Hello Beautiful People,
This past weekend, I attended my first ever New York State Theatre Education Conference for Students.
Here’s the motto/mission of this beautiful organization:
A strong, statewide organization to advocate for Drama/Theatre Education in New York State, NYSTEA promotes and supports theatre education in grades K-12 for the betterment of youth and theatre itself.
NYSTEA believes theatre is an essential part of a K-12 education for all students, developing abilities needed for the 21st century such as:
* Creativity & innovation
* Critical thinking & problem solving
* Communication & collaboration
* Flexibility & adaptability
* Initiative & self-direction
* Productivity & responsibility
* Cross-cultural skills
* Social responsibility
Here’s what I experienced this weekend:
700 students from across the state of New York, who have a love and passion and dedicaation for the theatre arts. 700 students, who, tookk CLASSES on theatre techniques (both performance and technical), from nine am until 11pm on their weekend. 700 students who, learned how to support one another, dive deeper into their craft, make friends and pleasantries with perfect strangers. I saw 700 students learning. I saw 700 students living. Growing.
Because as NYSTEA says, Theatre Transforms Lives.
And I couldn’t agree more.
Perhaps this sums up theatre education better than anything I could ever say:
One student told me, “the theatre program at our school saved my life. My brother’s life. Both our lives. When our Dad passed away, our family was a wreck. But when we did our shows, like The Music Man and Oliver and The Sound of Music, it felt like he was watching over us. It felt like he was still here — cause you see, he did those shows when he was in high school. It’s like everything came full circle.”
Another student me, “being the assistant director for your show was the highlight of my high school career.”
After a theatre excersise in ensemble building, one student told me. “I never knew people were there. I never knew they were listening. I just faded into the background and thought nobody noticed. And they said such nice things to me right now…such beautiful things. It makes my heart happy to konw that I matter.”
The arts, they keep our humanity in check. They keep the greater issues in life in perspective. They are necessary for our children’s growth.
For the past 18 eyars, NYSTEA has been the catalyst and the reason behind the public (and some private) theatre education programs across New York State.
And I am in awe of the work that they do.
If you’re a theatre educator, I cannot urge you enough to get involved. You’ll find more info here.
Live, Love, Learn,