Drama builds empathy. The ability to understand others' points of view, motives, and choices is critical. Drama also explores the way human beings interact and can impact students’ comprehension of current events and history. Art students show marked improvement across all subjects over their non-artistic peers. Finally, there is a vast increase in the professional achievement and contribution to communities from adults, who grew up, participating in the arts. Arts are essential in building the “whole” person.
Dramatic Arts education challenges perceptions of youth by providing a safe atmosphere for creativity in problem solving. At the center of all Drama is training in the practical aspects of communication, so necessary in today's increasingly information-centered world. Students who have participated in Dramatic activities are less likely to have difficulty speaking in public and will be more persuasive in their communications, both written and oral, will be better able to relate to others and will have a more positive, confident self image. Participation in Dramatic activity requires self control and discipline that will serve the student well in all aspects of life.
Drama is purely collaborative - students in Drama learn to work together, to cooperate, to find the best way for each member of a group to contribute, and to listen to and accept the viewpoints and contributions of others. Drama teaches students to live and work in a world that is increasingly team oriented rather than hierarchical, while still allowing them to find their own unique voice.
The National Endowment for the Arts says, “Students who study the arts are four times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement. Research shows sustained learning in music and theater correlates strongly with higher achievement in both math and reading.” In addition to the academic benefits, performing arts intrinsically build a strong sense of self, community, and belonging. The arts are worthwhile, needful, and FUN!
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What makes CAPA the right program for your child?
All roles are important. This is not a platitude, I mean it from the bottom of my being! At CAPA we do a lot to make our performers know the truth of this statement. We never list actors in a cluster in the program as the ensemble. We list every child and each role they play in the program. We always cast really talented actors in the ensemble to raise the level of our whole production for that is what serious performers will spend much of their life doing in the professional musical theatre world. We help each actor find their moment on stage no matter the role they are cast as. We also make sure our actors have amazing costumes and the costume for each and every role is never an afterthought. Additionally, we treat every actor as an equally important part of the cast and let them know how much their voice is needed whether it is mic'd at the time or not. There are so few lead roles in a show that, one show at a time, I am trying to change the way casting is interpreted by performers and parents. I almost never double cast lead roles because I think this supports a message that the other roles are less important. There really are no "small" roles. Imagine a movie with no supporting roles, featured extras, and no extras. It would be empty. As a professional actress helping others book the tiniest of roles on tv and film it's important to know that the "leads" are few and far between. You have to be a celebrity to make any real money at it so you must enjoy being a part of the show to make your life in the theatre an enjoyable one. There are so many gifts that come from participating in theatre that don't include fame, prestige or money. Statistics show that a sense of community, belonging, confidence, empathy, self-esteem, higher academic scores, communication, imagination, creativity, a more successful adulthood, including career, and much, much more are all benefits of participation in theatre.
You will hear me say this speech again and again because it's a bit of a soap-box for me but when I say all roles are important, it is not a platitude. I mean it from the bottom of my being! At CAPA we do a lot to make our performers know the truth of this statement. We never list actors in a cluster in the program as the ensemble. We list every child and each role they play in the program. We always cast really talented actors in the ensemble to raise the level of our whole production for that is what serious performers will spend much of their life doing in the professional musical theatre world. We help each actor find their moment on stage no matter their role. We also make sure our actors have amazing costumes and the costume for each and every role is never an afterthought. Additionally, we treat every actor as an equally important part of the cast and let them know how much their voice is needed whether it is mic'd at the time or not. There are so few lead roles in a show that, one show at a time, I am trying to change the way casting is interpreted by performers and parents. I almost never double cast lead roles because I think this supports a message that the other roles are less important. There really are no "small" roles. Imagine a movie with no supporting roles, featured extras, or extras. It would be empty. As a professional actress helping others book the tiniest of roles on tv and film, it's important to know that the "leads" are few and far between. You have to be a celebrity to make any real money at it so one must enjoy being a part of the show to make your life in the theatre an enjoyable one. There are so many gifts that come from participating in theatre that don't include fame, prestige or money. Statistics show that a sense of community, belonging, confidence, empathy, self-esteem, higher academic scores, communication, imagination, creativity, a more successful adulthood, including career, and much, much more, are all benefits of participation in theatre. In this light, we ask that all parents and participants are positive and supportive of all CAPA casting.
