Middle School Theatre Program

I was lucky enough to begin working in a library with a strong group of middle school students that swells to about 50 kids during the summer and is usually between 25 – 35 during the school year.  Each fall the kids try-out for roles in our Enchanted Library program.  And in the spring we offer a number of short plays adapted from books or reader’s theatre scripts for the kids to perform.  I encourage all the kids to try out or get involved working backstage and I only have a few rules – (1) the kids come excited and ready to practice and (2) if you try-out, you will definitely get a part.  This has led me to times where I’ve had to add a part or two to ensure everyone gets a role, but I believe this is important for the kids to know up front.

We held try-outs last Wednesday and we have an excited group of 18 kids that are interested in participating in our spring show.  After tryouts, we have about 6 weeks to practice and perform the show.  The kids meet here at the library one evening a week to practice with a dress rehearsal a day or two before the show.  There have been times where kids have to miss practice due to family obligations, sports, schoolwork, etc. but our kids are usually very good about practicing at home and always pull the show together in the end.  We have found the kids prefer acting to the typical reader’s theatre format of just reading the script while sitting down, so we usually try to find scripts that are simple enough for us to use concerning costumes, backdrops, and props.  In past years, we have focused on different authors such as Margie Palatini and Mo Willems, but we decided to do something different this year.  For our plays we chose E-Mergency! by Tom Lichtenheld, A Porcupine Named Fluffy by Helen Lester, Holler Loudly! by Cynthia Leitich Smith, and A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon.  For the most part, these books focus on being happy with who you are – an important concept for young children.

Middle school students are by nature – dramatic individuals and I am always pleasantly surprised at how well the kids get into their roles and really understand their characters.  Often it is the quiet kids that turn into the real stars of the show.  The middle school thespians perfrom the plays for families with young children in the evening and the families are always very appreciative of their hard work and thank them profusely.  This helps the library in that we get a great bang for our buck by creating a program for both the middle school students in the practice and performance and for young children in the performance.  This is a great way to encourage middle school students to come into the library and give back to their community.  If you have any questions about our program or where we foudn our scripts – send me a message!