TETA K-12 Committee
Vice President Elect
k12.vpelect@tetatx.com
SummerFest 2014: Catching Fire – Discover and Ignite Your Spark.
There is a creative spark that lives in all of us.
This time last night, I was helping my middle school students prepare for our UIL OAP preview performance of Zink: The Myth, The Legend, The Zebra by Cherie Bennett. Their excitement and energy filled the room and I absorbed every minute of it. There’s nothing better than opening night.
I watched them warm-up and make one last check of props. I overheard their conversations with each other about what they should remember to do in their performances. At that moment, I sat back and realized they were passionate about their performance! They had listened to the notes I had given them and they were repeating those notes to each other. They circled up one last time, placed their hands in the center and shouted as loud as they could “Theater!” This was all the proof I needed to see that Theater ignites a spark in our students.
Adolescence is a time of great change. Our students are working on socialization, developing their personality and striving to find self. They need a spark to inspire them and keep them focused on finding success for their future. What better place than the Theater classroom to support this journey of self!
Theater is an art form where students of all ages can express what they see, feel and encounter in life. It is a place for them to learn important life skills and learn from mistakes. Theater offers a place for safe, self-examination. It provides a social network, a team, and a family environment. As students analyze and build characters in Theater, they connect to emotional experiences and most likely realize “it’s ok to feel this way” or “I’m not as weird as I thought.” More importantly, Theater can inspire students to invest in their own learning.
What we do as Theater teachers is so important. We ignite a spark in our students: an appreciation of the arts, a desire to do one’s best the first time, the desire to master skills and so much more. We ignite the creative spark in our students!
SummerFest 2014 will be here before we know it. What better way to relight your creative spark! Register for SummerFest 2014 today. We look forward to seeing you!