CHILDREN'S DRAMA
Discussion of Children’s Theatre, Children’s Drama, Creative Drama.
Developed first in 1903 in New York, Children’s Educational Theatre. Peter Pan
opened on Broadway in 1903. Many shows are focused on children, look at Lion
King.
Many other theatres for children started after WWII.
Children’s Theatre is among the long-lasting special audiences category of
theatre. It has professional companies, such as the Children’s Theatre of
Minneapolis, a university program, or an amateur group composed of community
volunteers aims to produce plays with special appeal to young audiences in order
to instill in such audiences, a love of the theatre.
Children’s Drama is an all inclusive term for creative drama, children’s theatre,
recreational theatre and formal classes for children in acting or stagecraft.
Creative drama is the informal activity in which children are guided by a leader to
express themselves through the medium of drama. Performance is not the goal,
but rather the expression of the child’s creative imagination. The use of exercises
to draw on and study to improve learning. The le ader of creative dramatics may
receive special training in theatre and child developmental psychology.
Children’s Theatre, actors can be children performing for children, or adults
performing for children. This is hotly contested. Many describe children
performing for children as “recreational drama.” It employs all the elements of a
performance for adult audiences, actors, scenery, script, costumes, lighting, props,
but focus is on a younger audience.
Plays are written specifically for youth using stories that are of interest to that age
group: fairy tales, fantasy, legends, but can also deal with social issues such as
drug and alcohol abuse and divorce. Production styles vary and most avoid
realism.
Today: Theatres are concerned over the “graying of audience”. Not too many
young people are going to the theatre. There are DVDs, computers/internet, video
games, to entertain young people. Many theatres have established children’s
programming to appeal to the young audience member and introduce them to live
performances.
Research done at the children’s educational activities at the Cleveland Play House
determined that the theatre arts had a “positive effect on academic achievement.”
The Cleveland Play House offered a variety of classes and workshops for children
and teens.