Template: Letter to Parents When Starting a Play

In our Teacher’s Guide, we recommend sending a letter home when you first begin working on your classroom play. If theater is new to your school, we also recommend outlining the educational benefits of musical plays. (Yes, we recommend a lot.) One busy teacher recently asked if we could provide her with a template, and we thought that was a smashing idea! So here is a sample letter that you can use, edit, modify…and whatever else you would like to do with it. We hope you will find it useful.

Would you like other templates? Just let us know!

Dear Parents,

I’m so excited to let you know that our class is beginning work on a musical play! The title of the show is _________________. We hope you will be able to join us for our performance, which will be held on ________________ at _______________.

This play is a lot of fun – but the really exciting thing about it is that it ties into our school curriculum, so it actually helps the students remember all the material we are learning in class (which can increase test scores!). Beyond that, classroom plays are incredibly valuable for all sorts of reasons. Here are just a few of the things that plays do:

• Improve vocabulary, reading skills, and reading comprehension
• Improve speaking and presentation skills
• Bring the curriculum to life in a way that makes it relevant
• Build new friendships and classroom camaraderie and teamwork
• Include EVERY student, regardless of academic ability or language fluency
• Build confidence and social skills
• Motivate students and encourage good behavior
• Give students a sense of ownership and pride
• Incorporate drama, music, art, and movement into the learning process

Because our play was specifically designed for classroom use, every student will have the opportunity to have a speaking and/or singing part. We won’t be holding formal auditions, but instead we’ll be experimenting with different parts and combinations in class. After we’ve all gotten comfortable with the songs and script, I’ll ask the students to choose a few roles they’d like, and I’ll make the casting decisions from there. Everyone will have the chance to shine!

Once your student has an assigned role, I’ll be sending home their portion of the script and sharing a link they can use to practice their songs. That way you can help your student practice, but you’ll still be surprised when you come to see the show (and I hope you will!).

I’d like to keep costumes simple. All students should plan to wear a black t-shirt (you can turn a printed one inside-out). In class we’ll create simple signs to identify each character. Once the parts have been assigned, I’ll also send home some easy (and optional) suggestions for a few extra touches for your student’s costume.

If you’d like to help with the play effort, thank you! It would be great to have some parents helping with _________________. Please get in touch and let me know if you’d like to help.

I’m so excited to begin working on our show, and I think your student will truly love and grow from the process. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.