Personal Development

 

On stage, kids get to wear costumes and makeup to visually become the character – the character came to life through the action of the actor. Still not themselves, per se, the actors become someone else using their own thoughts, instincts, imaginations, and persuasive skills.

The New Artists Productions theater program teach skills such as acting, stagecraft, make-up, improvisation, and vocal techniques – a means to free a child’s spirit of curiosity and creativity while allowing them to experience the joy of self-confidence and the gratification of performance. Our program helps kids develop life-skills and personal attributes such as self-respect, self-awareness, and self-discipline. Along the way, the kids learn teamwork, self-esteem, memorization skills, stage presence, and communication skills.

Through theater, performers build self-confidence while pretending in front of others rather than in their own world of fantasy and imagination. It is ok to be funny or goofy on stage because there are characters that require that.

Psychology plays a key role in the development of ‘self.’ If a person is normally shy, becoming a character on stage helps develop personality; in many cases, there is a transformation from shy to outgoing – this is the self-confidence development. Also, peer encouragement and support help someone taking small steps to start taking giant steps to giant gains.

It’s like climbing a ladder for someone afraid of heights. If one sets a slow, self-governed pace, each rung becomes less of a mountain to climb; it can become a hill if along the way there are “rest areas” where people are offering encouragement. These people are the directors of the play, other cast members, or peers. From the “rest area,” the next step is easier – ultimately, the top rung of the ladder is reached and then ‘the sky becomes the limit’ for experience and growth.