Theatre improves Communication in Children

Communication is a major part of what theatre teaches. Kids practice speaking and preforming in many different forms while in front of classmates. Games which encourage fast thinking are also used to help children learn to think on their feet. Many young children may have a type of speech impediment, practicing a scene over and over again can help these kids to feel comfortable saying specific words in the correct way which can then slowly help their speech to be more clear. Theatre encourages children to speak in front of groups of people and over time this can help public speaking seem less and less of a challenge.

Theatre Lets Kids Be Themselves

Theatre encourages every child to be his or her self. Things like acting games encourage this. Acting games are a fun activity where the teacher sets the general frame work of a game, but the children decide what kind of character they will. In acting children bring a piece of themselves to every part they play. The key to being a good actor is finding a way to relate with the character as if you were them. This helps the children know better how their character would act in a situation. Each actor brings his own little unique attribute to a character that someone else would not have provided. Theatre is a fun safe place where children can themselves.

Theatre Encourages Imagination

In theatre children get to be who ever they want to be. They can be a little girl who discovers a magical new world or a pirate that has a grudge against a boy who stays young forever. There are very few limitations of what you can be in theatre. Theatre games also encourage imagination because the children are the ones who create the situations. They pick the settings, the problems, and what type of characters are involved. They may alter a situation they are already familiar with or create a whole new adventure for the characters and actors.

Theatre Creates A Fun Atmosphere

Theatre creates a fun break for children during the long serious school day. It gives children a chance to be active and have fun time while they are still learning. The whole concept of theatre is pretending you are someone else and, children love a chance to play make believe. Giving students a few minutes of the day to dress up in costumes and imagine they are someone else encourages imagination in a world of technology where no imagination is required.

Theatre Encourages Children to Be Part Of A Team

Theatre encourages children to work with one another as part of a team. A show cannot get done with only one or two people you need everyone; actors and stage hands. Many times adults think the only important people are the ones you see. However the people on stage would be nowhere with out the people who work behind the curtains. Theatre teaches kids that you need all the pieces to have a successful show. The actors may be the best ever but no one will notice if they are in the dark. Like wise no one comes to a show just to stare a lit stage. It requires all pieces of the machine working together perfectly to create the final masterpiece.

Indroducing theatre at a young age helps to create a more accepting society

Many people don't experience theatre until they are much older. They see it as dated. Why go see a show when you could just watch a movie. Introducing theatre at a younger age will help people to see how exciting theatre can be. School systems also only value children based on how good they may be at math or science. If you are not good at either of these two things you are considered a failure. These are the only subjects that really matter while everything else is a hobby. Making theatre a part of the core curriculum can help people to view it on a higher level.

Having Theatre in Elementary School Will Help Fill a Creative Outlet for the Theatrically Inclined.

In elementary schools children go through rotations of activities such as Music, Art, Computer, and P.E. All of these activities provide different creative outlets for students, however, there is nothing for students who are theatrically inclined. Theatre may not be every student's favorite activity, but many students don't enjoy painting or soccer either. By providing theatre in elementary schools every student has equal opportunity to try it. Elementary school is an important time in children's lives. Nothing has been decided for them yet, children are a blank slates just waiting to figure out who they are and what they are passionate about. Adding theatre to Elementary schools just adds it to the conversation