DRAMA

From the very young to the very old, everyone participates in drama. Observe children at play, and you will see through their eyes a world that is real and unique to them. Listen to an adolescent tell his version of “why there’s a dent in the front bumper” and you will envision the scene as it unfolded. Allow an older person to recount an experience in his life, and you embrace a piece of history that won’t be found in a textbook. In all of these people you will see and hear the art of drama.

It is a fundamental human instinct to express our ideas through vivid action and dialogue, and it is from these expressions that we achieve much of our learning. The stage becomes a classroom.

The stage experience teaches creativity, problem solving, teamwork, self-control, acquiring trust, discipline, confidence, tolerance, and empathy.

Classroom drama provides a safe outlet for thoughts, emotions, and dreams that might not otherwise find expression. Through theatrical exercises, games, rehearsals, and coaching, students are better able to concentrate, which in turn, develops listening and reaction skills. Drama teaches important lessons for life.

Drama and the Bible are very much alike: they both require an inner experience that demands outward expression. They reject isolation, and favor sharing. They provoke our minds and expand our imaginations. They reveal the impulses within us. Both drama and the Bible demand that we teach our world. Like the Bible, drama can change the hearts and lives of those involved, whether a student performer struggling with peer pressure, an octogenarian reflecting on life, or a middle-age audience member in crisis.

“When God conceived the world, that was poetry. He formed it, and that was sculpture. He colored it, and that was painting. He peopled it with living beings, and that was the grand, divine eternal drama.”

-Charlotte Cushman

The Arts were created by God, and we are a reflection of His infinite creativity. As we look around our classrooms each day, we are reminded of how “unique and wonderfully made” we are!