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Living in the digital age, it seems many people no longer consume live theater or performances. What are they missing out on? SO MUCH!

Taking in live performances is becoming a lost art. There can be many barriers to going: expense, inconvenience, uncomfortable with the process. It’s always easy to make an excuse, but there is so much to be gained by going to live performances!

What are the Benefits of Live Performance?

1. Deeper Understanding: “The focus in theater is more on the gestures, facial expressions and actions of the characters — that is, on the acting — than on aggressive special effects such as in the film, which means that we are far less distracted or irritated by the events themselves.”

2. (Study) Researchers from the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform found that pupils who watched the theatre production of a play gained significantly enhanced knowledge (58 percent increase from standard deviation of the group tested) compared to those who had simply read the script or watched a film version.

3. Improves Attention Ability - learning to focus for an hour or two without a device is an important skill

4. Opens the Mind and Imagination - think about any theater productions you may have seen. They are limited in the scenes and sets they can use to tell their story. It requires some open mindedness and imagination of the audience.

5. Theater makes immediacy tangible (the quality of bringing one into direct and instant involvement with something, giving rise to a sense of urgency or excitement.)

6. Promotes Emotional Experience - as before, without the distraction of so many special effects found in movies and recorded productions, the audience really focuses in on the performers and they are trying to communicate

7. Empathy - you can see the rawness in live performance whether it’s an emotional delivery or watching a performer make a mistake and then keep going. 

What Age Should Kids Start Attending Live Performances

As early as possible! I started taking my kids to performances as babies. I’d wear them in the carrier and sit on the aisle for easy exits if necessary. Toddlers can be harder to take to live performances, but they aren’t all equal! Toddlers may enjoy live music, especially in casual settings like the library, a restaurant, or other local public venues. Then, when they get to age 4 or 5, many performances can be quite engaging! Young children especially like watching other children, so this is a great time to see local youth productions. As they age and they are exposed to a wider array of literature, musicals, music, and dance it will be fun to see them in live performances. For instance, a local college is performing James and the Giant Peach - the musical, perfect for early elementary children to see if they’ve read and enjoyed the book!

How to Get Kids to Engage in Live Performance

Study the content ahead of time to help inspire interest. For example, if you are seeing a play, read the book first. If you are going to a symphony, watch a recorded to version or read My First Orchestra book to introduce the instruments.

Make it an exciting event:

• Get dressed up - wear fancy clothes, or dress on theme

• Go out to dinner first or dessert after

• Bring someone special (grandma, a friend, cousins)

Where to Find Performances

Most communities will have a community theater program, local dance studios, or an orchestra or symphony - especially for youth. Help support them by seeing community productions. Many cities will also have professional companies offering public performances. Touring Companies will hit big cities with popular shows allowing audiences to see major productions without traveling to major cities like New York City or London.

Our often unthought of suggestion is to build in seeing performances when traveling. If you are traveling to a city and intend to sight see and experience life, why not checkout what interesting bands or other performances might be happening while you are there. Back in my youth, I even planned roadtrips around traveling for a concert.

Best Time for Performances

All year round! Really, it depends on what you have available in your area. Many professional companies launch their programs in late winter or early spring. In summer, many companies perform at outdoor venues, which is a really fun experience. 

My husband and I made it a point to invest in the performing arts this summer and went to several San Diego Symphony concerts at their outdoor venue on the Bay. It was spectacular! We even took our oldest to a showing of Harry Potter 7 where the symphony accompanied the movie live. 

Fall/Winter tend to be great for seasonal, holiday shows! Make a new tradition of seeing an annual Christmas performance whether it’s the symphony, a choir, the Nutcracker, or A Christmas Carol!

Local Suggestions

San Diego County happens to have access to a LOT of performing arts, and for those willing to drive just another 1 to 3 hours opens up all of Orange and LA County. Within Southern California, we have access to more local productions, youth productions, and professional productions than we could possibly consume. 

My suggestions:

• How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Old Globe runs Nov 9th - Dec 31st - the venue is spectacular, it’s modeled after Shakespeare’s Old Globe in London and was built in 1935. This is the 25th anniversary of the Grinch premiering! Such a fun tradition

• The American Ballet Theater (ABT)’s Nutcracker in Costa Mesa runs Dec 9-18th - Professional Company members from the prestigious company based in New York come out here to perform. We’ve seen Misty Copeland and several other amazing soloists. The performance is accompanied live by the Pacific Symphony

• The San Diego Symphony’s annual performance of Noel Noel at the outdoor venue - the venue is spectacular, dress warm and get there early for festive activities and themed food and drink! 

Don’t make excuses! Take your kids to live performances. Find ways to get past the barriers whether it’s finding discounted tickets, free performances, or matinees that fit in better with a child’s schedule. 

Resources:

https://medium.com/life-and-the-performing-arts/the-8-benefits-of-going-to-the-theater-77a22281b14c

https://www.sandiegofamily.com/resources/afterschool-activities/5-benefits-of-theater-arts

https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/parent-child/how-performing-arts-benefit-kids.html

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