Running head: NECESSITY OF THEATRE EDUCATION

The Necessity of American Theatre Education

Ciara Pysczynski

Greenbrier High School

Author’s Note

This paper was prepared for LNG 407, 4th period, for Ms. Jennifer Lowery.
NECESSITY OF THEATRE EDUCATION 2

The Necessity of American Theatre Education

It was 1992; a young Puerto Rican boy waited patiently offstage for his sixth-grade

theatrical debut. After years of anticipation, he prepared to walk onstage to play a myriad of

roles, from Conrad Birdie to Captain Hook, and then take a final bow for the musical he had

penned himself. By receiving theatre education from a young age, this little boy developed an

appreciation for arts, intense creativity, and a desire to stay in school. Less than 20 years later, he

was honored at the Tony Awards as the composer, lyricist, and star of his Broadway debut, In the

Heights (Raskauskas, 2016, para. 6). Lin-Manuel Miranda, among the most lauded theatre stars

of the 21st century, attributes much of his success to his early access to arts education. According

to Miranda, “the impact of arts education on [his] career [was] complete, total, and it saved [his]

life” (as cited in Raskauskas, para. 3). Exposure to theatre in childhood gave Miranda an

identity, a community, and a path to follow; the arts pointed him toward success.

Theatre education is not important only for the future Tony winners of the world. All

students, whether they will grow up to be actors, doctors, or plumbers, benefit greatly from the

arts. In addition to their inherent cultural value, the arts provide support for student development

in various other areas. Evidence has linked theatre education with confidence and community

building, increased empathy and awareness, higher standardized test scores, and lower dropout

rates. Unfortunately, legislation and a federal focus on science, technology, engineering, and

mathematics (STEM) have led to a noticeable decline in American theatre education. Research

shows, however, that youth participation in the performing arts is important to social,

psychological, and intellectual growth; the necessity of theatre education must not be ignored.

The decline in American arts education is not a new development. According to the
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Survey of Public Participation in the Arts, the percent of 18-year-olds who reported receiving

childhood arts education decreased steadily from 1982 to 2008 (as cited in Rabkin and Hedberg,

2008, p. 44). Much of the 21st century decline can be attributed to the No Child Left Behind Act

(NCLB) of 2002. This policy incentivizes state and local governments to meet national standards

and improve their offerings in “core” classes, such as mathematics and language arts, that are

tested nationwide under NCLB. There are no mandatory tests for art programs; thus, many

school boards may lack the incentive to improve their performing arts classes (Tutt, 2014, p. 93).

With little motivation to increase arts course offerings or better arts curricula, just over half of

state graduation requirements include a fine arts course, and only 7% of surveyed colleges

required a high school fine arts course for enrollment (p. 95). Another factor contributing to the

decline of theatre and performing arts education is the focus on STEM programs. Today, STEM

programs are necessary to ensure students are knowledgeable of the technology that controls the

modern world. However, to provide these STEM classes, many public schools are defunding the

arts (Weltsek, Duffy, & Carney, 2014, p. 65). The importance of STEM programs does not

invalidate that of performing arts programs. Though they may not teach about the latest

technology, theatre and other arts programs are important to students in other, equally valuable

ways.

One of the greatest effects of theatre education is its unique ability to build students’

confidence and foster a sense of community and belongingness. Theatre requires people to be

emotionally vulnerable with peers, which helps break down the psychological walls many put up

against others. In one study, researchers gave high school sophomores instruction in dramatic

oral poetry over six weeks. According to Kassab (1984), studying and performing dramatic
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poetry “improves oral skills, increases comfort with oral communication, and enhances self-

esteem and self-image” (p. 30). By performing their own emotional poems for each other, the

participants in the study became more comfortable with each other and with themselves. This

can be particularly helpful for students of minority groups. For example, lesbian, gay, bisexual,

transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQQ) students who feel outcast at school are often

able to turn to theatre as a source of community and healthy friendships. At a teen center in

Michigan, LGBTQQ theatre group Riot Youth participated in a study to determine the effects of

performing in a theatre group on the LGBTQQ teens. The results of the study suggested that

“storytelling breaks down isolation and builds community” and that “collective storytelling

provides opportunities to act as a change agent” (Wernick, Kulick, & Woodford, 2014, p. 843;

845). Through group theatre exercises, the LGBTQQ teens developed a greater sense of self-

worth as well as improved leadership skills (p. 848). Personal empowerment such as this cannot

be assessed with a standardized test, yet believing in oneself is among the most important

characteristics of a mentally healthy and happy individual. Theatre education, more so than

traditional classes, is better suited to evoke these traits, given its collaborative nature.

Theatre classes are also valuable in instructing students on different cultures and their

ways of life. A theatre educator might use plays from Africa or Latin America to teach the

students about life in these locations or about their oral traditions. Similarly, theatre can be used

as a tool to discuss sensitive or controversial topics, such as race relations. When acting, students

must get in touch with their feelings, relying on empathy to get in touch with the characters they

play. Evidence supports that this empathy is present offstage as well as onstage. Researchers

conducted a survey on students’ friendliness with other racial groups and found that “High
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Drama” students, or students who are more involved in theatre, are generally friendlier with

other racial groups. Additionally, “High Drama” sophomores are less likely to think racist jokes

are acceptable (Fiske, 1999, pp. 15-16). Because students who are more active in theatre are also

more aware of sensitive topics in society, it can be inferred that they will be better able to handle

these topics and empathize with others as adults. Thus, theatre education provides another

valuable lesson that is important to people’s function in society.

In addition to the sociopsychological benefits of theatre education, there are numerous

academic advantages. One crucial role theatre and other arts classes play in students’ lives is

keeping them in school. According to a Florida study on high school dropout prevention, of forty

at-risk students, 41% of students at risk for dropping out of high school stayed in school due to

arts classes. Additionally, at-risk students seemed more focused and determined in their arts

classes (Barry, Taylor, & Wells, 1990, p. 74). Likely, performing arts provides these students

with an outlet through which they may vent about the frustrations and stress they feel every day.

A more curious academic connection is the correlation between performing arts and high test

scores. A College Board survey states that students with four years of arts courses generally

score 20 points higher on the mathematics section and 26 points higher on the verbal section of

the SAT (as cited in Ruppert, 2006, p. 9). Furthermore, students heavily involved in theatre

generally make higher grades and feel less bored during school than their peers who do not

participate in theatre (Fiske, 1999, p. 3). Collectively, these tendencies toward better academic

performance reflect that theatre education benefits students in ways beyond those one might

expect.

Despite the numerous advantages of theatre and other performing arts education, many
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schools are still resistant to funding arts education when they must also devote some of their

precious few resources to STEM programs. To combat this, and to continue to push for the

integration of arts in school curricula, some creative groups have been advocating “STEAM,” or

STEM with arts added. Changing STEM to include the arts reinforces the necessity of arts to

culture and society, and it also reminds people that creativity and an artistic mind are needed in

even the most technical fields (Weltsek, Duffy, & Carney, 2014, pp. 65-66). Combining arts and

STEM will allow arts to remain part of school curricula and will also encourage artistic

innovation in the technical fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Theatre education can be easily justified by a myriad of benefits. Performing arts

encourage self-confidence, build community, heighten empathy, and improve academic

performance. However, theatre and other arts education must not only be acceptable because it is

justifiably helpful in other areas—particularly other academic areas. Physical education is not

valued and maintained because it helps in the social studies classroom; rather, people recognize

that physical education is inherently necessary because of its unique benefit on physical health.

Arts should be treated much the same way; the Harvard Reviewing Education and the Arts

Project team (2001) says that “the arts are the only school subjects that have been challenged to

demonstrate transfer as a justification for their usefulness. . . . justification for arts programs

must be based on their inherent merit” (p. 3). Theatre, and all other arts, form an important part

of human culture and history. Just as those who will never play a professional sport must endure

physical education for the sake of being healthy and well-rounded, so too should the children

who will never become a professional actor participate in theatre and arts so they may be

culturally aware.
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References

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dropout prevention. Critical Links: Learning in the Arts and Student Achievement and

Social Development, 74-75. Retrieved from

http://www.tcg.org/pdfs/education/CriticalLinks.pdf.

Fiske, E. B. (1999). Champions of change: The impact of the arts on learning. 1-16. Retrieved

from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/champions/pdfs/champsreport.pdf

Harvard Project Zero Reviewing Education and the Arts Project. (2001). The arts ad academic

improvement: What the evidence shows. Translations, 10(1), 1-4. Retrieved from

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Kassab, L. (1984). A poetic/dramatic approach to facilitate oral communication. Critical Links:

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Rabkin, N., & Hedberg, E.C. (2008). Arts education in America: What the declines mean for arts

participation. 44. Retrieved from http://www.arts.gov

Raskauskas, S. (2016, October 7). Lin-Manuel Miranda: “Arts education…saved my life.”

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doi: 10.1080/10632913.2014.914394
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Weltsek, G. J., Duffy, P. B., & Carney, C. L. (2014). The local and global state of theater

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10.1002/jcop.21656