The Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia is a Regional Theatre Tony Award winning company that has produced in excess of 100 original productions since its inception in 1968. Among other notable plays and musicals, it launched Tony Award winners The Color Purple, Aida, and The Last Night of Ballyhoo. Beyond showcasing the works of some of the most creative people in the country, the Alliance is committed to community engagement with a specific emphasis on theater education.
The Alliance organizes drama camps for students of all ages. It works with local schools to facilitate programming such as field trips, residencies, and after-school theater education. It also operates various summer programs, including the Palefsky Collision Project, a three-week program through which teenage students extensively study a source text under the direction of a professional director and playwright before a final performance at the Alliance Theatre.
Although theater is often viewed as an extracurricular activity in schools, students who participate in such programming can glean a variety of benefits, including those listed below.
1. Theater Builds Friendship and Community
Participating in theater is a great way for kids to meet others who share similar interests and develop interpersonal connections. It’s especially helpful for young people who are shy or have trouble making friends. Being part of a play or musical is a lot like being part of a sports team as it requires everyone to work together to achieve a common goal.
2. Theater Increases Emotional Intelligence
Theater education can significantly increase kids’ emotional intelligence. It allows them to put themselves in the shoes of others and empathize with those characters. This can ultimately impact how they see the world and view people who are different from them.
For instance, by acting in a production that explores bullying or family struggles, students can attempt to understand what it’s like to experience emotions and situations they might not have felt in their own lives. Expressing these emotions on stage can help students manage and communicate their own thoughts and feelings in a healthy manner.
3. Theater Improves Academic Performance
Students who participate in theater programming at or outside of school are more likely to score higher on standardized tests. They also have better attendance and a greater ability to concentrate for long periods of time compared to those students who don’t participate in theater.
According to the American Alliance of Theater & Education, students involved in theater programming score an average of 65 points higher on SATs and 34 points higher on the test’s math component than their peers. Another study, published in the Journal for Learning through the Arts, found that theater students had improved their reading comprehension. Theater students are more likely to be quick thinkers. Mistakes can often happen either in rehearsal or during performances, and students learn to improvise to make up for these mistakes.
“When someone flubs a line, the other kids learn how to cover for him,” notes Brian Olkowski, an elementary school drama club teacher in California. “I tell them it’s not about never making a mistake; it’s about never letting the audience see your mistake. Those are great skills that transfer to the classroom setting as well, whether it’s giving a presentation in front of peers or being called on to answer questions.”
4. Theater Alleviates Anxiety
For many students, there’s nothing more stressful or scary than performing in front of an audience that includes their peers. Being anxious before performing isn’t uncommon—even adults get nervous before speaking in front of large audiences or giving presentations at work. By working through and overcoming these anxious moments at a young age, theater students are better prepared to handle feelings of anxiety in the real world.
Parents and theater teachers can help students manage their anxiety in the moment by reminding them of past instances in which they overcame their nerves, whether it was during a baseball game or a prior play or musical. Other tips for calming nerves include having the child take extended deep breaths or counting backwards from 10.
5. Theater Builds Confidence and Self-Esteem
Overcoming nerves and anxiety associated with performing can help students gain confidence not only on the stage, but in other areas of life. By performing, students engage their emotions, bodies, and minds and learn how to be assertive and more outspoken in group settings. Moreover, the act of speaking and moving around on stage, doing or saying things they might not normally say, can help kids feel more comfortable in their own skin. This is especially the case in situations where they are the center of attention.
Receiving positive feedback from the audience contributes to greater confidence and self-esteem for theater kids as it’s a positive affirmation of their work and interest. The education department at the National Theatre conducted a three-year study examining the effect of theater on the confidence of children between the ages of 7 and 10. Researchers found that those who studied and performed in a storytelling program showed increased self-esteem compared to their non-theater peers.