Thread: Anyone Ever Done 'Drama Club'?

Are fees needed for a drama club, especially if you're just starting out? I've seen drama clubs with annual fees of no more than $10 with $7 for returning members. The fees should be nominal - just enough to pay for paint and other simple supplies.

First things first, you will need members.

You'll have to have some sort of idea regarding your productions. What kind of plays will you put on? Drama? Comedy? Mystery? Musical? A lot of what happens will have to be based upon student participation AND casting.

You can't put on West Side Story if you don't have anyone who can play Maria. You certainly can't put on a musical if you don't have anyone who can sing.

If you're taking over an existing drama club, check to see what resources they already have. Are there existing members? Are there scripts? Ar there costumes, backdrops, or props?

If you don't have lots of props, costumes, and backdrops, then keep your first productions simple. Plays based upon contemporary settings will be a lot easier to produce than plays with historical themes.

Once you have members and have selected a play that's feasible to implement, it's time to start casting.

Members will have to audition for their parts. Use this as an opportunity to also do some teaching. Focus on delivery, body language, clarity of voice, and so forth. Be positive! Offer constructive feedback. Remember - this is a club! It's supposed to be reasonably fun.

Don't worry if there aren't parts for everyone in your play. You WILL NEED someone for music and sound effects, lighting, and backdrop creation/design. In between scenes, someone will have to change the props and backdrops. You may also want to have someone in charge of costumes so that there's not a lot of fumbling around back stage with actors and actresses looking for bits and pieces of their wardrobe.

Drama clubs can be loads of fun but as the producer/director, you'll be the person jump starts this activity by "making things happen." The students will look to you for leadership but once casting calls have been completed and everyone has a part whether it's acting or support, you'll be surprised at how quickly things can come together.

Originally Posted by David Chin

Are fees needed for a drama club, especially if you're just starting out? I've seen drama clubs with annual fees of no more than $10 with $7 for returning members. The fees should be nominal - just enough to pay for paint and other simple supplies.

First things first, you will need members.

You'll have to have some sort of idea regarding your productions. What kind of plays will you put on? Drama? Comedy? Mystery? Musical? A lot of what happens will have to be based upon student participation AND casting.

You can't put on West Side Story if you don't have anyone who can play Maria. You certainly can't put on a musical if you don't have anyone who can sing.

If you're taking over an existing drama club, check to see what resources they already have. Are there existing members? Are there scripts? Ar there costumes, backdrops, or props?

If you don't have lots of props, costumes, and backdrops, then keep your first productions simple. Plays based upon contemporary settings will be a lot easier to produce than plays with historical themes.

Once you have members and have selected a play that's feasible to implement, it's time to start casting.

Members will have to audition for their parts. Use this as an opportunity to also do some teaching. Focus on delivery, body language, clarity of voice, and so forth. Be positive! Offer constructive feedback. Remember - this is a club! It's supposed to be reasonably fun.

Don't worry if there aren't parts for everyone in your play. You WILL NEED someone for music and sound effects, lighting, and backdrop creation/design. In between scenes, someone will have to change the props and backdrops. You may also want to have someone in charge of costumes so that there's not a lot of fumbling around back stage with actors and actresses looking for bits and pieces of their wardrobe.

Drama clubs can be loads of fun but as the producer/director, you'll be the person jump starts this activity by "making things happen." The students will look to you for leadership but once casting calls have been completed and everyone has a part whether it's acting or support, you'll be surprised at how quickly things can come together.

Thanks for some input David, I'm about to bust! I teach in ps-8th parochial school. We're making available to 4th grade up. We haven't any costumes, scripts, scenery. Heck no stage, unless I can fit each scene up on the altar of the church, (unlikely, hee, hee).

I've already spoken to the jr. high kids, they know that there must be financial compensation for myself and another teacher that will help. Several parents had stopped me before school ended to say they thought it was a great idea and recognize the need to help and pay for what's needed. I'm fortunate that most of the parents are more than comfortable financially. Those kids that do not have the money, will still be able to participate, as they are not many in numbers.

Since we'll probably need to use the gym, I don't think a musical is our best bet, not to mention I wouldn't really know how to go about that yet. One of my going to be 8th graders suggested we write our own script, based on school experiences with each teacher, using humor and affection, (we do not have a quick turnover in our school, so this may actually be doable). This idea has the added benefits of making roles for the younger students, with teacher roles for the older. Then there is the fact that their uniforms become the costumes and scenery wouldn't need to be changed, much.

My understanding if I were to purchase scripts is that each person needs their own, that copying is NOT allowed. Part of the problem is I don't want it 'way over the top' expenses wise.

I know the art teacher will help with scenery, I have already lined up a 20 something teacher that will help with choreography. The 5th grade teacher has agreed to be an assistant.

We're planning on the first 'performance' in April or May, so we have plenty of time as far as rehearsals and such. The problem for me is planning how I'm going to attack this!

One good piece of news that I received last week, the 3rd grade teacher, who volunteered to help with the choregraphy was asked by the principal if she'd start a cheer squad. That should reduce the numbers that want to do drama, I'm hoping.

Why did I go along with this idea THIS year, as it's also an evaluation year for our school and I'm already committed to checking the social studies lessons for each grade. Sigh. Over committed seems an understatement right now.

Okay - so you're starting out from scratch.

First things first:

1) I understand you need compensation for your time. Figure out what you're worth. Decide how many hours you'll put into this. Estimate the number of students who are interested based upon an initial survey. Divide the expected compensation by the anticipated number of students to get a rough idea regarding minimum charges. You'll probably want to add at least $5.00 extra to this to develop a fund for basic supplies.

2) Solicit contributions. You won't be able to charge enough to buy everything you'll need. What will you need? Rolls of butcher paper, paint, and brushes for backdrops, cheap props (available through flea markets or discounted sales from costume shops after Halloween), a sound system, music, microphones etc.

3) Develop an accounting system. Since you're taking money for your services and will also be managing funds for the group, it's important for your professional integrity that you maintain adequate records showing where all this money is going. Go to an office supply store and get a ledger. Set up a simple bookkeeping system that shows the following: amount received, date, and from whom and amount paid, date, reason for expenditure, and person or place paid. You will also want to pick up some carbon receipts. When students make their membership payments, issue a receipt. Keep the original and give the yellow carbon to the students.

4) Find a play. Some plays are public domain and may be legally copied. How do you know when a play has entered public domain? Here is a link to a legal guideline: [url]http://www.angelfire.com/or/Copyright4Producers/chart.html[/url]

Specific sources for free scripts?

The WWW Virtual Library for Theatre and Drama. This is a public domain site with links to various plays. Some plays have a nominal charge for downloading (presumably to pay for the cost of site maintenance). For your own safety, verify that any play you find on-line actually falls within the public domain using the above angelfire.com link.

[url]http://vl-theatre.com/list4.shtml[/url]

5) Select a play. A drama club is usually not a democracy although a savvy producer will consider the wants/needs of the students. Left to themselves, students will take an inordinate amount of time poring over scripts and arguing about which one to select. Jump start the process by selecting a play. Again - consider your members along with their strengths and attributes.

Since you're just starting out, I'd keep everything as simple as possible.

Instead of a multiple act play, consider the possibility of a one act play. If your school has a band or orchestra or singing group, you might see about combining production activities with other groups.

Keep in mind that a drama club doesn't have to be a play. The initial one act play could be supplemented with story telling ... poetry ... pantomime ... possibly creative dance ...

Thanks for that David! Some very good ideas and pointers there. I'm going to get going on this, this week.

On 07-09-2007 01:03 PM David Chin posted:

Some plays are public domain and may be legally copied. How do you know when a play has entered public domain? Here is a link to a legal guideline: [url="http://www.angelfire.com/or/Copyright4Producers/chart.html"]http://www.angelfire.com/or/Copyright4P ... chart.html[/url]

I am the author of the cited Webpage, which. for reasons not clear to me, has been removed from the host site -- the chart was part of the kept-current online version of an article published in the Summer 1999 issue of the Educational Theatre Association quarterly Teaching Theatre, (Volume 10, Number 4)

Meanwhile, the entire article as published is archived in PDF form on the EdTA Website at
[url]http://www.edta.org/pdf_archive/copyright2252001155629.pdf[/url]

Kevin N Scott
[url]http://www.geocities.com/k_n_scott[/url]