Why the Theatre? The benefits of participating for children and youth

It is well known that theater activities are fun for young people and many children and adolescents love to participate in plays and theater workshops. They can spend time with their old friends, make new ones, and work on a project that culminates in their performing on stage and enjoying the applause. What could not be loved?

But what are the actual cognitive, physical, emotional and social benefits for our youth who participate in theater arts activities? How does their participation help them become more responsible and responsive adults?

The opportunities for cognitive growth in theater are many. Just the amount of reading required to rehearse a play is a good argument for that claim! But it does not stop there. Students must memorize their lines. To do this, you must first organize your time to meet line memorization deadlines, and then you must keep practicing over and over again to make the words your own. This involves repetitive and diligent work and is sometimes the only such work a child is willing to do. Studying spelling lessons is one thing, but memorizing lines for a play, while admittedly the most boring and tedious part of the job, is an unavoidable task. The toughest times tables learner will have to work on those lines, strengthening his memorization skills as he prepares to shine on stage.

Imagination is also put to the test during rehearsals for the play, as the young actor is encouraged to try new and interesting ways of interpreting his role. As he plays his lines and develops his character, he will develop his problem solving skills. His director will ask “Why does the character do that?” “What do the characters want?” and “How do you think the character came up with that answer?” “How could you say that to give us a different impression of what the character means?” These questions and more will run through his son’s mind as he rehearses, prompting her to use his powers of metacognition as he tries to uncover the mysteries behind the motives of the character he is playing.

Concentration skills are also exercised as your child actor has to learn to multitask on stage. He will have to have his lines neatly in his head as he remembers where and why he is supposed to move across the boards. He’s going to have to be on his toes, too, because this is live theater performed by living humans, and humans make mistakes! Someone could write a line. It could be your own child. The quick thinking power made available to him through his razor-sharp focus will help him smooth out any onstage flaws he or his fellow actors may experience and cover them up seamlessly.

Your communication skills will grow as you get ready to talk to other actors on stage and discover that you have to turn and look at that other person to make the line ring real. And listening is often touted as the most important skill an actor can have. You must listen to the director, the other actors and the central action on the stage. Listening even comes into play when the actor is offstage, as he must listen for his cue to turn it back on! As your listening comprehension improves, your observation skills hone. And when he says his lines on stage, your child will be encouraged to project his voice clearly and enunciate well so the audience can better understand what he’s saying, thus increasing his verbal articulation skills. .

Emotional development is also enhanced, as your child has no choice but to learn to cooperate with his co-stars and production staff. Unless her 7-year-old is putting on a one-man show, she’ll need the other people in the game to be on her side and be a good team member for them as well. The old saying, “there is no ‘me’ in the team,” also applies to theater production teams. The catharsis provided by theater games and improvisations, as well as rehearsal and acting, by their very nature, allow students to express a wide range of strong feelings. They provide a safe outlet for the relief of aggression and tension in a controlled environment.

Your child will develop a greater sense of empathy as they learn about and portray a wide variety of characters from different cultures and times in history. He will also become more in tune with the feelings of his fellow actors as he carefully supervises and supports them throughout their performances, providing gentle encouragement to frustrated fellow actors as well as praise for a job well done. And as a recipient of this type of reassurance, your child will learn about trust. He will learn to trust his fellow actors and he will learn to trust himself and his responses.

Physically, your child will benefit as he will learn to trust his body sense in the performance space and to carefully control the movement required of him during his theater work. He’ll learn warm-up exercises that will help him stretch and release physical tension, and improv exercises that will improve his physical coordination as he learns how his character moves through the world he’s creating. There is a lot of physical acumen involved in creating a role, from the timing of the comedic bits to the staged combat that must be choreographed to the smallest movement, all contributing to the physical confidence your child will gain from participating. in a show

The social rewards your child will gain through participation in drama activities will be rich and numerous. The lasting friendships that so often form in a cast that works well together are a tremendous asset to the young actor, but they are only part of the development opportunities available during the creation of a play. Whether or not your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability that makes social encounters particularly challenging, all young people can benefit from the many opportunities for social growth available to them in theater.

An actor has to learn to imitate real life and real conversations in order to represent human truths on stage. If maintaining eye contact is a problem for your child, they will be taught to do so. If your child has trouble understanding the give and take of the pace of conversation, dialogue in a script provides a template from which he can learn this skill. The physical movements must match the text on the stage, providing training for your child in the nuances of human body language.

Ultimately, your child will be immersed in an art form that is ancient, knows no cultural boundaries, and will bring joy to himself and those around him. You will learn to bring humor and pathos into the lives of others, find joy in your work, and ultimately discover that we are all one community on this planet as you discover the similarities in tales told from the beginning of time and from all over the world. world. world.

From the smallest part of the choir to the most important singer and dancer in the show, you’ll learn that no role can be overlooked as important and that you must have respect for everyone involved, from backstage to center stage. For your child, these experiences will ultimately result in their growth into an adult who more clearly understands the value of collaborative work, the joy inherent in creating art, and the value of that precious human treasure: the ability to communicate through storytelling. .