Why Teach Theatre in Our Schools?

[lieperjp]

I recently got my EdTA membership packet, and they had this really interesting sheet in it that I thought I'd share.

Theatre is a Science
Theatre is Mathematical*
Theatre is a Foreign Language
Theatre is History
Theatre is Physical Education
Theatre is Business
Theatre is Technology
Theatre is Economics

Theatre is taught in schools
Not because you are expected to major in theatre,
Not because you are expected to perform all through life,
Not so you can relax,
Not so you can have fun,
But
So you will recognize Beauty
So you will be Sensitive
So you will be closer to an Infinite beyond this world
So you will have more Love,
More Compassion
More Gentleness,
More Good,
In short,
More Life.

Of What value will it be to make a prosperous living
Unless you know how to live?

That is why theatre is taught in our Schools.

I thought it was pretty interesting, even though it is coming more from an acting side. Comments?

*The sheet spelled this as Mathemetical.

[icewolf08]

Well, some of that is true, and some of it makes me gag.
So you will recognize Beauty
So you will be Sensitive
So you will be closer to an Infinite beyond this world
So you will have more Love,
More Compassion
More Gentleness,
More Good,
In short,
More Life.
Funny thing that it sounds like a high school drama teacher wrote it. "Theatre is not so you can have fun" Oh really? Because I think that most of us enjoy doing theatre, and one of the first things I tell anyone is that if they are not having fun then something needs to change. Then explain to me how theatre teaches compassion and gentleness, even in the academic world, theatre is a pretty cutthroat industry.

However, if sting things like what that sheet says help get schools and parents to fun theatre programs then by all means keep sending them out!

[seanandkate]

I think Shakespeare came closer:

the purpose of playing, whose
end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the
mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own
image, and the very age and body of the time his form and
pressure.

I still like the idea though, however idealized. Theatre, as well as all art, should teach and delight (not my concept-- Aristotle and many others). It should absolutely have elements of fun (that'd be the delight part), but without the teaching part, the part where we learn about the human condition and how it speaks to us as an audience, the experience is kinda hollow. Good theatre should make us think. It should say something that was arguable. It should make us examine ourselves. No less than Socrates said the unexamined life is not worth living. . .

As a teacher of high school drama, pitching theatre as a career is a hard sell at the BEST of times. I can tell parents that presentational and interpersonal skills are transferable to any job out there. But the larger reason (and here the idealist in me comes out) is because in the theatre you have the possibility of affecting many thousands of lives over the course of a career. How many other jobs can boast that? Out of the millions of people who know the name of Shakespeare, do you think ONE of them could name his lawyer? His accountant? His, um, hair stylist? OK, I'm probably grasping here . . .

I like one of my collegue's sayings that sort of mirrors the heart of your sheet:
“You’re going to study theatre? That means you have to learn everything!”

[derekleffew]

Originally Posted by icewolf08

...Funny thing that it sounds like a high school drama teacher wrote it. ...

Since it came from the EdTA, chances are very good that a high school drama teacher DID write it. Does this lessen its value in your perception? Would you respect it more if it came from a PhD at Yale, or a Broadway producer?

Originally Posted by seanandkate

...As a teacher of high school drama, pitching theatre as a career is a hard sell at the BEST of times. ...

As well it should be. Who said "Art isn't easy?"

[seanandkate]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Who said "Art isn't easy?"

Art should be challenging. In addition to that, I also want parents to know it's not frivolous.

[icewolf08]

Too much drama, not enough theatre!

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Since it came from the EdTA, chances are very good that a high school drama teacher DID write it. Does this lessen its value in your perception? Would you respect it more if it came from a PhD at Yale, or a Broadway producer?

Actually, yes. Why? Because it sounds like something that a high school drama teacher would say to the school board to get them to give money. It sounds great, but at the same time it sounds really contrived. I really can't see any higher education faculty member making statements like that. It certainly is not something that I would expect to hear in a college classroom when the question "What is the purpose of theatre?" is asked.

I believe that there is a big difference between high school drama and high school theatre. There are big differences between the high school drama teacher who also teaches English or Social Studies and the high school theatre teacher who teaches theatre. The two might put on the same quality shows, but the means to the end and what students take away from it are different.

I don't mean to come off as harsh or to insult or whatnot. I just think that academic theatre has many branches and some are more reputable than others. I certainly don't think that theatre classes are only for theatre people. I also realize that not every high school (not even most) has the resources to have a full time theatre program with at least one full time faculty member. However I think there is a big difference in what kind of educational experiences are brought to the table when you compare the classes taught by the full time theatre teacher and the English teacher who runs the drama department.

I don't want to sound like I am attacking EdTA as I think that they are an organization that stands for good things. I guess that statements like those in the orange above sound so highschool-ish and not professional. They make me feel like I am being talked down to, and as I said earlier, some of it sounds very contrived.

[lieperjp]

Originally Posted by derekleffew

Since it came from the EdTA, chances are very good that a high school drama teacher DID write it. Does this lessen its value in your perception? Would you respect it more if it came from a PhD at Yale, or a Broadway producer?

The sheet it was printed on says:

Originally Posted by EdTA

Adapted with permission from Music Educators National Conference MIOSM Planning Guide

So while it may have been written (or adapted) by a High School Teacher, I would hazard a guess that it was written by some of the most qualified High School Teachers in the country. Not to mention the people with PhDs and/or decades of experience that lead these groups.

[lieperjp]

Originally Posted by icewolf08

Funny thing that it sounds like a high school drama teacher wrote it. "Theatre is not so you can have fun" Oh really? Because I think that most of us enjoy doing theatre, and one of the first things I tell anyone is that if they are not having fun then something needs to change.

I think the point of that statement is speaking to the fact that the classes offered in a High School are not meant to be "slacker" classes where students basically have a class to do nothing but goof off, talk and play games. Theatre is a lot of work, we can all agree on that. However, you should have be able to have fun, or why do it?

[Bluefey]

I realize that I am new to this board - but i do find icewolf08's posts very condensending to those of us who teach theatre in a high school - and must speak up to defend high school theatre programs on all levels.

You are very right that the quality of programs varies greatly from school to school; many schools are on a very limited budget and unable to produce elaborate productions. That does not lessen the impact that we have on the lives of children or on the legacy we leave behind! Thank God for that English teacher who takes on the added work that comes with being a "drama" teacher, for without her those students would never have had an opportunity to experience theatre at all....

Thank God for EdTA - for all the good things that they do and for the resources that they offer to help that "drama" teacher be the best darn drama teacher she can be!

We cant all have that $100k budget, but please do not sell our programs short! And do not belittle our intentions or programs. No drama teacher sets out to short change their students - they give as much as they know how to do. It is a shame that all schools do not have the money to fund a full time theatre teacher, but with the funding issues and subsequent cutting of programs some schools dont even get to have that drama teacher. EdTA has worked hard to help save educational theatre and to provide facts, statistics, and cheesey sentimental statements (like in this thread) that those drama teachers and "real" theatre teachers can use to help insure that their students will be able to recognize Beauty
be Sensitive
be closer to an Infinite beyond this world
have more Love,
More Compassion
More Gentleness,
More Good,
In short,
More Life.

[icewolf08]

I find that I often get misinterpreted, especially on the intertubes. I think that all theatre education from elementary school through college and beyond is very important. No matter what background an educator comes from. Theatre is all bout community and the fact that every person brings different qualities to the table is what makes the industry thrive. I don't think that the schools that can barely support a small drama club give any less to their students than the schools which have huge budgets, multiple classes and a dedicated theatre faculty. The experience and the mindset is just different.

Lets put it this way, if I was sitting on the school board and someone came in to talk about the theatre programs with those statements [which we have been discussing], I would still see them as seemingly contrived and sentimental. I would want to hear what theatre teaches that students don't learn sitting in math class or social studies class. Tell me that theatre teaches how to interact with other people, how to work as a team, how to achieve a common goal. Tell me that it teaches interpersonal skills that sitting in a classroom taking notes or reading from textbooks doesn't. Tell me that students learning about technical theatre will come out knowing how to do something, not necessarily theatre. Did you ever ask yourself what the point of taking math in school was? Did you ever say "When will I use this in life?" Well, we apply a lot of those concepts from high school math in theatre, and that is what I would want to hear. All the stuff about recognizing beauty and so on could be said about any fine art class, photography course, choir, or band.

I am a theatre professional, and I probably would not be where I am today were it not for the theatre classes and clubs that I was involved in when I was in high school (and earlier). I understand the value of these programs and I want to see them thrive. I even would like to ultimately wind up as a theatre educator on some level at some point in my career. However, I think that it is the sentimental and seemingly contrived nature of statements like the ones being discussed that gives theatre a bad reputation in lower education settings. Parents want to hear that their children are developing sharp minds and will go out and be successful, not that their kids are being taught some mushy sentimental thing like theatre.

So, as I said before, I think that organizations like EdTA are very good for the educational branch of our industry, I just think that we need to re-evaluate the way we promote them, and the [perceived] fundamentals on which they stand.