THE SHOW MUST GO ON!

WHY?

By Irene Light

I apologize for taking so long to write this article. I just haven’t found the time to sit down and compose my thoughts. In a week my brain won’t be so full because the camp show, which I am directing WILL BE OVER!! YAY!

Why am I doing this to myself? With songs constantly going through my head at night and thoughts of show disaster looming, it does not seem like something that a sane person would undertake, but I’m a teacher. (What did I mean by that?) The point is, I AM a teacher and performing is something that all children should experience. Otherwise, why have I been doing this for more than thirty years?

I have met a few naysayers who probably were pushed as children to perform. The thought of dealing with this experience again really stresses them out and their students can sense this. Teachers and parents must remember that children naturally love music. That is why a musical performance (without dialogue) is the easiest venue for everyone. It will help to encourage them at a young age to have fun with music and to enjoy themselves.

All children are natural performers. How else do they manage to “manage” us so that they can get their way and our attention? They enjoy doing this so why shouldn’t they enjoy getting the attention of an audience and receive applause? This is definitely a more positive occupation. I have seen too many children who are afraid to be noticed. Frequently their parents have “labeled” them as shy or nervous or afraid. (Trigger words like these may stay with a person through adulthood.) The sooner we start them performing, the better.

Performing promotes creativity. (Remember that there is the right side of the brain that needs encouragement.) At camp this year, I was working with a group of boys who didn’t want to participate in the show. They really didn’t know how to perform and so they misbehaved. Well, I did exactly what they wanted. I made them the center of attention and created a musical number where every child was a star. Each one had a few minutes singing into a microphone and creating a dance step that the rest of the boys had to imitate At first, they acted up (as you could imagine) and the class copied them but then they discovered that they had power in performing! They created some “cool” movements. THEY were controlling their friends but in a positive way and I encouraged them to keep going. You couldn’t stop them! EVERYONE wanted to be in charge and they all wanted several turns. It was a blast to see the self-confidence and creativity being developed in such a short period in time.

Sometimes we, as teachers, have to get creative in our teaching in order to accomplish our goals. We know that creativity and self-confidence go hand-in-hand. If students are allowed to make their roles more comfortable, then it becomes their project and they want to show others how much fun it is. Then they are willing to participate. I had to get very creative last week to help a quiet child to become confident. She didn’t want to be in our musical but she loved watching all of the songs and dances. She just was not ready to perform so I turned her into a refrigerator. WHAT? Wouldn’t her mom be upset? No. Not at all. Her daughter was willing to carry a sign announcing a musical number and actually walk with it in front of the entire audience. The sign was almost as big as she. This way, she pretended to be a refrigerator with the sign being held by a magnet. She was smiling behind the sign but no one (she thought) could see her and so she participated in our show. (Next year, I might make her into a freezer.......... NO! That would be too cold of me!) Who knows what she will become but she will still enjoy performing and be a little more self-confident. She may even be able to create her own role!

So we see that performing builds self-confidence. That, of course, applies to everything that a person does. Think of how much better that student will be at presenting academic reports in the future. Poise and the ability to memorize have been improved as well.

So, don’t worry about having another project thrust upon you. You will have happier, creative and more confident students who will do better in other subject areas and will find more original ways to control their teachers!

ENJOY!

(C) Irene Light 2005