The Project - Day 24 & 25

I made the observation recently that I look forward to a time when I can go watch a football team compete in handmade uniforms while playing on a tennis court and a cast of 100 hard working young kids singing their hearts out get an actual theater, instead of dancing on the floor of a gymnasium in front of the bleachers.

While I know there are those who would explain to me all about the politics of sport and how it’s not either/or and that football pays for itself, etc., etc. ad nauseum, I still must preach the gospel of validity for the performing arts. The truth is, no one would ever expect a soccer team to compete without a field, a tennis team to practice without a net or a track team to run on the sidewalk around the school in lieu of a track. Still, many schools don’t think twice about students performing a play in a gymnasium or other so-called all-purpose room whose purposes clearly do not include communicating the spoken word.

It is true that theater, like church, may be presented anywhere and indeed there are often fortuitous events where an alternative environment can render a production more meaningful than in a traditional setting. Still, these rare events are no excuse for the wholesale marginalizing of educational theater to the back lot of the curriculum, not to mention the campus. Speaking pedagogically, what is the point of teaching students how to learn their lines and speak them properly, with adequate projection and meaningful expression and then set them to perform in a space where there is no chance that those lines will be heard? Why train students in technical theater, learning about painting, sound and lights and then put them in an environment where it is impossible for them     to fully realize excellence?

Beyond the basics, there is the issue of what a theater and performing spaces mean to a school community. The theater is the imaginative heart of a school. It is the gathering place, a symbol for dreams and inspiration, it is the locus of expression. This might sound far fetched, but believe me, the proof is in the face of a child who walks on a stage or sits in an audience for the first time. The value of a theater is in the spirit of an ensemble that experiences the hush when the lights dim in anticipation of their first note. Even the simple act of holding a class on the stage transforms the subject. A dedicated performing space is the only environment where this alchemy occurs.

This is not to belittle the amazing work that is done in gymnasiums, classrooms, courtyards and similar spaces all across the country. Good teachers can transform spaces to bring their students close to the theatrical environment and thank goodness for that. Still, the abilities and dedication of the teachers is not an excuse for failing to provide them with the tools necessary to bring their instruction to fruition. There is already too much burden placed on these teachers to justify programs that should require no justification. The preponderance of evidence regarding the connection between studies in the performing arts and academic achievement makes it clear that these should be academic and not optional subjects. Regardless, music and theater continue to be treated as extracurricular and dependent entirely on demand. Like an entree in the cafeteria, music and theater will be made available if there appears to be sufficient demand.

The reason this does not work when it comes to performing arts education is that supply dictates demand, not the other way around. If classes in music, art and drama are made available and promoted, through an organized and structured progression leading from kindergarten through high school, you will build a vital and popular program. If, on the other hand there is no progressive structure, no commitment to curriculum and above all, no physical space dedicated to the arts, it is impossible for a school to build a consistently excellent program, regardless of the quality of teaching or the interest level of the students.

I hope that someday all schools will understand the centrality of the performing arts to their curriculum, until then I salute the teachers who create magic on a dime, making do with gymnasium floors.