Lines and role allocation
Every one of our Drama Clubbers is different and has joined Drama Club for different reasons, so the exact content and difficulty of lines and language will be different for every group and for every child within the group.
We want to ensure that each child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential and, as such, we often operate on role-share basis. This means that several children may play the same role at different points in the play. This not only means that everyone gets a chance to shine, but it can also help the smooth running of rehearsals and the show if people are unable to attend. Finding stories with 16 equal parts is unlikely, so we ask that you support our allocation of roles and work with us to affirm that every part is important, and that often the smaller, character roles are those that steal the scene.
Our style is process-driven and rooted in physical theatre. This means the children themselves contribute many of the ideas, from the title of the play, through to staging and lines. It also means that we use very little in terms of scenery and props, which gives our Drama Clubbers creative scope to use their bodies and physicality to create scenery and props as a group as individually. This means that even if a Drama Clubber is not speaking in a scene, there is always a vital role for them on stage – they are not just ‘standing at the back’ waiting to talk.
Sometimes during the process parts of the play get changed, roles shifted around and sometimes lines get cut. If this happens, the Leader and Assistant will always explain to the child why decisions have been made and will reassure them that they will give them some more lines later on.
Our Leaders are experts at working with children and helping them find ways to remember their lines and if a child is having difficulty, they will always try and help them first and monitor their progress across a number of weeks. It is also worth noting that Drama Clubbers can often pick up extra lines, if they want them, through showing effort, good behaviour or the absence of other children.
Whilst we always encourage our Drama Clubbers to reach their potential and push themselves, we also want Drama Club to be fun. As such, we will always encourage children to take on some challenging lines and roles. Some children, however, do not want a big part and we will respect this wish from the child and our Leaders will work to find where their enthusiasm lies and give them opportunities to do that.
If you are concerned about your child’s role or lines, please talk to your Drama Club Leader or contact the Education Manager on 01865 761393 as soon as you are aware of a problem.