Thursday, December 26, 2019
Yes, You Should Take Preschoolers to the Theatre
Theatre Development Fund – TDF: For a family as stage-centric as ours (I'm the only non-Equity adult), one question arises the minute new members are born into it: How soon can we take them to the theatre?
Three decades ago, I waited two and a half years to initiate my daughter, Laurel. When her father was cast in The Philadelphia Story, I prepped her for weeks: "What do we do when the lights go out?" Small finger to lips: "We're quiet."
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My mother loves talking about my very first theatre experience. When I was two and a half years old, just like the writer’s daughter, she took me to the musical, Cats. Apparently, I sat quietly throughout the show and did not take my eyes off the stage for a moment. There is a video of me, building a train out of toys and dancing to the song “Skimbleshanks The Railway Cat” right after we got home. I believe there are mainly two reasons why taking preschoolers to the theatre is great. One is to teach kids how to behave in the theatre as a part of basic discipline, just like taking them to a public restaurant and telling them to shut their mouth while chewing. The other is to develop their five senses. The article mentions the critical thinking skills, but I believe that is a little too advanced. Taking preschoolers to the theatre might be more about the basics as human beings. On the other hand, it is important to note that only kids in a rich, blessed home environment can be taken to a theatre while they are young. This is where community engagement of theatre becomes significant!
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