Parents usually want to get some tangible outcome from their kids’ studies. So what advantages can get a child in a drama camp?
I have already said that what theater mostly needs is imagination, but alas, it is rarely tangible. Let us see what other traits of character will develop children in our theater summer camp. First of all, courage. Yes, real courage because to step on the stage can be scary. Young actors must learn how to overcome their fear and not to get lost in front of the public. And it doesn’t matter whether they play Hamlet or a fox – the Mise en scene does not change: The murmurs ebb; onto the stage I enter.
The eyes of all spectators and the spotlights are directed at them; the microphone catches the trembling of their voices — it’s scary, but they are strong, they can do it, they will overcome the trembling in the knees and stuttering and will play their parts.
Everybody knows that drama classes help enhance children’s artistic abilities. In a theater studio children learn to sing, dance and recite. It is also obvious that by rehearsing for their role children learn to better control their bodies, improve their diction and memory and broaden their vocabulary. But being on stage children also improve some not so obvious skills: the ability to react rapidly to changes in the situation, interact with their partners, understand and feel other people, and foresee the reaction of the public. It means that by studying drama children develop all the features that will make them self-confident. It will make it easier for them to make presentations and go for interviews.
That is why playing on stage, children not only have fun, but also acquire tangible advantages that will be useful to them in adult life.