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Oh the Drama!
Encourage Your Preteen's Theatrical Side
By Teri Brown
But acting is more than an outlet for emotions, says Murphy. Performing can teach presentation skills – skills that are useful no matter what kind of career your preteen ends up in. "I can't tell you how many dinners, auctions, chamber and rotary events I have attended where clearly the message of any given speaker could be better presented had they taken an acting class or two," says Murphy. "So much of acting is really being focused in the moment and intense listening, all skills that will pay off in the future."
Pat Collins is a professor of education at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York. He teaches classes for the purpose of helping students understand how theater and drama may be used to foster educational development in children. He believes that drama in education is imperative and works to create after-school programs that will involve students of all ages in the dramatic arts.
"Theater and drama are essential aspects of education at any level," says Collins. "One of the basic aims of education is to provide students with the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values they need to more fully understand themselves and the world in which tey live. Drama – like math, science, language, the social sciences and the arts at large – is a way of knowing. It is a lens through which we gain a deeper understanding of the world. Therefore, dramatic literacy should be one of the goals of education. The goal is not to train little actors and actresses, but to ensure that all students are able to use drama, both expressively and receptively, as a tool for thought."
