Nurturing Creativity and Self-Expression Through Theatre Class

When my two girls were little, they loved the world of make-believe.

Paula was
Ariel in “Little Mermaid” with her legs inside a pillow so they would look like a
tail. She would perform “Reflection” from “Mulan” to relatives and friends exactly
the way Mulan sang in the movie.

Nicole would
ask her grandmother to put Adrian, who was then barely one year old, in a small
box and pretend that Adrian was the Baby Moses (scene copied from “The
Prince of Egypt”) while singing “When You Believe” and if I scold her for
putting Adrian in a small box, she would say, “He is my baby.  So sweet and small…”

Their strong
imagination amazed me.  Indeed, practically
all preschoolers love to play make-believe. 
Sometimes, fantasy for them is reality as they insist that fairies,
dwarves, mermaids, goblins, vampires and monsters are real.  This stage is the perfect time to introduce
the theater.

I remember
bringing the girls to stage plays like “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, “Romeo and
Juliet”, and a Filipino version of “The Ant and the Cricket.” Oh, how they
loved the songs and the dances and the costumes.  They even attended a theater class one summer
from a local company similar to Walnut Creek children’s theatre where they were taught to sing and act. And boy,
did they have fun! Whenever I asked them what they want to become, they both
would say they would love to act.

Every day
after theatre class, they would put on a show. They would sometimes grab their
grandpa and grandma and sometimes, me, to play different roles, like the fairy
godmother (grandma), the King (grandpa), Prince Charming (the dad) and me (the witch!).

The summer theatre camp FAQ encouraged them to see
what happens backstage.  The class took
them to several plays and they were given backstage theater tours as well.  They were shown different costumes, theater
make up that transforms a queen to a witch, cables that control the curtains
and the scenery, and lights.  

They also got
over their shyness and were able to banish their stage fright.  Enrolling in theater class helped them
develop their theater skills and get out of their shells.

You should
really consider enrolling your child in a theater class if he has a love for
the performing arts. The class would definitely build the child’s confidence,
creativity and self-expression.  He would be a witness to the
“magic” of creating theater and be exposed to teamwork and camaraderie as well.

Younger brother Adrian is busy with his life of XBox 360 games and Aikido and wouldn’t want to attend or have anything to do with a summer theatre class, but he did love performing in his school’s  version of “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”