Can my shy child enjoy drama?
Roy from Creative Collab explains why silliness is a superpower
Drama can sound like quite a leap for a child who is introverted or doesn't like meeting new people. Roy starts smaller - if they don't want to participate, all good they just watch, and let participation build from there.
Creative Collab was founded by dynamic duo Roy and Kenix, two completely opposite personalities, but together a force to reckon with
It's obvious from meeting Roy that his energy and positivity light up a classroom, what I wanted to understand is how the program is structured to different learning styles
Roy talked about finding something familiar first, even a character on a child’s shirt. That seemed a useful detail: the lesson starts with getting to know the child, rather than getting straight into the activity.
I asked what happens when a child is doesn't want to join in
“First of all, establish rapport. And it could be as easy as saying, hey, that’s a great shirt, I love Mickey Mouse. You know, I used to work for Disney, right? And they go — what? Mickey Mouse?”
“There are kids who would come to us for the very first time having so much separation anxiety with either their parents or their aunties.”
I asked how the teachers respond
“Teachers are there with an open hand, open arms, setting not only boundaries but giving them a space for them to be shy, space for them to not know, space for them to say, ‘I am not ready yet.’ And instead of being forced or being pushed to do it right away, the teacher says, why don’t you observe first?”
Silly or serious?
“In any drama class, I always say that silliness is a superpower. And once you are able to harness this superpower — the ability to let go and not care about what other people say, to walk like a duck, to run around directionless, to fall on your bum, to stumble on a line.”
“If I am given that space, the teacher says, that’s okay, you can do that. And there was so much fun in it — why shouldn’t I take part in this?”
I asked how you actually teach a public speaking class
“We do tongue twisters. It could be as simple as she sells seashells by the seashore. Then how to add dramatic value is that we ask them to be more silly with their face. Or you’re saying seashells by the seashore, but you’re very angry.”
Watch how teachers manage a room of different personalities - is equal attention given to eveyrone, how they invite the participation of each child
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