# Theatre Education Makes a Difference in the Digital Age **Channel:** schooltheatre1 **Source:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzxLuJbeJk8 **Transcript page:** https://www.withtranscript.ai/video/PzxLuJbeJk8 ## Chapters - 0:02 — Why Theater Matters in Schools - 1:02 — Personal Growth Through Theater - 2:14 — Skills Beyond the Stage - 3:02 — Teachers and Festival Community - 4:16 — Festival Impact and Lasting Advocacy ## Transcript **[0:02] Speaker A:** Providing our children with a quality, well rounded education is an ongoing national concern and with good reason. Preparing our kids for college in the workplace has always been a vitally important responsibility. But in an era defined by standardized testing and sweeping budget cuts, what used to be a staple of the school experience is beginning to disappear. **[0:22] Speaker B:** I think there's a lack of understanding that the arts are secondary to core subjects like reading and math. But actually what the research would suggest is that by participating in theater they learn things like creativity, communication skills, collaboration, critical thinking. **[0:38] Speaker B:** Those are all things that I would want my own child to be able to have. Whether they go into theater or any field. **[0:44] Speaker A:** A strong theater program will not only ignite creativity and instill self confidence, it can have a positive effect on other aspects of education as well. Studies have shown that a strong school theater program can help improve students academic performance, increase daily attendance and lower dropout rates. **[1:02] Speaker C:** It doesn't hurt that my parents are very focused on academics, so, you know, if the grades aren't up, then you can't do the shows. **[1:08] Speaker C:** So I've always been very focused on my schoolwork, but having to be so organized in the extracurricular part of my life has really helped with the academic part. **[1:18] Speaker D:** It's a lot easier to talk to people, you know, when you're on stage, you, you learn to deal with having to speak to a lot of people at one time. And so now like if you meet someone, it's easier just to say, oh, hey, I'm Grant, I'm from Alabama. And it's easy to have like a one on one kind of interaction when you know that you can perform for 2,000 people at a time. **[1:38] Speaker E:** Yeah, it definitely makes you more outgoing because theater is all about connecting with people. **[1:44] Speaker E:** So, you know, it helps you do that in real life and on stage. **[1:47] Speaker F:** When I was a kid, I was the most quiet and shy and introverted person you would ever meet. Which is really funny because now my job is to get up in front of hundreds or thousands of kids and speak confidently to them. And I can do that because of theater education. It's really, it's changed my life. It's helped me become more expressive, more confident in my own ability and my own voice. **[2:14] Speaker A:** Future thespians aren't the only beneficiaries of an immersive theater program with a focus on collaboration, creativity, communication and critical thinking. Anyone can benefit from an experience in the performing arts. **[2:27] Speaker B:** Being on stage is a lot of pressure. So you need to learn to be prepared. You have to practice your part. And then when that moment comes, you have to nail it. And as you think about a job interview, being able to come in with confidence, make eye contact, know what you're gonna say, and then execute it is exactly what you do when you're rehearsing for a play. **[2:44] Speaker A:** Thankfully, the Educational Theater association has been supporting students and teachers for decades, fighting to keep theater in schools. The nonprofit awards students and teachers with individual recognition, grants and scholarships to keep the spirit of theater alive in the hearts of those who need it most. **[3:02] Speaker G:** I'm the product of a single parent home. I have two younger siblings that are significantly younger than myself. And I spend a majority of my high school career babysitting, picking up, dropping off things of that sort. My theater teachers really worked with me to make sure that I could stay involved curricularly and extracurricularly to make sure that I was successful. And it's really thanks to them. When they kind of saw me getting off track, they kind of rerailed me and made sure that I stuck with the direction that they saw that I could be and the things that I could do. And that's the whole reason why I went to theater education. **[3:37] Speaker H:** When I found my tribe of people in high school theater, I just, I think it made me more confident and made me move through the world with a little more ease and a little more self assurance, a little more self esteem. So everything I learned in theater, I applied outside of that classroom, in that theater space too. **[3:56] Speaker A:** Helped by the Educational Theater association, the International Thespian Festival is a shining example of their commitment to young actors. **[4:04] Speaker A:** Currently held in Lincoln, Nebraska every summer, the week long event celebrates student achievement in the performing arts with workshops and unforgettable performances in a supportive community of their peers. **[4:16] Speaker D:** We actually, we drove roughly 900 miles to be here at the festival. So it's a long way away from home for us. But it really feels actually just as home as home feels. **[4:29] Speaker E:** It's crazy just to come here for a whole week and get to talk to people who have the same interest as you and know what you're talking about. **[4:36] Speaker H:** My favorite memory of the International Thespian Festival was a few years ago, a show I wrote a musical called title of show which was nominated for a Tony on Broadway. The, the high school version, they did it on the main stage here at the festival and it was this completely surreal full circle moment of somebody who had done theater and loved theater and Thespian said meant everything to me as a kid and gave me the career I have today. To circle back around and see a new generation of artists do A show that I wrote blew my mind. **[5:07] Speaker G:** Well, my favorite memory is actually from this year. I had the opportunity to work with the opening of the festival where students from all over the country came together and in 36 hours program presented a show so moving and so touching that it made me realize even more so than ever, that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing. And this is why I'm doing it. **[5:26] Speaker A:** At the festival, students aren't glued to a smartphone or a computer screen. Instead, their time is spent making connections with others, living in the moment and honing their craft in a truly unique and nurturing atmosphere. **[5:39] Speaker B:** Here at the International Thespian festival, we have 3,000 students and almost 4,000 people from across the US and even beyond. We have over 60 colleges here, and so they can audition for colleges. They can meet them in the exhibit area. And we always hear great stories about connections that are made here and then what opportunities that leads to in the future. **[5:59] Speaker A:** But the Educational Theater association doesn't stop there. As a way to recognize achievement in theater, the International Thespian Society was created. Over 2 million students have been inducted to this honor society since its induction in 1929. **[6:15] Speaker F:** I did not expect to become inducted into an International Thespian Society, but when I was finally at the end of my sophomore year, it was really like coming home. **[6:24] Speaker H:** I think that every kid deserves to have a theater program. It's essential. It's not just building professional actors and technicians and stage managers and artists. It's building better human beings. **[6:38] Speaker A:** Every child deserves access to theater education in their school, and you can help to learn more, become a member or make a donation to keep theater in schools, visit schooltheater.org or call 513-421-3900. The Educational Theatre Association Shaping lives through theater.