October 21, 2015
Once upon a time… there was Old MacDonald, a Big Bad Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood, Little Boy Blue, Little Bo Peep and a whole host of other wonderful fairy tale characters, all squeezed into one fantastic drama week!
In search of my favourite fairytale characters and some very talented little actors, I recently travelled to the far, far away land of Norfolk – to Suffield Park Infants School to be exact! This was where the fantastic Year 1s were about to deliver a show-stopping Fairytale performance for their peers and parents. After hearing all about the success of last year’s Book Week workshops at Suffield Park, I couldn’t wait to see what they had come up with this year.
As I entered the school hall ready for the final day of rehearsals, I saw that our One Day Fairy Godmother, Linsay, was already working her magical powers. The children giggled and laughed as they tried to keep up with Linsay’s vocal warm-ups: “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers….”
For four whole days, Linsay had been exploring “The Mysterious Case of the Bo-Peep’s Missing Sheep” with the Year 1s, and soon it would be time to reveal who the culprit was! But first, the children must showcase a week’s worth of hard work and fun to their parents and families in the form of a performance. So many people arrived at the school to see their little amateur dramatics and their wonderful play.
The young actors donned their masks and costumes and were ready for the big show. The Big Bad Wolf had truly exceeded himself with his costume – he proudly walked on stage with a faux torn shirt, a furry chest and a frightening wolf mask complete with very pointy canines! Ten-out-of-ten for effort.
The performance was full of many magical moments, as the children excitedly threw their hands in the air with every “DUH DUH DUHHHHH”, energetically danced their way through “Baa Baa Black Sheep”, and enthusiastically Oink-ed, Moo-ed and Quack-ed as they sung “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”!
Everyone agreed that it was a fantastic achievement for the Year 1s! As the performance concluded everyone clapped and cheered, and Linsay arrived on stage to reveal the thief amongst us…
Was it the Big Bad Wolf with his pointy teeth?
Or maybe it was Little Boy Blue?
Or was it Mother Goose?
NO! It was Old MacDonald!
“DUH, DUH, DUHHHHHHHHH”
Old Macdonald took the news on the chin, and even shared a cheeky smile with the audience. It was a great success!
After all that hard work, Linsay was ready to drive her horse and carriage back to Scotland, where she could sleep easy in the knowledge that she had given the Year 1 students a week jam-packed full of exciting games, fun sing-alongs and inspiration for storytelling.
And they all lived happily ever after…
Love Victoria & the One Day team x