Putting on a show-stopping school concert with your performing arts experts!

Have you been tasked with staging a memorable school production, but have so many ideas you don’t know where to start? Or do you have an upcoming performance in the calendar that feels like an impossible challenge? Perhaps you’ve got most of the planning covered and you’re looking for just a little bit of extra sparkle to the performance?

With our third and final Teacher PD for 2025 on the horizon, we’re giving you a glimpse into what you can expect from the day with some expert advice to make your next school production hassle-free, high energy, and enjoyable from start to finish that students, parents and teachers alike will cherish for years to come.

Read on to find out some of our Top Tips for preparing a School Concert, and register for our Show Stopping School Concerts Teacher PD to discover more of our secret tricks for staging a spectacular showcase!

Tip 1: Start by deciding on the ‘tone’, and consider theme

When planning a school concert, it’s a good idea to think about the message that you want your students to be communicating to their audience, to help them build a strong connection to the music and to the meaning behind it. If you’re planning an end of year performance or school graduation showcase, you may want to select repertoire that has a more heartfelt tone. If you’re putting on a full school extravaganza, you may instead want to select songs with a lot of energy and vibrant tone, to keep audiences and students engaged. This is where a theme can become useful. Whether it’s ‘under the sea’ or ‘back in time’, tying the performance together thematically can give your students and audience members a stronger connection to the story you’re staging. Scaffold your rehearsals to include creative exercises that introduce what this theme is all about – it will make rehearsals just as fun as the final show!

Tip 2: Get creative with stagecraft

While beautiful singing can undoubtedly create a moving performance on its own, extra elements of stagecraft can make a performance pop! Here are some of our favourite additions that can turn a good performance into a dazzling one:

• Include some props or costumes – you may even like to get your students involved in the creation of them!
• Choreography – avoid over-complicating the actions! Simple movement that looks great when done in unison give students greater confidence, helping them shine bright!
• Use stage directions – get students confidently moving across the stage by teaching them the ‘fancy terminology’ that professionals use. We’ve got this handy guide for you on our Instagram.

Tip 3: Make the rehearsals just as special as the final performance

The joy of creating a performance is in many ways more impactful than the final show. So many hidden skills are acquired during the learning process – confidence is built, friendships are formed, and teamwork is essential to ensure students feel successful when on stage. Use early rehearsals to introduce songs or dances through creative activities, and give a shout-out to the students standing with good performance posture! Importantly, encourage and thank the many smiling faces that you see even when you’re not yet on stage. Approaching each rehearsal with the same enthusiasm that you hope for on the day of the performance will keep your students excited and raring to blow their audience away!

Tip 4: Ask for help when you need it

Knowing when to ask for help is important, and you’re in the right place! With our ‘Show Stopping School Concerts Teacher PD’ right around the corner, we are here to bring you a day full of expert advice and fun ideas to make sure you and your students feel successful and energised! You can also get in touch with us today to discuss personalised school incursions the team at ASPA Education can deliver – we’ve got a track record in excelling at preparing students for standout events like graduations, school concerts, musicals, and eisteddfods. We meet you where you’re at, wherever that may be.

Join ASPA’s expert Presenters as they provide you with straightforward and effective tools to assist in your creation of a Show-Stopping (and stress-free!) performance. Sign up for our ‘Show-Stopping School Concerts’ Teacher Professional Development Workshop and discover more about how we can assist you to create an impressive show for your school community!