All About Drama Clubs
In just 8 weeks, our drama clubs expose kids to the basics of theatre while they rehearse a fully-staged short play!
Drama Club Basics
- You provide a room for Drama Club to meet and distribute sign-up fliers to your students. We do the rest! We provide a complete arts enrichment solution that includes paper and online registration options, fun and age-appropriate scripts, informative parent letters, prop items, and even portable stage curtains.
- Our After-School Drama Clubs don’t just teach theatre! They also build students’ self-confidence, creativity, teamwork abilities, self-discipline, and presentation skills.
- Our program is designed for grades 2-5. Students stretch their dramatic muscles by learning acting basics as they rehearse for a big performance for friends and family!
- The rehearsal period is eight weeks long (with one rehearsal per week). The first five rehearsals last 60 minutes each, and the last three rehearsals are extended to 90 minutes. Students usually perform at the end of their final rehearsal for an invited audience of family and friends.
- Drama Club doesn’t have to cost your school anything. Our most frequent financial arrangement is for each parent to pay a tuition fee to Drama by George when registering their child. Your school pays nothing! Of course, other arrangements are also possible, such as the PTA or student activities fund paying a flat rate for Drama Club. In that case, students sign up for free, since the tuition is already paid.
- Generally, we provide two sessions per year (other arrangements are also possible). We offer an eight-week session in the fall between the start of school and Thanksgiving break, and another eight-week session in the spring between winter break and spring break.
- An optional two-week Drama Skills session can be added immediately before Drama Club rehearsals begin. The two 90-minute workshops that make up Drama Skills use theatre games and short practice scenes to help kids build their skills onstage. The fall session focuses on motivating a character’s actions and reading between the lines of a script (subtext). The spring session focuses on imagination, concentration, and characterization.
- Your Drama Club will perform a different play every semester, so students can enroll multiple times and enjoy a whole new experience each time.
To find out how to bring a drama club to your school, contact us.
Why Choose Drama by George?
We Believe in Kids. Educational theatre isn’t a small part of what we do–it’s the main thing we do. We offer live performances, drama workshops, artist residencies, and of course, after-school drama clubs. All of them are designed to give children and teens a fun and educational experience with theatre.- A Proven Concept. Drama Clubs aren’t new to us. We’ve been educating Kentuckiana students since 2007, and over the past six years, we’ve provided drama clubs and drama camps to hundreds of students. Young actors frequently enjoy our programs so much that they return again and again!
- Students Always Perform a Play. We believe that the best way for young actors to grow is for them to perform. That’s why our drama clubs are always focused on the production of a play. We teach theatre skills primarily by practicing them in a real-life context.
- Highly-Qualified Instructors. For some after-school program providers, hiring and training instructors seems to be an afterthought. Not for us! We only hire people who have prior experience, both in theatre and in working with children. Before and during their first semester of leading a drama club, instructors complete at least fifteen hours of additional training, as well as two teaching observations from our staff coaches. Of course, all of our instructors must successfully pass a background check.
- The Online Photo Gallery. At no extra charge, we take photos and compile a gallery for all of our student performances. Parents and kids can relive the onstage fun as they enjoy the pictures!
- You’ll Deal with the Owner. We take pride in being a locally-owned small business. So if you ever experience a problem with your Drama Club, contact George Halitzka, our owner. He’ll do everything he can to resolve the problem–personally.
- Character Education. Many of the fun, kid-friendly scripts that our drama clubs perform have a character education lesson that’s part of the story, from peer pressure to perseverance.
- Customized Scripts.We own the rights to every script we use in drama clubs. That means we can customize the play to have exactly the right number of characters–there are never too many or too few parts for the students who enroll! Every child who wants a speaking part is guaranteed to have at least two lines (our minimum enrollment is 8 students, and the maximum is 15). All of our high-quality scripts are written (or adapted from classic children’s literature) specifically for Drama by George by our owner, George Halitzka, a published playwright. Schools around the world have licensed our scripts for performance through our Play Script Store, but every play begins right here in Louisville.
To find out how to bring a drama club to your school, contact us.
What Educators and Parents Are Saying
Educator Endorsements
“I would certainly be glad to give Drama By George an excellent reference! Your program is very well organized with timely correspondence provided to both the school and the parents. I peeked in on several classes and observed that the kids were well-engaged and taking an active role . . . The class instructor was full of enthusiasm which was contagious to the students. I also had the pleasure to attend the fall program, ‘The Grasshopper and the Ants,’ and observed the pride of the parents as well as excitement of the kids! I’d highly recommend your program to any parent or school.”
- David Doll, Parish Manager, St. James Catholic School (Louisville)- “Stopher Elementary School has had the pleasure of offering [a drama club from] Drama By George for two years . . . full of activities that help our students stretch their imaginations and get their creative juices flowing. The culminating plays are always fun to watch. Our parents all say that the tuition is money well spent.”
- Ellie Billops, Student Support Liaison (retired), Stopher Elementary School (Louisville) - “Drama by George has been an exciting, fun, and engaging learning experience for many of the Meredith-Dunn students . . . George easily builds rapport with all ages and [drama club rehearsals] provide learning experiences on many levels. The culminating performance was a treat for all! As our spring session signups are in progress, students are already coming up to me anxiously asking, ‘When does drama start again?’ Luckily, they only have a couple of weeks to wait!”
- Janie Anthony, Assistant Principal, Meredith-Dunn School (Louisville) - “[We] loved having you here and the play was fabulous. The kids are really excited about it and beg for you to come back every year. Thank you.”
- YMCA CEP Program Staff, Bates Elementary School (Louisville)
Parent Endorsements
“We are extremely pleased with the Drama by George program at Meredith Dunn School. Our daughter has participated three times now, and each time has thoroughly enjoyed it. She is more confident in front of others, both on stage and off, as a result of your program. As a parent, I really appreciate having a fun but challenging after-school activity that she looks forward to. She has deepened personal friendships along the way as well. We would heartily recommend Drama by George to any school looking for great programs.”
- Bob and Leah Brymer, Parents of a Sixth Grader- “Ollie [the drama club instructor] did a fabulous job! The kids had a ball, and the play was outstanding. Your program is top-notch.”
- Holly Liter, Parent of a Third Grader - “My daughter was involved in the drama club . . . for two years. She really enjoyed it both times. Thank you so much for providing this opportunity for her.”
- Lisa King, Parent of a Fifth Grader - “Our son has been participating in Drama by George through his school for the past three years. He has enjoyed his experience, and it has helped to foster his self-esteem in a setting that promotes camaraderie and confidence.”
- Ben and Nicole Schecter, Parents of a Sixth Grader - “Our daughter . . . has been with Drama by George for two years, and she has had a phenomenal experience! The professionalism and one-to-one instruction is top notch. We are very pleased, and [our daughter] absolutely loves it!”
- Kelly and Darryl Durham, Parents of a Fourth Grader - “Drama by George has provided my daughter [with] a wonderful outlet for her creative acting personality during this past school year! She has enjoyed the plays, learning her lines, and smiling for the camera! We will look forward to more Drama by George in the fall!”
- Gaile Nugent, Parent of a Second Grader
To find out how to bring a drama club to your school, contact us.