Submitted by Tracy King, Farmington, Missouri
Idea posted April 23, 2010
Ideas for dramatization/choreography for "We Shall Not" from Music K-8, Vol. 20, No. 1.
I love this song! When it first came out I was singing it with TONS of alternate lyrics... "We shall not leave sock in the living room," "We shall use our signal when we want to turn," and so on. I'm sure it was more than annoying for my dear husband! Anyway, as I prepared this for our concert, I decided to write myself into the performance.
The choir begins singing the song with their hands clasped very properly in front of them (hiding cell phones that they'll use later). Three or four students are chewing big wads of gum and blowing big bubbles instead of singing. I start the song in my conductor position but after seeing the gum chewing march angrily up the steps to the stage and insist the chewers spit out the gum in a little trash can I have. I wait on the other side of the stage until they finish verse one.
Once they start the second verse about the cell phones, I walk in front of them. As soon as my back is to them, they all pull out a cell phone and pretend to text. When I finally reach my podium and turn to face them, they hide the cell phones behind their backs.
The audience thought this was hilarious. However, they found it even funnier when I turned to bow to the audience, and the kids whipped out their phones again. The students held the cell phones up and pointed at them, as though they were making fun of the fact that they didn't get caught, and then hid them once again when I turned back around. What a hoot!