Hello,
Abridged:
It's that time of year where we are deep within discussion for next year's musical. The school I'm at had previously had a theatre program, but it had been left without a director for a number of years before I took the position. It was almost like starting over. Our program had an incredible (but quite rocky) start in 2019, surviving Covid, and finally performing Aladdin Jr in 2021.
As we look to next year, a big question plaguing me is: Should we already make the jump to a full musical or should we keep with the Junior program?
For context, our program has about 21 students ranging from 7th-12th grade. We're expecting a good handful more next year due to the excitement and interest stirred up next year. However, with that excitement, we know those students will be fairly inexperienced. In our group currently, we probably have 5-7 strong students who I think could handle a full musical. But do those 5-7 students pull up the whole group? Is there a huge difference for the ensemble between Junior and Full shows? Directors who made the move from Junior shows to Full or vice versa, what was your experience like? How did you decide you were "ready"?
I'd love some input and insight from directors who have been through this.
Thank you!
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Hannah Agee
Emmanuel Christian Academy
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