The Power of PerformingChildren Develop Skill and Confidence
through the Performing Arts
By Brent Ahsmuhs Who doesn’t want the best opportunity for their children? Maybe you want your child to grow up and enjoy their life to the fullest, or to achieve a special level of accomplishment, or to make some altruistic contribution to society. Of course, regardless of what you want, they will choose their own way. You can however help them prepare for any of those objectives while doing something they will certainly enjoy. You can help your child by encouraging them into the performing arts, especially what I’ll call the verbal arts, as a hobby. I’ll explain the verbal arts in a minute. First, I want to share with you a small list of the capabilities this will help them expand. Performing arts experience will give your child greater self confidence, self awareness, the ability to relate to a wide variety of people, greater social adjustment, and the ability to present in front of a group of people. That list of attributes represents key skills in today’s world according to Daniel Goleman in his best selling book Emotional Intelligence . I’ve seen first hand how performing at an early age develops many important skills. I took acting classes and performed in many venues starting in the 8th grade. Throughout my career I was promoted within companies where I worked from project leader to project manager to director of a division and I’ve been elected President of two different professional societies. Today I own my own software company and am a professional magician and speaker. I can easily attest to how the performing arts help make me both more professional, and more fun! Training in the performing arts isn’t limited to high school acting classes. Children can get involved at an early age. Theater for Young America accepts students starting at age 3 and there are many options available to older children and youth. I spoke with some students in local classes, their parents and teachers to see if their experiences mirrored my own. Tate Kernell is the 10 year old son of Tonja and Jim. When he finished his first performance in a Theater for Young America (TYA) play, his teachers commented on how he changed at school! How it boosted his self confidence and motivation. Mom said his first two weeks of rehearsals for that show were very demanding. They forced him to focus, not only on his part in the play, but also on getting school work done to have time for rehearsals. Their family is very science oriented and his Dad wasn’t sure acting was a good idea back when Tate was 6 and they got him started at TYA. Today, they all agree it was a great decision as they see all the benefits to Tate. Not to mention how much fun he has! Tate says his experiences in acting make it easier for him to try new things in other areas. It also gives him a “better view of reality” - an understanding of how other people view the world. He says he enjoys acting but has no intention of making a career of it. He likes too much “other stuff “ too! Tate’s younger brother Wyatt and sister Quinn are now following in his footsteps, but they got started even earlier – when they were three! The TYA web page (www.tya.org) says the performing arts… “…help
students increase their ability to communicate verbally and physically,
to think imaginatively, to concentrate, to feel and understand emotions,
ability to co-operate in groups, and to seek solutions. In its long
history of drama training, Theatre for Young America is proud to have
nurtured both students that pursue professional careers in theatre and
students that utilize their theatrical skills for success in many other
fields.” When she was 13, Caroline Findlay thought she might want to be an actress. Her dad Jayme helped her pick out an acting class. After checking options they chose Brian Cutler’s Commercial Actor’s Studio on Westport Road where Brian teaches commercial acting and film technique. They felt it offered a very professional approach to learn acting from an experienced TV and Film actor. Both daughter and father agree the class has improved her self confidence. It’s given her a stronger sense of identity separate from her friends at school. Since this class practices acting on film Caroline regularly has to watch her performances in front of fellow students, most of whom are older than she is. This builds a unique form of preparation for presenting in front of people and being comfortable in front of a camera which can be helpful on many career paths. Her dad Jayme points out there is a “whirlwind” of activity and influence coming from the peers of teens. This class gives Caroline an external point of reference, in addition to her family, from which to evaluate options and help determine when to say yes and when to say no. He also feels that by helping their daughter pursue a possible dream, they/re drawing closer together. At first, Caroline didn’t want to tell her friends she was in an acting class. But now she’s not only gained the confidence to tell them but she has a sense of pride in her accomplishments. Her friends think it’s neat too! She really has a great time in the class and knows it’s helping her grow as a person. That’s a good combination. Caroline points out that acting as a career or a side line is tough. Everyone deals with rejection, even the best are passed over by many casting calls. It’s hard work to memorize lines in time to meet deadlines and in a real filming situation it can be very expensive to redo scenes because someone forgot a line. All of these are excellent lessons for youth to learn. Kim Nabazas of Prairie Village says her daughter Ray had been in classes and productions at TYA since she was five and really learned a lot. However, after seven years at TYA Ray wanted to study acting in a new environment. They were referred to Brian Cutler. Kim says “Brian doesn’t tolerate any jacking around. He maintains a very professional atmosphere”. While Theater for Young America caters entirely to youth, Brian’s classes have many adults too. In Ray’s first class at Brian’s studio no one believed she was only 12 years old. Both mom and daughter attribute her maturity to training and experience in acting. Kim points out how Ray’s verbal and non verbal communication skills were developed through her classes. They both stressed the way acting has boosted her self esteem and confidence. Ray shared about a time she raised her hand in math class to ask the teacher to explain something she didn’t understand and after class other students thanked her for asking. In her music class the teacher asked for volunteers to come in front of the class and sing part of a song they were working on and Ray was one of only a few to raise her hand. Although Ray is very mature for her age it’s also very clear that she loves life and has a lot of fun. She feels acting taught her how to better express and enjoy herself. She also feels acting makes her aware of how other people think and view the world which allows her to make more friends and to expand her own personality . She tells of befriending a wide variety of people from other countries and backgrounds and says she enjoys encouraging fellow students and boosting their self confidence. Brian’s
web page (www.actorsstudio.com)
is geared toward adults as well as youth so it emphasizes direct
benefits in terms of work as an actor.
However, it also refers to broader benefits such as learning to
express yourself and boosting self confidence.
Interestingly, his suggested reading list sounds much more like a
self help reference than an actor’s tool kit.
Two entries on his list, Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo
Emerson and Mastery by George Leonard, are good materials no
matter what you do. Colleen
Thom of the American Heartland Theater (www.ahtkc.com)
has been teaching acting for many years.
Her students have gone on to become actors, teachers, ministers,
lawyers, directors, producers and a variety of other ‘roles’.
Some of her past students now work for Paramount and Disney.
American
Heartland offers classes for ages 10 and up.
Colleen knows the lessons she teaches will help her young wards
every day of their lives. She
teaches both verbal and non verbal communications skills, stressing to
her students how body language many times says more than words.
She emphasizes the need to follow directions and to listen to
your boss and to everyone else around you.
According to Colleen good acting is a matter of really listening
to your partners in a scene and responding to them in character.
She also focuses each student on improving their own performance
and competing with themselves in order to constantly improve. Colleen
represents theater to her students as a business.
As businesses thrive or die based on their reputation, so a
person’s reputation affects their lot in life.
No one wants to hire an actor, or anyone else, who mis-behaves.
She shows her students how to respect other people and to learn
about many different views of life.
She teaches self discipline and constantly reminds her students
they can’t do any part or job unless they are self motivated to get it
done. Clearly, acting can help your son or daughter develop a wealth of skills. There are a variety of other verbal performing arts that can help too. My personal favorite is magic. As a kid I read two books that really reinforced my interests. Magic is an Art by Tristan, and Showmanship for Magicians by Henning Nelms are still wonderful windows to the world of magic as a ‘verbal art form’. Books, and direct training from many of the famous magicians of my youth were my introduction to magic. Thanks to Joe Stevens I was exposed to the teachings of great magicians at an early age. Joe produced conventions in my home town of Wichita where I met Lance Burton and David Copperfield in person before they were household names. All of those greats told me the real key was in presenting magic to your audience once you had learned the trick dead cold. I’ve been a performing magician ever since. Knowing a magic trick or two is a lot of fun, as is being a ham at your family reunion and acting out your favorite scene from a sitcom. Both acting and magic can be done casually for the heck of it or much more seriously (but still with a lot of fun!). However, the kind of benefits we’re talking about come from a more serious study and experience. There are differences between acting and magic. In acting, you primarily perform for the audience as though they don’t exist. In magic you interact with the audience, as do comedians, speakers, and many other performing artists. In addition, in acting you speak someone else’s words, while in these other forms you distinguish yourself by the words you choose. Actors rarely write and direct. Magicians do it all. In thinking about what’s good for your child, these are important differences to consider. Magic has a huge following of non performers. It’s a world of neat devices and mental challenges. There are many people with the hobby of magic who just love the tricks for their own sake. The benefits of performing don’t apply in these cases. Magic, Speaking, Comedy, Juggling, Clowning and other endeavors all fall into my definition of the ‘verbal performing arts’. I believe all of them offer some of the benefits we’re discussing, as long as the focus is on performing and your child gets in front of audiences. Classes and less formal exposure to each of these areas exist, but they’re usually less structured than what’s available for acting students. In some respects, the process of becoming accomplished in these non acting areas requires more initiative on the part of the student. Acting is unique in its exploration of emotion and the human experience. I encourage anyone interested in any verbal performing art to also study acting. Acting is much more likely to result in improved self awareness, the ability to relate to a wide variety of people, and greater social adjustment. There are many performing arts I don’t include as ‘verbal’ arts, music and dance for instance. Although these have their own developmental value I’m not qualified to discuss them. Everything in life has a downside, even the verbal performing arts, can you believe it? Some think performing results in being self centered. Although that can happen, the reality is that one bad performance is a very humbling experience. It takes a lot of successes to overcome the memory of just one public failure. Your child may hear of the money made by famous performers on TV and in movies (and at Las Vegas?) and set their sights on nothing less. Like in gambling, the lure of riches can be obsessive and end in poverty. That’s not a reason to avoid performing, it’s a reason to learn better values. There’s nothing wrong with making money, but only a few of the very best, and some of the most lucky, ever see wealth from performing. In acting, you may be asked to speak words you don’t agree with. Some people deal with this by refusing to take parts that aren’t consistent with their own values. Others see this as an opportunity to explore life from a perspective other than their own, which can actually strengthen their own values. As a magician and speaker, I’m the author of everything I say. The positives of the verbal performing arts out weigh the negatives by far. Your child would benefit from being involved. Regardless of which area they choose, they will learn a variety of skills, meet many wonderful people, and have a blast. That’s a sure formula for success! Copyright © 2000-2001 Brent Ahsmuhs |