Theater and Teaching

by Jose Mari Almoradie Carpena
March 2022

The fields of teaching and theater acting share many similarities, the most obvious being actors and teachers both “perform” in front of an audience on a regular basis. However, the parallels between these two worlds go beyond the exterior, as it has been argued that teacher training can indeed be inspired by certain practices and lessons in theater. As it’s World Theater Day this March 27, let’s explore how theater can help us become better teachers.

An Epistemological Tool

Acting serves as a way for us to explore the experiences of others, allowing us to expand our knowledge about other people’s lives. For Griggs (2001), teachers-in-training should be given theater lessons for this very reason as it increases teachers’ capacity to understand where students come from. This develops empathy within the teachers, allowing them to be more sensitive to the needs, feelings, motivations, and goals of their students and of their own.

Theater as a Teaching Methodology Itself

Besides being a tool which can be used in teacher-training, it can also be used as a pedagogical tool itself. There have many been documented cases wherein teachers have successfully used elements of theater to improve the learning experience of their students. For example, Dacombe and Morrow (2017) documented their experience of using theater-based simulations to deepen students’ understanding of concepts of theories. In the evaluation of their program, they found that students expressed that it was helpful for them to act out and express the theories instead of simply passively learning them through seminars and the like. Moreover, Kisida et al. (2020) documents their students’ experience in a program titled “Digging Up Arkansas”, which revolved around the history of Arkansas. It included a play wherein students were encouraged to “act out” ideas and ideas surrounding the topics at hand. Compared to the control group, students who engaged in the program demonstrated higher content knowledge, and historical empathy. 

Using theater as a pedagogical tool is not limited to the humanities and social sciences. Kerby et al. (2010) documented the development and impact of The Amazing Chemical Circus and Fusion Science Theater. The shows were casted by chemistry teachers who “taught” other characters during the course of the show. In some parts of the shows, children from the audience were brought onto the stage to act as molecules or atom to, similar to Dacombe and Morrow’s (2017) experience, act out the concepts. Likewise, Davidson and Simms (2017) had participants act out concepts embedded within the production of energy to deepen their students’ learning. 

My Personal Experience

When I was still a part-time faculty member, I was likewise a part-time commercial and theater actor. Beyond developing “empathy” mentioned by Griggs (2001), theater taught me a multitude of skills which helped me in my teaching practice. Physically, theater taught me how to project my voice so all my students could hear me when I speak and to be more animated when I demonstrate and explain concepts. On the other hand, it likewise taught me social skills such as being able to come up with jokes so my students wouldn’t get bored in class (since in improv theater, you really have to be quick-witted). However, I believe the most important thing I got from my experience in theater is the fact that it developed my confidence in facing an audience, and getting their attention. I have seen some teachers, especially the new ones, who lacked confidence when they delivered their lessons. They’re usually anxious since talking to an audience is a “new thing” for most of them. I am grateful that my experience in theater somehow (in part) prepared me for my teaching job.

Conclusion

Theater is indeed a powerful tool we can use to further engage our students, and likewise improve their understanding of concepts which would otherwise seem abstract or foreign to them. Maybe you can embed certain theater elements in your lessons and/or educational videos? Maybe act out some concepts that may be hard to explain, or even have your students act them out themselves?  Moreover, it can improve ourselves as teachers by helping us develop our empathy, and various skills. I hope that, if you haven’t yet, you try to use theater in your classes to improve the learning process among your students. And if you don’t think you’re ready to engage in theater yourself, you can always ask those who have to help you out!

References
Dacombe, R., & Morrow, E. A. (2017). Developing immersive simulations: the potential of theater in teaching and learning in political studies. PS: Political Science & Politics, 50(1), 209-213.

Davidson, C. D., & Simms, W. (2017). Science theater as STEAM: a case study of “Save It Now”. The STEAM Journal, 3(1), 14.

Griggs, T. 2001. Teaching as acting: Considering acting as epistemology and its use in teaching and teacher preparation. Teacher Education Quarterly, 28(2): 23-37.

Kerby, H. W., Cantor, J., Weiland, M., Babiarz, C., & Kerby, A. W. (2010). Fusion Science Theater presents The Amazing Chemical Circus: A new model of outreach that uses theater to engage children in learning. Journal of Chemical Education, 87(10), 1024-1030.