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Hi folks! I’m
excited to be writing for Nina’s Notes, and thought I’d use this time to talk
about some of my experiences teaching and working with YEP and discuss a
question that I really enjoy answering: “Why teach Theatre?” Thanks for reading!
There was a time when I thought Theatre would no longer be a
part of my life. I was in the
middle of my college career and, faced with what I saw—and still see—going on
the world around me, I figured that I needed to be more serious; I thought I
needed to take on all of the problems of the world. Looking back, I think that this mindset is actually
indicative of exactly why I believe Theatre is so important to all people in
general, and young people in particular.
It’s not that I think Theatre all by itself is going to save the world—that’s
silly! But I do think that it can
do some really important things for all of us, and I know now more than ever
that I want to and need to be creating and teaching Theatre!
Theatre teaches us to make choices. When developing a character or
directing a show, you can have lots of good ideas, but you can’t use all of
them. Theatre forces the artist to
choose, take risks, make mistakes, rethink, and practice, practice,
practice. For example, in Winnie the Pooh Kids, which is an
incredibly fun show to work on, we have been spending a lot of time on
character development. The
characters are all so expressive and different, yet so malleable for each
actor to make his/her own. Each
character of the story really illustrates a different side of human emotion and
the kids get that. We recently did
some work with character walks, having the kids move through our rehearsal
space putting attention into embodying their characters. At one point, I had everyone freeze and
just look at Tigger and Eeyore next to each other. Totally frozen and soundless, they each were able to
communicate such volumes about who they were as characters—it was quite
striking to everyone there. One of
the most common refrains I return to in teaching theatre is “Drama means telling
stories.” It’s not a profound
statement on its own, but I think it’s important to remember what we are doing
and why we are doing it—we step onto the stage to communicate something, and to
do so in a way that you can’t achieve with words alone. I also think Winnie the Pooh is a great show because there are so many
opportunities in the script for Physical Comedy and tongue-in-cheek
laughs. We also do this because
it’s fun—to see and to do!
Theatre also encourages us to think about what I call “Big
Picture, Little Picture.” Theatre
expands our ideas of what is possible.
And this extends beyond the classroom and the stage—creativity is a
muscle and the more we use it, the more it grows. Children need to experience seeing and feeling themselves in
different roles than those they may have always assumed. So Theatre encourages us to think
big! At the same time, we are also
called in Theatre to get very focused on small details—an expression in the
face, the movement of a hand, or a moment of a scene. This practice helps us to look at problems up close, analyze
them, and think and feel our way through.
And the amount of focus that this can teach is priceless! At Montclair Elementary, we are really
exploring all of this in our Crocodile Junction program. Based on the Process Drama work of the
late British Theater Education Expert Dorothy Heathcote, Crocodile Junction
utilizes group storytelling to explore language arts, writing, and acting skills, while building creativity and teamwork. Currently we are building a story with the 1st Grade about Jungle Explorers searching for the Magical Monkey, and with the 2nd Graders one about Pirates searching for Captain Blagl’s lost treasure. In role as a character in the story (be it One Eyed
McGregor, Jungle Jim, or Dr. Fleet, the world’s leading Piratologist, to name a
few), I lead each class—who are also in character as part of the story—in an
exploration that fills in details and builds unique narratives. At the end of the semester, we will
look through what we have done together and create a performance. Process Drama in Crocodile Junction is
an incredibly fun and powerful way to step wholeheartedly into Theatre and
performance!
Finally, Theatre teaches us to speak up! There are all kinds of actors, but ever
heard of a quiet one? (Okay, okay,
mimes, I’m sorry! … Wait, excuse me, what’s that you’re saying?). Being introverted and being shy are not
the same thing. Acting can teach
us very literally to stand up on a stage in front of a group of people and
speak powerfully. And as I say
when kids are really nailing an improv piece: “If they’re this amazing when
they don’t know what they’re going to say, imagine what they could do when they
know what they want to say!”
You
have to do what you love. Not for
any big philosophical reason, but just because your life isn’t going to be very
fulfilling if you are not. I love
Theatre and I love working with kids.
Seeing them light up with excitement about a project, work hard at it,
and succeed in front of their families, friends, and community is absolutely
thrilling! And more than anything,
I truly believe that the more young people can use Theatre to learn to make
solid choices, expand their creativity, and speak up, the greater their
possibilities will be in the future.
I see groups of BACT kids doing this time after time in our programs,
and if we can do all that we must be doing something right. So, Hip-Hip-Pooh-Ray for our kids!
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