On Stage or Back Stage

On Stage or Back Stage

Great Lakes Theater
Photo Courtesy of Great Lakes Theater.

Theater Offers a Variety of Ways to Make Your Child the Star of the Show.

By Emma Kanagaki and Cecilia Locke

Finding activities that keep kids and teenagers engaged and excited can be a difficult task. Those kids who don’t feel like they have a co-curricular activity they fit into can always find their niche within the walls of a theater.

Theater offers a variety of roles including acting, set design, ­directing, costume design and more. Theater is an arena to build knowledge and teamwork skills as well as show the meaning of hard work and practice. If schools don’t offer a theater program, Northeast Ohio is home to many companies and institutions where your child can find a place to shine.

Lifting the Curtain on Self-Esteem

Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland provides several opportunities for teenagers to come alive. The theater works in partnership with Cleveland Metropolitan School District to produce an “All-City Musical,” which provides students with a chance to participate in a structured performance with experienced theater hands.

Kelly Schaffer Florian, director of educational services at Great Lakes Theater, helped shed some light on why theater is a great experience for students. “In general, kids who participate in the arts not only have better self-esteem, but they do better in school; it directly affects all aspects of their life,” she says. “Theater affects attendance, their grades. They’re not only learning about theater, but also life skills like team building, planning and responsibility.”

Many different types of children thrive in a theater environment.“There are the ones you would assume would naturally be great in theater,” Florian says, “someone who is always the center of attention, who loves to entertain and make people laugh and smile and perform. Then, there are the kids who surprise you. (The ones who are) quite and reserved and then you give them a character and they take comfort in that and thrive and enjoy being on stage.”

Amy Smialek, director of theater programs at Magnificat High School (magnificaths.org) in Rocky River, agrees, “Believe it or not, stereotypes and generalizations should be thrown out the window when it comes to theater. Shy kids learn how to open up and to have confidence. Outgoing students learn how to channel their ­energy into their characters. Whether it’s on the stage performing or around the stage working behind the scenes in some way, all students can find an area they’d enjoy and excel doing.”

“For the last six years, I have offered an intense educational theatrical program (at Magnificat),” Smialek says. “This program includes three main stage productions each fiscal year. Beyond performing, students are able to join crew in all aspects. Some students will do build/run/tech crew, learning how to design, measure, cut, build, paint, etc. Students learn how to sew and create costumes from a pattern and to design, adapt or create props used for each show too. I also run a summer camp for grade schoolers who put on a full-length play within a two-week camp.”

Theater During Breaks

Photo Courtesy of Great Lakes Theater.
Photo Courtesy of Great Lakes Theater.

Finding time to explore a new activity can sometimes be a strain for parents and children who have already busy schedules during the school year. However, some theaters are making it easy with options during the upcoming summer to see if “being on stage” or “behind-the-scenes” is a good fit.

Great Lakes Theater offers a summer camp for ages 4-18. Focusing on complete theater immersion, this “Camp Theater” program features courses in acting, Shakespeare, movement, ­improvisation, stage combat, mask-making and more.

Parents worried about their child’s level of experience need not worry, as Florian says “Our summer camp is for people of all skill levels, but it’s a really great intro to theater. A lot of schools have had budget cuts and they don’t have theater programs, and this is a great way to introduce them to how much fun it can be, and open up so many worlds for them.”

Brecksville Theater on the Square is another resource for theater programing. They offer spring break and summer camps to facilitate students’ needs. Founded in 1975, the theater on the square was formed under the premise of a “theater for all ages.”

The theater’s annual summer camp, for grades K through 11th grade, runs for two weeks with training in singing, dancing and acting and scenic art classes. Students then perform in a showcase that highlights what they’ve been working on over the course of the program.

Young Actors Studio in Hudson provides many options during the school year for students interested in theater with courses like “Scenes and Monologues” and “Improv.” The YAS SummerStage program is a full-length production class for seventh through 12th grade. Cast and crew are entirely composed of student participants beginning with auditions, six weeks of rehearsals and a five-show performance run.

When asked about ­theater’s popularity in Northeast Ohio, Smialek says, “If you’ve done one community theater show, you know half of the troupe in the area. It’s amazing how closely connected all theaters are in the area. Cleveland is so blessed to have such a wonderful theater district ­downtown, as well as countless ­community theaters among the neighboring ­counties.”

Northeast Ohio is chock-full of chances for your rising star to put their creativity to use. Whether your child is interested in being front and center on stage or is more drawn to behind-the-scenes work, there are plenty of opportunities for your child to shine.

 

For more from Amy Smialek, click here.

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