More a question about shows...and creating them...

JoyLily

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2019
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Mesquite, NV
Okay, so I'm having issues finding any information on it. I'm a researcher so it's making it difficult.

My goal is to have a children's show created with a few popular kids songs (ABC's, Lion Sleeps Tonight, etc.) but the filler stuff I'm not sure what to put...

Namely, the talky bits. Transitions from song to song. I'm thinking of creating a story around them, but I'm trying to find examples, and ideas, and how to's on creating kids shows.

When I google anything I get either educational programming for schools or rehab centers, or lists of tv shows, or things that don't even relate.

So...I couldn't think of where to put this except in gig's and shows and if that's not right, let me know...

1. How have you created your gig or show?
2. Do you have any suggestions for creating a gig or show geared towards kids?
3. General gig creation help??

Thank you.
 
A few of us in my uke group will play for kids in UCLA/Mattel Children's Hospital. We also give away ukuleles to the kids that show interest or are old enough. Our leader always makes a point of engaging the child by asking if they play an instrument and when appropriate, has them play a song with us.

You might to try that, bring an extra uke and call up a volunteer to learn a one chord song, in our case it's "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in the key of C since it's only one finger to make the C chord, and have all the other kids sing along. The idea is to have audience participation.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
A few of us in my uke group will play for kids in UCLA/Mattel Children's Hospital. We also give away ukuleles to the kids that show interest or are old enough. Our leader always makes a point of engaging the child by asking if they play an instrument and when appropriate, has them play a song with us.

You might to try that, bring an extra uke and call up a volunteer to learn a one chord song, in our case it's "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" in the key of C since it's only one finger to make the C chord, and have all the other kids sing along. The idea is to have audience participation.


This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly West near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 5 acoustic bass ukes, 11 solid body bass ukes, 9 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 34)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers

Thank you! I love this idea!
 
Look up Ella James. Also Fink and Marxer. They have been involved in Children's music since the 1950s, and have produced some good resources over the years. Also look up the Humour Foundation which has been set up for Children in hospitals.
Another great teacher is Chalmers Doane in Canada.
If you are doing research, also look up Freda Dinn who was an English lady who worked in children's music education and produced a lot of teaching and learning materials. She died in 1990. Much of her work used recorders as the training aid, but it is not hard to translate it to ukuleles. Her recorder books can be easily translated to ukulele music, although they diverge a bit as they get more advanced. Still the underlying concepts are very helpful.

Thank you! I will look into all of these suggestions. I'm not necessarily looking to teach kids just yet, more to entertain them, but I will look into these suggestions. :)
 
I've done a bit of children's theater myself in another life. It's a specialized, demanding market, but the work can be extremely rewarding.

If I were you, I'd start by attending a readings by professional storytellers to learn as much as you can about oral interpretation. If there is a community cultural arts center or performance venue near you, see if they have a school program and attend a few shows on the school series to learn from the pros.

Otherwise, a dive into children's theater and youth and family entertainment will churn up a LOT of information. Find some successful acts similar to what you envision for yourself (The Singing Zoologist, TheatreworksUSA's roster, David Gonzalez, etc.), watch their demos and showcases, and absorb what you can.

At the end of the day, it will all come down to preparation and experience. Prepare as well as you can to succeed at first, then modify your show as you learn from your mistakes.
 
My experience is doing the Raising Readers program in the summers. I'm the program accompanist and I do a couple of sing-a-longs. I don't really script anything. Mainly because I get groups of varying ages come through. I just talk to the kids between songs. A stream of consciousness. But one thing I like to do is introduce them to the ukulele. Give them an age group level history lesson maybe, or tell them about the ukulele itself. Maybe tell them the parts of the ukulele. How it is tuned. How I found the ukulele and started playing it. Maybe tell them what a chord is. Just stuff like that. But I don't go off on a big ten minute educational discourse or lecture. I weave it between songs. You can stretch ten minutes worth of information over the whole fifty minutes if you give it to them a minute or two at a time.
 
Usually, the best performers are invited to perform in a concert: those soloists and those collectives who can impress the audience with their skill. At the same time, concert numbers can be specially prepared for the holiday. If your budget allows you, of course, you can turn to professionals and order a chamber music ensemble and several acting numbers. But, and if you do not have such funds, then it is quite possible to organize a festive concert on your own. For example, you can easily write a small script yourself with the indication of scenes: dance, recitation of poems, humor, magic tricks, etc. You can make a list of interesting questions for children to ask each child a funny question. It'll be fun...
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom