How far in advance do you start rehearsing?
Rehearsals begin in weekly Drama lessons where the children learn their lines and actions in January. In Music, the children start learning their class song and year group songs in January, too. Then the children have a few dance sessions to learn the dance for their scene, starting in February.
How do you come up with the story for the show each year?
Choosing the right show each year can be a surprisingly delicate process. We need something that fits the number of children and classes we have, while also being achievable within the time we have to rehearse.
There are a number of excellent school musical companies we regularly draw from, and we select productions that not only suit our cohort but also offer the children a joyful, engaging experience. It’s always a balance of logistics and creativity, and finding the right fit is incredibly rewarding.
How do you assign roles?
In the Primary 3 production, we don’t include solo speaking parts. Instead, the children perform in small groups, often in groups of four, depending on the scene. This approach ensures that every child has support on stage and can grow in confidence as part of a team. It also means no one feels the pressure of standing alone, and the shared experience helps build a strong sense of camaraderie within the year group.
Who’s involved in creating the production?
The Teaching Assistants prepare costumes, the Music, Drama, and Dance teachers develop the performance elements in lessons, the Class Teachers support the children day-to-day, and the Production Team creates and dresses the set and manages the lighting and sound.
During show week, we start layering in all the final elements: entrances and exits, transitions, headbands or headdresses, lighting cues, and finally costumes.
What’s your favourite part of the process?
My favourite moment is always show week. The Primary 3 production is such a collaborative endeavour, and that final week is when everything truly comes together.
When we enter the theatre space, the children see each other’s scenes for the first time and begin to understand how their hard work fits into the bigger picture. It’s the only production that every child participates in as part of the curriculum, and that sense of whole year collaboration is incredibly special.
One of my favourite traditions is when the Primary 1 and 2 children come to watch the dress rehearsal on the Thursday morning. It gives them a glimpse of what they will experience when they reach Primary 3, and it’s wonderful for former teachers to see how far the children have come.
Then there’s the moment just before the show begins, when the whole Primary 3 year group gathers on the stairs. They spot their families in the audience, their faces light up, and you can feel their excitement and pride. It’s a beautiful reminder of why we do what we do, those small, magical moments that mean so much to the children and to us as staff.
