Article written by Breanna Smith.
There are many ways to make memories with kids. But one of the best ways is to simply spend time with them. Spend time with them, and to make it more fun, do something memorable. You can go to a theme park or learn a new skill together and while these are great ideas and a brilliant plan, my favourite, not surprisingly, is seeing a show. There are many reasons to see a performance and even more reasons to take your kids to see. Today we look at some of the reasons and look at why theatre is great for kids.
When we let kids see theatre shows, it allows them to test who they can be. This comes in many ways, but one is when a child sees a person on stage performing they can be that hero. It allows for the hero to grow with their friends, the kids join in as they share the story in the schoolyard and tell them what was said and how the story goes, allowing children to pretend to be the hero and lets them see a real person and see a goal they can reach for. Often there are meet and greets with the cast, so the kids are able to meet their heroes and see what they can aim to become. But it doesn't stop with the actors on stage. If the child is a little older they can see all the work that goes into making a show from lighting the stage to designing the programme. Kids are able to see how all these skills come together to make a show happen. This allows for real-world aims and goals for kids looking to explore new topics and interests. It sets real-world values to skills they may wish to develop and allows for brainstorming to start so they can start a new pastime or one day plan a career, not just one in the spotlight.
The theatre is also a good way to explore and explain new ideas. If you’re worried about introducing your child to a new idea take them to a show that has the idea in it. It doesn't have to focus on it, but it can be a starting block for a conversation. When seeing a show, the people on stage are real and have real reactions, but they aren't people you know so it's not a direct hazard. A show about two people coming together after a loss can open a conversation about parents dating again, or a hero going off to war can help explain a loved one being deployed overseas. Kids might even pick up on these topics on their own, allowing them to lead the conversation, but either way these are fictional characters in a fictional world, allowing parents and carers to explain real issues in the real world.
When seeing a performance on stage you’re not just seeing a picture on a screen. So when someone falls on stage you can hear the thump of the person falling and see their reaction in real time. You see interaction from wherever you are sitting, meaning you see the show slightly different to those you saw it with and focus on different parts of the stage so when talking to friends or family afterwards they are able to talk and discuss what they saw and how it made them feel about the show.
When talking about the show they are able to develop ideas and think critically about the show often without knowing. It allows them to think deeper and look at things in another light while speaking about it. And because it is not an everyday event and is a special occasion it is brought up in conversation allows for skills in communicating to improve as they retell the story to family and friends, deciding what is important to tell to explain the story. It becomes a retelling of the tale often with scenes acted out to allow them to share the story in their own way, letting them express the story in their own way and if seen with another child the often compare and contrast the story depending on what they focus on, letting them look at a story and think deeply. Are they aware of this? No. But an activity like this subconsciously teaches kids to think critically something that is needed more and more these days.
One of the best reasons to see a show is quite simple. Seeing a show is a memory that will stay with you for a long time. I still remember strongly things that happen at different shows I saw as a child. I still have a clear as day memory of watching the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe where one of two Aslan puppets used for some reasons had a computer chair leg sticking out from the middle. For months after as a child, I wonder why they made the choice to make the puppet that way and when brought up with my cousins who I saw the show with we still remember seeing that show and the joy it brought even ten years later. Theatre allows us to learn, grow and make memories and helps kids develop ideas and interests in a contained area which can then be explored. The theatre is great to see as an adult but as a child? Well, it can have a big impact on them and on their lives.
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