Performing Arts and Education

When I was in ninth grade, we got the opportunity read our first Shakespeare play in English class. The play was Julius Caesar.  Our teacher did a great job setting the stage, explaining vocabulary, and placing the events in context. Still, being a novice at reading plays, there was something missing. Fortunately the father of one of the students in our class was an executive at a movie theatre in center city Philadelphia. He invited the entire class to a private showing of the film Julius Caesar with Marlon Brando and Deborah Kerr. Suddenly the play came alive, with sets, costumes, and the interplay of the characters. It made a great deal of difference in my understanding of play. I did not understand at the time, how important the performing arts were in the development of a well rounded cultural education. In the following years, I attended my first Broadway show, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead, took a New Years Eve date to the Pennsylvania Ballet, and visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art on numerous occasions.

Fast forward forty five years and the performing arts are under attack. When financially strapped school districts cut budgets, fine and performing arts are usually the first programs to go. Cultural field trips also soon follow. With many states under the gun to have students performing well on standardized assessment testing, any subjects that appear frivolous  and are not directly related to those tested are set aside or are eliminated completely. The film Mr. Holland’s Opus, starting Richard Dreyfus, underscores the importance of the arts (in this case-music).

One suggestion that I would like to make is to connect with local community theatres. Sometimes you can meet with artistic director in advance and request a showing as a certain play. For example, your students might be learning about the Holocaust and were required to read The Diary of Ann Frank.  A local community theatre might be willing to stage a production for your students at a discounted rate. They may even be will to do a staged reading in your school auditorium.  This is a difficult time financially for small theatres thought out the country. They may be willing to work along with schools in their curriculum development.

Look also for new community theaters that are about to open. Cooperating with a school program is great publicity and certainly provides them with public exposure. One such upcoming company is the New Paradigm Theatre in Stamford, Ct. In addition to meeting the cultural needs of the community, this new innovative theatre is investigating  the possibility of offering internships to area high school students, providing a new relationship to enhance the education experience for students. It is important for educators to support fine and performing arts both in the community and in the schools. We as educators need to keep this in mind and we try to prepare students for a culturally well rounded education