Theatre Cultivates Confidence

Here at Emerald Coast Theatre Company our summer camp season is in full swing. I enjoy the process of preparing for a camp or production. I read the script, discuss some ideas with the costumer, order lots of props and costume pieces off Amazon Smile (they donate to ECTC), and allow the creative process to simmer in my head. Next are the actual rehearsals- this is where the seeds are planted. In my experience with professional or educational theater, rehearsals are about 60 percent fun, 30 percent work, and 10 percent like herding a group of creative cats. Yes- it is the same whether working with artistic adults or children! But all that fun, work, (and herding) is planting seeds within the kids.

Then we come to the culminating event of opening night; energy is high, nerves are on edge, costumes perfected, voices warmed up, and the curtain opens! The great thing about live theater is that once that curtain opens the actors have to be prepared for anything: costume malfunctions, another actor forgetting their cue, that younger brother or sister in the audience screaming at the top of their lungs. The act of performing is the fertilizer on everything that has been planted. Then the final bow takes place, the curtain closes, the children change out of costume, and next is my favorite part of summer theater camp.

After a show is over I look at the faces of the children that I have worked with for the past one to two weeks. I can see in them the sense of accomplishment. The pride they have in what they have done. Sometimes I will reflect on how they had difficulty with a certain line of dialogue, or how they would forget their blocking but then during the performance everything we worked on came together. You can almost see the shoots of self confidence growing from the very core of their beings.

What is just as rewarding to me is to see the faces of the moms, dads, grandparents, and friends. I can see in their eyes how proud they are of their son or daughter. How much joy the families have in seeing their child work with a group and accomplish so much…then to present it to a room full of onlookers. The family is often amazed at the courage and confidence it takes to do that. At the end of the show I get to hear Dads say, “I’m proud of you.” Moms hug while squealing, “You did so good!” And that self confidence that I saw growing gets watered and confirmed in that girl or boy.

Mom, Dad, and child leave the theater together and all of them are beaming with pride and joy. This is what I get to experience every single time we put on a camp, class, or show. I get to experience the priceless gift of how theater cultivates confidence!

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