The Life Skills of Theatre

For many summers I managed a summer theatre camp for teens. Every year one or more of the parents would come to me with grave concerns about their son or daughter becoming an actor. "How will they get a job?" "How will they pay their bills?" After calming them down I would reassure them that 90% of young people involved in theatre in high school never go into theatre as a career choice. But then... I would go on to explain that in fact theatre teaches some of the best life skills a young person can learn!

1. TEAM WORK - without many people working together on a production the curtain would never go up. Actors, directors, designers, technicians, managers must all work closely together as a team to create the final product.

2. DISCIPLINE - creating a play requires a tremendous amount of discipline. There are schedules to meet and budgets to maintain. An actor must come to rehearsal on time and with his/her lines memorized when the director says. Designers must have finished designs in place so technicians can fabricate them in time for technical rehearsal week.

3. ORGANIZATION - theatre requires an incredible amount of organizational skills and attention to detail. From the actor who must memorize their lines and blocking to the stage manager who must organize all the details for the director. Attention to detail is critical if all the parts are to come together correctly and on time.

4. CREATIVITY - all aspects of theatre require creativity and use of the right hemisphere of the brain. Actors, technicians as well as arts managers must be excellent problem solvers. They have to not only create the artistic product but it has to be done on schedule and under budget. That often takes incredible creativity!

5. SELF CONFIDENCE - acting teaches you the self-confidence needed to speak in front of people. To teaches you how to effectively communicate with your audience or with your fellow actor.

Now, read back over the life skills of theatre above and think about what it takes to train young people to be leaders. The life skills taught by theatre are the cornerstones of great leadership. Theatre is a fun way to teach young people how to be a team player and how to be disciplined, organized, creative and self-confident.