Here's to Stress Free Talent Shows
Talent show tips to minimize stress and make your event fun and memorable for everyone.
Many
y a
y a parent group leader is at this very moment wondering why on earth they volunteered to head up this year’s talent show. Often a spring event, the talent show is one of those “perfect storms’’ in parent volunteering – involving lots of planning and moving parts, lots of excited children, and lots of parents with understandably high expectations for the event. When those three elements come together, you can have a seriously stressful experience.
So, for anyone needing help, we have a great article about running a talent show and our message boards posts on talent shows indicate that parents have been sharing for more than a decade about this special event. You may want to take a peak and see if you find a few nuggets of ideas for your big event.
Here’s a sample of tips: Try to get as many children involved as you can. You will probably know which ones aren’t up for performing but would love to do something – maybe have them help create the event program or be ushers. Tap your local high school drama club for volunteers to help with lighting, and to help supervise your stage crew. Try setting a time limit to each act of say three minutes. Otherwise, you will have some that will run three times that long. Make sure you let the principal view a dress rehearsal so he or she is OK with the content. Finally, ask a parent to video the event. You can make copies and sell DVDs to help offset any costs you have associated with your event.
I have my own great memories of volunteering on the elementary school talent show committee. I recall too many Taylor Swift acts, some oddly choreographed dance routines, and my discovery that fifth grade boys smell horribly ripe during after-school rehearsals (I’m the mom of two girls – I was shocked!) But I also remember the standing ovation all the children received at the end of the show and the absolutely beaming moms and dads who watched their children perform.
It was so well worth it.
If you have a talent show coming up, we hope you find some of tips helpful. Good luck! And break a leg – showbiz style!
So, for anyone needing help, we have a great article about running a talent show and our message boards posts on talent shows indicate that parents have been sharing for more than a decade about this special event. You may want to take a peak and see if you find a few nuggets of ideas for your big event.
Here’s a sample of tips: Try to get as many children involved as you can. You will probably know which ones aren’t up for performing but would love to do something – maybe have them help create the event program or be ushers. Tap your local high school drama club for volunteers to help with lighting, and to help supervise your stage crew. Try setting a time limit to each act of say three minutes. Otherwise, you will have some that will run three times that long. Make sure you let the principal view a dress rehearsal so he or she is OK with the content. Finally, ask a parent to video the event. You can make copies and sell DVDs to help offset any costs you have associated with your event.
I have my own great memories of volunteering on the elementary school talent show committee. I recall too many Taylor Swift acts, some oddly choreographed dance routines, and my discovery that fifth grade boys smell horribly ripe during after-school rehearsals (I’m the mom of two girls – I was shocked!) But I also remember the standing ovation all the children received at the end of the show and the absolutely beaming moms and dads who watched their children perform.
It was so well worth it.
If you have a talent show coming up, we hope you find some of tips helpful. Good luck! And break a leg – showbiz style!
