AMERICAN THEATRE: Over the past half century, Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) has grown immensely, both in the number of institutions presenting such work and in the variety of programming within the genre. As TYA audiences have diversified, theatres are making an effort to produce work inclusive of all children. The repertoire has expanded beyond fairy tales and book adaptations, and TYA works are now grappling with subjects from segregation to living with autism.
8 comments:
I’m happy to see so many theaters that focus on theater for children. Children’s theaters and child-friendly plays were important for me when I was growing up. I’m also happy to see how many of them focus on increasing diversity, making the shows financially accessible, and trying to represent their audience’s experience on stage. The nice thing about good theater for young audiences is that, from what I have seen, if it is done well the show is good for adults, not just kids. I hope the trend of writing new plays and performing more than just fairy tales continues, not that I think theaters shouldn’t perform fairy tales. Another cool thing about this article was that it shows the diversity of theaters that produce for young audiences. The theaters in the article, despite being in the same umbrella, have different goals and different approaches, to a much larger degree than I would’ve considered before reading this article.
TYA is far from a novel concept, as so many school boards seem to think; it is the foundation on which modern theatre stands to grow. Having grown up with Main Street Theatre (Houston) as listed in the article, I know it had a huge impact on my artistic ambition long before I even knew I would ever be involved in theatre myself. Some of my happiest memories were made there, whether I was attending summer camp, seeing a show with my elementary school class, or taking my nieces to see their first ever live play (Alice in Wonderland). Main Street Theatre as a whole, beyond their youth productions, has been an integral part of Houston's theatre community for decades, and has worked very hard for their new facility and their continued growth. Anyone who is anyone in the Houston theatre community has worked there, and any teen who has gone on to study theatre has undoubtedly taken a class or taught one. What Main Street has shown me all my life is what it is to have dedication to an art form, to build a family and a life around a craft. Built in 1975, at the dawn of Houstons' art community, it has remained a solid and proud representation of just what that community has always sought to do, which is to support budding and veteran artists through whatever means necessary. Where better to start than with the children who will eventually grow into that community? As far as I'm concerned, TYA will always find those who most need it. Main Street Theatre is all the proof I need.
I really love working with young children so seeing a push to create art specifically for them (with different concepts than "hero save princess and everything is happy") makes me feel great. Something that really interested me in this article was that it mentioned teaching children about new concepts, such as living with autism. Even as an adult, I don't know what that is like. Of course I know the actual symptoms of autism, but I obviously do not know what it FEELS like.
I once read an article by a local teacher about taking her students to see a production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. She wrote about how during the show, her autistic student got very excited and began dancing along at parts. After the show, he told her that that was like how his mind felt.
I think these experiences and allowing students of all types to find themselves through art is really important to a child's development. Art is a wonderful medium for children to explore and share experiences with other kids. My favorite games as a kid were creating stories and showing my friends the worlds I created - and that's how I learned how to communicate. Allowing kids with learning disabilities to partake in this activity is a good thing.
I love reading about these things. I think children's theater is so important. As much as we like to make theater for our own generation and keep it all modern, and show views on a controversial topic, but sometimes the most influential shows are for children. Their was one show I saw when I was young that inspired me to pursue theater, and I remember it so vividly, and I think that kind of experience is true for most people. Those shows are more important than any others because those are the ones that inspire generations of theater creators to come. All of the places that this article talks about seem like such a good thing. Although it is not the kind of theater attraction that has people running like Vegas shows, it is such a good thing and I think promoting it more like this article is should be a main advertising goal.
I think that children’s theatre is vitally important to the overall idea of theatre. It is where most theatrical artists and patrons get their start. I am extremely happy to find the children’s theatre that I know and love, Imagination Stage, featured on this list. In my experience, children’s shows have been some of the most innovative and imaginative theatre I have ever seen. Through children’s theatre, you can reflect the natural curiosity and specific view of the world a child has through amazing and unique design. One of my favorite unique designs I have seen at children's theatre was at Imagination Stage during a production of Peter and Wendy, about the story of Peter Pan. The costume of Captain Hook was amazing, from handprints on his coat making an intricate pattern to a wig made up of spools for white thread. I will forever be a fan of children's theatre, and I hope that more people will bring their kids to explore the arts.
This was such a fun article to read. Children's theatre makes me feel hopeful for the future of theatre, when other articles just make me depressed. Theatre for children is so important, and it can very easily change lives at a young age. Theatre at any age is a very immersive experience that exposes the viewer to incredible and brand new things. It allows people to understand things they would never be able to understand on their own. By having strong theatrical experiences like this for children, children's theatre is not only wonderful because it is introducing young people to the beauty of theatre, but also because it can explain new concepts to kids in a way that few other mediums can. Nothing teaches quite as well as experience, and being immersed in live theatre is often the closest alternative for actual experience. I find it amazing that the author of this list was able to find twenty great children's theatres. I, unlike some of my friends, did not grow up with children's theatre, so it seems very exciting and progressive to have so many theatres for children. Overall, children's theatre is something that is vital to the growth of theatre, and can be extremely beneficial for the development and learning experiences of kids.
When I first saw the title of this article, I didn't think that it'd be relevant to me or anything. However, after reading it, I realized that these theaters are doing amazing things and really trying to foster a great environment with great purpose. Whether it be attempting to inspire kids to become positive contributors to their community, or showing them that there aren't just actors in theatre,these theaters all greatly value both the arts and children. Their attitude, purpose and approach are all very worth learning. I wish elementary/middle/high schools could read this and learn from them, because this is exactly what the arts needs in order to grow. I've been to a high school production of Beauty and the Beast and all the students involved were onstage as actors/ensembles, while the art teachers took care of the set, costumes, etc. The show wasn't that great, all of the students were squished on stage because there were way too many of them, and there was nothing special/memorable about the set since one or two art teachers alone can't physically accomplish a lot. I think the theaters in this article will make great shows because they do appreciate value and understand the importance of theater and children.
the more I've bene thinking, the more I would love to create children's theater. I interviewed at a children's theater as a counselor this summer and it really made me think about how theater creates an avenue for kids to appreciate art from a young age forward to inspire them to enjoy shows, as well as maybe want to be a part of the process someday. Not onlt that, but designing for shows for children would just be a blast. The Matilda set is really what first inspired me. It kind of let me see that children's theater can be as equally beautiful as any other theater and just as, or even more fun. It mentioned Dallas Children's Theater, a theater I've never been to, but now I feel like I should see it, since they put on an interesting production of ALice in Wonderland as an anime version. Though, I'm not doing the children's theater internship it still gave me the chance to open a door and think about how fun it could be to work in that environment and inspire young minds in that way.
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