Parents and families often wonder why their wee ones should partake in a theatre class or attend a performance. How can theatre serve young people in their social, mental, and academic development?
The theatre process provides a social outlet, a place where students make new friends and learn to work together. In classes, they focus on teamwork and what it means to be part of an ensemble. Students are given the opportunity to voice their opinions about why a character behaves a certain way, thus opening the door for social-emotional learning.
In theatre studies, the process explores language, literature, literacy, and memory skills encouraging the disciplines of self-confidence, poise, and collaboration. We honor likenesses and embrace differences. Theatre classes take the time to discuss how to develop a character, how to project, how to move about on stage with confidence and to speak loudly and clearly. Classes provide the skill sets for performance, to ensure that by the time they get to perform, they have the confidence to do so.
A very important American playwright, Lauren Gunderson, offers her thoughts:
“So much of the toxicity in this world comes from a collective draining of empathy. We don't understand each other, and we don't want to. But theater invites us -- no, forces us -- to empathize.
Theater is like a gym for empathy. It's where we can go to build up the muscles of compassion, to practice listening and understanding and engaging with people that are not just like ourselves. We practice sitting down, paying attention and learning from other people's actions. We practice caring.
If you take a child to the theater, not only will they practice empathy, they might also laugh uproariously, or come home singing about science, or want to know more about history, or tell you what happened at school today, or spend all dinner discussing music, or learn how to handle conflict, or start becoming future patrons of the arts.
On March 20th, take a child to the theater. Take them all the time. And don't "sit back, relax, and enjoy the show." Lean forward, engage, and start changing the world for the better.”
You are invited to join the Conservatory Open House on Friday, March 17th between 10:00 am-12:00 pm, for their Open House to learn more about all that the Goldner Conservatory at the Maltz Jupiter Theatre offers students in the community or register for their Spring Break Camp – Oliver with a Twist! – March 20-24th.
For details on our upcoming camps and all that they offer, visit: jupitertheatre.org/conservatory.
The Maltz Jupiter Theatre is located at 1001 East Indiantown Road, Jupiter.
