How Theatre Affects Children

Michele Schmitz*, School of Theatre and Dance, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506

Field (Broad Category): Theatre/Drama (Oral-Human Engagement) 

Student’s Major: Acting 

Children are often referred to as the future. In teaching them, we often instill in them the best of our values in an attempt to indoctrinate them with the knowledge we long to possess. When endeavoring to create a children’s theatre program, there are many ways that are beneficial, while others are more detrimental. Within our research we determined that there are many different ways to run an educational program aimed at both young and old children. In studying this we looked at several preschools, youth groups, and other youth organizations to understand the more organizational tasks and how they reach children. Often times children are left without theatre programs as they are the first thing to be cut when it comes to school budgeting. However, theatre supplies many children with opportunities to discover their true selves. Within this study, we also determined that there are many ways to better educate the staff members on how to reach out to students and get them to understand both the theatrical process and the arts. 

Funding: 

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's Research Apprenticeship Program (RAP) & accompanying HONR 297-level course