Today is World Theater Day, a very special day in which we will not be able to go with our boys and girls to see a performance, today # quédateencasa. However, if Muhammad does not go to the mountain, we will bring the theater home.
Before recommending some plays you can put on at home, let us tell you about all the benefits of reading, performing, or participating in a play. Because children don't just do theater or learn theater; they play at creating, inventing, and learning to participate, to speak and listen—in a word, to collaborate.
Benefits of practicing theater for children
Children's theater offers numerous benefits to youngsters. This form of entertainment fosters their intellectual and emotional development , sparks their curiosity, and improves many of their personal skills. Most importantly, they have fun and socialize. And remember, the goal of doing theater is not to become a professional, but to have fun.
Through theater workshops, children develop their imagination, oral expression, and physical expression in a guided way . Theater helps children connect with their bodies and emotions. It is especially recommended for withdrawn or shy children , but always without forcing them.
Furthermore, both the stories and the practical exercises themselves instill values ​​in children that they can identify with . Through the characters' experiences, they learn important life skills.
Beyond interpretation
Children's theater workshops are much more than just the performance of the play. Children learn that beyond the actors and actresses, there is a lot of work involved in setting, costumes, rehearsals, and learning the script.
When preparing a play, a sense of camaraderie is created where children can be themselves. Each child's natural abilities are enhanced, and they help one another to achieve a common goal. Teamwork fosters values ​​such as responsibility, collaboration, respect, empathy, commitment, and tolerance. Thanks to set design, among other things, creativity and imagination are stimulated—an innate ability in children. However, this ability is being restricted by the overuse of mobile devices and television programs that prevent them from creating their own fantasies.
Academic tasks such as reading, drawing, art, and scriptwriting are reinforced. Literary texts, adapted to each age group, allow them to strengthen their knowledge of language, history, and art. It has been shown that these texts improve their verbal expression, fluency, vocabulary, clarity, and diction. The children feel more secure, gain self-confidence, and increase their self-esteem.
Theater plays that you can start to put on at home
Even if you're not theater experts or instructors, you can start instilling a love of theater in your children during these days of confinement. If they're older, you can recite some interesting dialogues through texts , from "It's not true, angel of love," from Don Juan Tenorio, to Hamlet's soliloquy from Shakespeare.
But if your children are younger, we recommend other types of content. From the age of 5, children can read, understand, and have a high memory capacity. They absorb everything they hear, whether through text, poetry, or songs.
You can adapt and script traditional tales like "The Conceited Little Mouse," which involves six or more characters. Let's all act it out as a family! Another recommended story is "The Clever Mouse," which uses four characters to explore the value of generosity. "The Emperor's New Clothes" features more than eight characters, but you can simplify them. This play teaches lessons about appearances, flattery, and sincerity.
These are just some of the qualities that theater has to develop children's values ​​and attitudes, take advantage of them! and happy theater day.