Third-grade boys choose a show , casting themselves into roles , deciding upon and then creating set pieces , choosing costumes , and blocking a fractured fairy tale .
Center Stage : The Power of the Performing Arts
By Meg Myette
Walk into the Otto-Bernstein Theatre on any given day , and you will see boys moving music stands , benches , and rehearsal blocks into places on the stage . More boys may be gathering props in the batcave and small groups of boys will be running lines in the house seats . A few boys may be learning how to run the light board . To the untrained eye , this may look a little chaotic , but in the world of Performing Arts at Saint David ’ s School , these boys are practicing soft skills that will help them grow into good men . Creating opportunities for boys to build self-confidence , practice empathy , collaborate , and strengthen resilience may not be core subjects , but one could argue they are as essential as the three r ’ s .
The Performing Arts offers an opportunity to explore how individuals develop an emotional
Alpha ’ s Move Over , Mother Goose !
sensibility about the world . Through music , we learn about other places and people , and expand our own empathy in telling those stories . Dance offers opportunities to explore controlling one ’ s own movement in space in conjunction with others , especially useful for quickly-growing boys . Theater , perhaps the most critical element for boys to explore , provides opportunities for role play , allowing for varied perspective-taking , selfexpression , and increased empathy . Through a combination of all three of these disciplines , boys can discover who they are and perhaps who they want ( or don ’ t want ) to become .
There is growing evidence to support prioritizing arts , as “ practicing the arts can be used to build capacity for managing one ’ s mental and emotional well being ” ( Martin , 2020 ). The arts create spaces for learners to have a soft
26 • Saint David ’ s Magazine