Not Just Kid Stuff

Not Just Kids Stuff
A serious look at theatre for young people

When you hear the term “children’s theatre,” what comes to mind?  An elementary school pageant about the digestive system? A high school musical? A group of adults performing an interactive play for kids about the virtues of working together?

Make no mistake – children’s theatre can encompass all of those things and more. Local theatres and school districts devote substantial time, funding and personnel to the creation of programs and opportunities for young people to get involved with and learn from the craft of performance. 

The positive qualities that the theatre arts foster in young people -- like collaboration, self-confidence, empathy, and community -- have been documented in publications ranging from The Washington Post to Psychology Today.  

Even so, a big question regularly resurfaces: Is theatre for young audiences (TYA) seen as more than just “something for the kids to do?” 

In September of 2018, this topic was explored in depth through a series of interviews in American Theatre magazine. As a short introduction to that article, Ghostlight asked local theatre professionals about their views on this subject.  Here are a few of their observations:

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Our primary emphasis of the OSHKids productions is always on 'telling the story,' which applies to the way we present stories and how we encourage our student actors to think about themselves - as storytellers. For a lot of my students (ages 8-13), there's a focus on primary skills like becoming comfortable with speaking in front of their peers, voice and speech production, breath control and more. But we also emphasize the importance of the process. I love to be part of facilitating a space that encourages younger folks to hone in on the things that allow them to let loose and experiment.
I think it's critical right now that upcoming generations have space to safely explore ideas, question reality, connect with their peers, and encourage each other to be more outrageous in whatever direction they choose. Hanniel Sindelar, Instructor, OSHKids, Open Stage of Harrisburg

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The Family Series at Keystone Theatrics, our year-long program of theatre for young audiences, is about more than just 'getting people into the seats'. For many children, this is their first exposure to theatre, and we want it to be a high quality, enjoyable, and memorable one. We carefully selected these productions, as we do our entire season, with a variety of criteria in mind, but also to make sure our audiences – young and old – have a positive experience and want to return. There are SO many benefits to exposing children to theatre: it encourages creativity and imagination, communication and expression, patience, and skills that can carry over into all areas of life.  Dustin Leblanc, Executive Director, Keystone Theatrics

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Rather than creating theatre FOR children, our model at DreamWrights is about including people of all ages – children and adults. Four of our 12 productions in 2019 include participants from age 7 through adult. The growth inherent through this intergenerational work impacts every participant. Our work is truly about character building. What better way is there to develop teamwork, acceptance, self-esteem, creativity, responsibility and respect than through the positive work of mounting a production together from start to finish?  This work has no age boundaries.  Ann Davis, Dreamwrights Center for Community Arts

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Gamut Theatre reaches young audiences in so many ways that it’s a challenge to pick just one or two examples of how important it all is.  Beginning with our Popcorn Hat Players shows, we create productions that are tailored to reach kids and adults – this is not theater where the kids sit up front and the parents hang in the back and talk or check their email: we perform for an audience of all ages and engage adults with threads of humor they will appreciate and enjoy. Likewise, we engage young people by not “talking down” to them. We speak to them with intelligence and use great storytelling to make connections. When we do this, we create a shared experience for the entire audience.

With our classes for young people, we set expectations for them just as we would for adult performances: our student actors are expected to work together, respect everyone else’s abilities, be prepared, and support one another. Our students learn  -- just as adult actors learn -- that the creation of live theatre consists of work as well as play, and that success comes when both are in balance.  Melissa Nicholson, Executive Director, Gamut Theatre Group, home of the Popcorn Hat Players, Young Acting Company, Gamut Theatre Summer Academy

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Read the American Theatre article below