

@Mark19735 "I don't want my DCs wasting their time being props so that less talented kids can 'have a go'."

Actually, that is exactly what I wanted for my children!

You funny @Mark19735 😂😂

Seems to be a common occurrence. My youngest (DS8) gets really fed up with it and my eldest (now 21) used to have plenty to say about it. I agree OP and don't know why the schools bother making anyone audition when they've already given the parts out to the same kids.

Of course school plays are competitive- the roles are up for grabs and children are competing for them- unless it’s a specially engineered play with 60 equal parts then someone has to win the lead role!

The idea that teachers give the main parts to kids of their favourite parents or children who are loud but talentless while all the real talented actors sit at the back is laughable! Teachers aren’t stupid like MN seems to think they are.

This thread is just full of disgruntled parents who are pissed off that teachers don’t see their average kids as the ‘stars’ they think they are. I’ve been involved with many a school play over the years- teachers pick the kids they think will be the best performers - end of- and generally give every kid the chance to prove themselves, and actually love to see a shy kid become confident enough to take centre stage. Loudmouths really are NOT the teachers favourites- I know that for sure!

Yeah, right! And you'd be happy for a bunch of talentless footballers to be picked for the school team and be thrashed to bits by other schools?