Tag: Theater

  • The play’s the thing: How peer-to-peer mentoring in theater builds SEL skills

    The play’s the thing: How peer-to-peer mentoring in theater builds SEL skills

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    Dive Brief:

    • Student theater can provide key opportunities for mentor-mentee relationships that support cross-grade collaborations and build confidence, social-emotional learning and creative thinking in older and younger students alike.
    • These dynamics are inherent in the culture around student theater, which often combines grade levels out of necessity, said Jennifer Katona, executive director of the Educational Theatre Association. For instance, 8th graders might lead 5th and 6th graders in putting on productions, or high school juniors and seniors might mentor 9th graders. 
    • “Theater skills and leadership skills go hand-in-hand,” Katona said. “It’s also very effective, because then you have a lot of extra helpers. By the nature of a rehearsal process, you’re getting a great cross-pollination of ages.”

    Dive Insight:

    In smaller schools and districts, this mentoring dynamic can be less formal, taking the form of theater teachers bringing middle schoolers to see high school students perform, for example, Katona said. 

    “This is what you can look forward to,” she said. “Here’s what it means to be in the high school programs. They go to each other’s schools.” 

    In larger schools and districts, some theater teachers have more robust mentoring programs that lay out touch points that can be “just as intricate as their rehearsal schedule,” Katona said.

    Older students who act as mentors build their own knowledge as anyone does when teaching other people, Katona said. 

    “Anytime your own knowledge increases, you get a confidence boost,” she added. “That’s wonderful for SEL — you can feel like an expert in something, and wear that mantle.”

    For younger students, it’s a different dynamic to be given pointers by an older peer rather than a teacher, and they receive the information perhaps more openly, Katona said. 

    “It’s student-to-student,” she said. They’re more comfortable asking other students questions — “more comfortable to be vulnerable. When we are able to open ourselves up that way, it’s a really healthy space to be in, and it’s a creative space to be in. It’s also fun, which we can’t leave out of the SEL question. Laughter and joy are necessary.”

    Theater creates plenty of both, and it can be a gold mine for social-emotional learning of the sort that doesn’t happen as readily in a rushed, screen-oriented culture where people are “so quick to leave a comment,” Katona said. 

    “We’ve lost the ability to engage, to look each other in the eye, to think about something meaningfully,” she said. “Theater forces us to slow down and think for a beat. All of that is very healthy for all of us. People are buying apps to remind themselves to breathe in the middle of the day. That’s what theater already does for us.”

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  • Career Opportunities for Theater Students

    Career Opportunities for Theater Students

    Investing in Arts Education

    With unemployment rates hovering around 90%, acting and theater are not the most profitable careers. Luckily, there are many diverse opportunities for theater students.

    What do you do with a BA or BFA in theater? The Educational Theatre Association has documented some 26,000 theater programs in elementary and secondary schools across the United States and reports that roughly 11,000 students per year go on to earn a bachelor’s degree in theater. Yet, research published in “Nature Communications” shows that unemployment in the field of acting hovers around 90%, and as few as only 2% of actors in film and television can make a living from acting. While the number of actors looking for work in theater is smaller, the success rate is not much better. As such, it is not surprising that parents often try to steer young people away from studying theater in college or university, pushing them to choose a field that is more promising or practical. Here’s the good news: Acting isn’t the only way for theater majors to work in theater! 

    Aspiring thespians are aware of the many roles that occur backstage: directors, stage managers, playwrights, and designers, to name a few. Students who intern at theaters and for theater companies will become acquainted with front-of-house staff, box office, marketing and publicity, stagehands, and running crew. With more than 6,000 community theaters across the country, there are plenty of opportunities for theater people to work in theater after college graduation besides acting. But what other possibilities should young people consider? 

    Theater education jobs

    Theater education positions include highly visible theater teachers who are often the gateway for young people into theater. Most states across the country require teacher licensure for theater teachers, so an educational theater undergraduate program is one option to consider. Even if full-time classroom teaching isn’t your goal, graduates from these programs work as teaching artists and administrators for after-school programs and theater camps. Teaching artists also work with community groups geared toward the young and old, amateur and professional. They work for theater companies and other community organizations in educational roles — from Broadway to libraries, museums, and recreation centers all across the country. 

    That said, it is crucial for young people to be honest about their aspirations. Oprah Winfrey once said that a speech coach advised her, “My dear, you don’t want to act, because if you wanted to act, you would be doing it. What you want to be, my dear, is a star. Because if you wanted to act, you’d be waiting tables in New York.” For those 11,000 college graduates from theater programs this year: You can act. You might not earn a living as an actor, but you can act. If you want to claw your way to the top to become a star on the stage or screen, know that you are on a different path than just acting. 

    However, a life in the theater can manifest in many different spaces, so aspiring thespians should look at the full complement of undergraduate programs in theater, including educational theater, applied or community-engaged theater, and performing arts administration. A fulfilling and financially viable life of creativity with like-minded artists is out there waiting for you.

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