The children at our nursery were becoming increasingly interested in performing on the outdoor stage. Our outdoor stage is part of the continuous provision and is made from crates, a basket of instruments and a bench for anyone that wants to be the audience.
Enhancements such as dancing ribbons or a change of backdrop are added from time to time. Some more confident performers were becoming very engaged in singing their favourite songs to their friends while playing instruments and were encouraging more reluctant performers to take part. We saw the value in this in many ways, including building confidence as well as self-esteem and developing relationships. The children took turns to be the audience, listening attentively and then clapping their friends’ efforts in singing and music-making, showing kindness towards others and understanding of what is customary when you go to the theatre.
We decided to develop this further by adding a theatre role-play enhancement indoors. The backdrop was a light curtain that we had purchased in the past with a voile hung over the top. This added a ‘show business feel’ and made the stage look extra special. The stage was made from large cuboid-shaped hollow blocks. We lined up some rows of chairs for the audience to sit on. A wicker basket containing a range of instruments was put to one side of the stage, which included an authentic microphone.
IN COSTUME
We usually avoid using ready-made dressing-up costumes. Instead, we provide inspiration for dressing-up and role-play through enhancements such as a basketof hats, or a range of materials nd pegs. This way, children can think for themselves about what they want to be.
With the children’s imagination in full swing, we have witnessed a piece of material with a peg becoming a superhero cape, dragon wings, fairy wings, a pirate cloak, and a king or queen’s royal robes.
To enhance the performance play we added a box of accessories such as various hats and headdresses, smart gloves and novelty glasses. Several pieces of sequined materials and floaty scarves were added that we thought may inspire performing.
TICKET SALES
Lastly, we added a ‘box office’ for ticket sales. We made some tickets for the ‘Nursery Show’ and put them on the box office table alongside a till. There were some wooden discs in a basket added, as children often use them as coins.
Also, we added some clipboards with paper on so that children could write or draw as part of their theatre role-play. We often add these clipboards to our enhancements to give the children the idea to include mark-making into their play.
The box office enabled children to apply their number knowledge in a meaningful way. The children took turns to work the desk and charged various rates for the tickets, which the customer paid with the wooden coins. Some children demonstrated problem-solving skills such as when a customer gave them too many coins: ‘The ticket costs three and you gave me too many. You need to take that one back!’ They were seen matching number to quantity on several occasions and showing the corresponding amount of fingers to the ticket prices.
SUPERSTARS
The theatre enhancement was a great opportunity for observation and assessment for the adults. Children were able to demonstrate that they could remember and sing entire songs and ‘sing the melodic shape (moving melody, such as up and down, down and up) of familiar songs’, as referenced in the Expressive Arts and Design section of Development Matters. Some children created their own simple songs and others showed they could play instruments with increasing control.
The theatre enhancement also provided a wealth of opportunities for Communication and Language development, including learning new theatre-related vocabulary.
One child suggested that the audience needed popcorn. In response to this, the adults found some little boxes from a cupboard, and then many children collaborated by collecting loose parts from around the room and broke up pieces of playdough to create their theatre snack.
Amy Jackson is EYFS specialist leader of education and teacher at Ormiston Herman Academy, Gorleston