Hey, Thespians!
To be or not to be: that is the question. Well, it’s A question, anyway. I guess my question is more so, do you have a passion for Acting? Y’know—drama, stage performance, the theatre! If you love attention, if you have a passion for storytelling, and if you are fascinated with breathing life into fictional characters, then you certainly belong on the stage!
Folks have been flexing their Acting muscle since ancient times. The oldest surviving play that we’re aware of would be ‘The Persians’, a tragedy from the playwright Aeschylus—first performed back in 472 BC. Perhaps there were other productions that precede this, but there is no existing evidence of one. In any case, people have been acting for thousands of years!
More than just a career, people devote themselves to truly building and becoming all sorts of characters. Check out what people get out of the Acting experience and why they love it so much:
Develops Confidence
Performing in front of an audience can seem daunting to some people (I know it would make me sweat)! But if you can muster up the courage to see yourself through your first production, you’re likely to find yourself hooked on the limelight!
Teaches Empathy
Acting IS putting yourself in another person’s shoes. Actors quickly develop their abilities to understand what other people are going through—a trait of maturity that some people never attain.
Builds Memory
Memorizing lines—not to mention, the rundown of entire productions—certainly helps keep your mind sharp and your memory keen! Exercise your memory; you never know if you can commit all your character lines to memory until you try!
Thinking outside the Box
Philosophies behind acting can often lead to profound, paradigm-shifting concepts that end up tweaking our perception of life. For instance, many people believe Acting to be about pretending to be a different person while a good actor knows it’s about finding and magnifying the part of you that’s similar to your character.
Enjoy developing the actor in you during your summer camp experience. Don’t be afraid to ask camps about the level of focus they have on theatre productions so you know if it will be suitable for the level that you’re seeking for your kid. Break a leg this summer and, as always, thanks for reading!
- John