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"I was especially surprised at my younger daughter's performance on stage. She presented herself in a confident, prepared manner yet seemed quite natural to be in front of an audience. This was a great opportunity for children to explore theatre arts and form friendships outside their circles - Thank you Drama Club!"
-Camille
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Our Program Leverages the Latest Brain Science
and Educational Research to Achieve Success
It is based on the ground-breaking research of Dr. Edmond J. Dixon, a teacher, school principal and educator for 28 years who is now completing research on drama and learning at the University of Toronto. He is developing the use of drama not only for young people recreationally, but also it to help improve student achievement in schools, to enhance the quality of life for senior citizens, and give government agencies and private corporations methods to improve their employee training methods. Below is an article he has written reflecting some of his research and how it affects our program:
PLAY WITH A PURPOSEResearch-based Reflections on the Power of Drama
By Edmond J. Dixon, PhD
Drama is unparalleled to foster personal growth in young people because it is fun, helps people learn in a brain friendly way, fosters social skills and, if used correctly, uses those skills as the foundation for tangible improvements in competence.
DRAMA IS POWERFUL BECAUSE IT IS FUN!
Why is that important? Because it reduces the fear factor associated with successful social interaction. It is estimated that 75% of adults are anxious when they have to speak in front of others; some surveys have found fear of public speaking equal or greater than fear of death for a significant number of people![1]
In his book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, UCLA professor Dr. Robert Maurer describes brain research indicating that situations which require massive change, change that we feel is too hard, trigger one of the most primitive areas of the brain to stimulate a fearful fight or flight response. But he points to other research findings that having fun stimulates the cerebral cortex, which is responsible of imagination and higher thought. [2]
When one has fun in an activity there is no fear because of the release of endorphins, the most powerful feel good chemical in our body. Because this release causes the person to feel good about the activity they are participating in they are not scared and can learn a new skill that was impossible to learn previously. In fact, they learn these skills without even being aware of it! Time and time again one can observe someone who was afraid of speaking in front of others get up after a series of drama exercises and perform wonderfully.
Most importantly they have fun and always end up thinking: That was not anywhere near as hard as I thought. Actually, It was kind of fun, I can do that! More importantly it opens the door to even greater achievement because it has destroyed the limitations that fear put on the individual. But it only happened because they had fun first!
THE BRAIN THINKS A REHEARSED ACTIVITY IS A REAL ONE
Much of the research today suggests that brain function is divided between the two sides of the brain: the right side being the locus of imagination and creative thought and the left being the logical, organized side.[3] We need both to function at our best, it is interesting to note what can happen if we understand how they function.
When one rehearses an activity in a playful way (i.e. meeting someone new with confidence and presence), the brain takes it as having actually occurred. You can test the truth of this by going to a local movie theatre and watching people during an emotionally sad or exciting scene. Why do people cry or grip the edge of their seats when they are just light projected on a screen? Because the right side of the brain is fully engaged and they are experiencing it as real in that moment. However, after the movie, the left brain quickly re-engages and reminds them of their life experience so we do not have people actually trying to jump a car over a canyon after an exciting movie!
But the right brain loves fun and interesting activities and drama adds an additional component that you do not get in the movies: movement (kinesthetic stimulation). Because movement is our most primitive way of learning, the use of it makes a dramatic activity extremely powerful in helping the brain gain and transfer skills from a rehearsed to a real situation for because of its kinesthetic (bodily) dimension that is our most primitive way of learning. When a bodily action is linked to an idea or skill it makes it easier to remember and replicate in any situations-even ones different than where it was originally learned.
DRAMA IS THE IDEAL WAY TO IMPROVE SOCIAL SKILLS
Because it takes away fear, engages the right brain, and leverages the learning power of imagination and movement, Drama allows for transformational learning. Broadly based, we have identified are 5 major areas where drama can be used in self-development for young people:
- Public Speaking
- Self-Expression
- Understanding and Navigating Social Groups
- Focus, Concentration, Self-Control
- Thinking on your Feet
The reason drama works so well is that it provides a safe, non-threatening environment to practice the skills necessary to be successful in these areas.
If one looks at the school experience, the emphasis is mostly academic. However, in terms of what is important to the child, the social dimension is at least as important as the academic aspect. Ask parents whose children have had social problems at school if those problems affected academic performance and the answer is likely to be yes, if only in the distraction it provided from studies. At the high school level, this is even more true. And in the future which awaits children, it is very clear that while academics may play a role in helping prepare someone for a job, it is their social skills that are vitally important in helping them be successful in a career. How many jobs, opportunities, promotions, etc. have been lost because someone has not developed the social skills to navigate well in their place of employment?
And yet, the tragedy is even worse for the millions who lack the confidence to even embark on the path they so desired. Indeed their education may have prepared them well academically, but it fell short because it did not give them a sense of their own personal power. That is where the effect of Drama is most profound.
References
- http://www.reasontospeak.com/news/death-pips-public-speaking-as-our-greatest-fear--but-only-just.aspx
- Maurer, R. (2004) One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way. New York: Workman Publishing
- Blakeslee, Thomas R. (1980). The Right Brain : A New Understanding Of The Unconscious Mind And Its Creative Power. Garden City, N.Y. : Anchor Press/Doubleday,1980.
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