the cookie was the best part

In my earliest years treading the boards I was certain that I would always want to do, ahem, 'serious theatre'. Now, what I defined as 'serious' was probably fairly limited. I also had not yet had the occurrence of taking an acting job for a paycheck. I remember talking with one of my college professors about 2 years after I graduated.

He: So have you been doing a lot of work.

Me: Yes. It has been fairly steady.

He: It must feel good to be creating art on a regular basis.

Me: Who said I was creating art?

He: (Grin) Can I say I told you so?

Me: (Grin) No.

I had to sit through some excruciating children's theatre last week. Good children's theatre makes me react along with the small people in the audience, bad children's theatre makes me want to wage war on anyone involved in whatever atrocity is on stage. No matter what type of theatre an actor does most, children's theatre may very well be one of the most important forms of art in our field. It is here that we cultivate a love for theatre at an early age. Creating theatre patrons in children is so valuable, yet I seldom see it thought of as 'serious theatre'.

Part of the problem is that, as actors, we feel little need to be trained in effective performance techniques for children. This was so painfully true of the show I saw. The lack of understanding in the performers on how to effectively gain the acceptance, trust and ATTENTION of the audience was blatantly apparent. When I think back to the conversation with my professor, I realize, that while not always artistically challenging, children's theatre tended to be physically and vocally challenging. I had to work my actor tools as well as my improvisational ones, with just as much, if not more, frequency than when performing for adults. Shows for kids were regularly accompanied with a decent paycheck as well.

I have not done theatre for young people in a long time. Performing for children is not my favorite. They can be unruly and rude. They have no understanding of audience etiquette, and many times, no appreciation for the effort involved. But it is the place where they learn all these things. It also has the possibility to be extrememly rewarding, because when done well, the feedback is swift and enthusiastic. In a artistic climate where theatre audiences are hard to lure to a show, it seems to me that we should take a page out of the book of corporate America. Get the kiddies addicted while they are young, and hopefully it will continue on through adulthood. And while we have them there we can entertain them, all the while teaching them without them catching on.