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Dad of Divas

One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom

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How To Spur The Creativity Of Your Children

November 2, 2019 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Not everyone is creatively inclined, and not every child will be, as is logical. However, it’s worth considering how, as a parent, you can try and help your child think more creatively, become involved in practicing their own expression, or in simply introducing them to novel and loving forms of art. There are many benefits to this, some cognitive, many emotional, and plenty experienced. Anything you can do to help your children live with more imagination and wonder is surely a good thing.

 

That being said, spurring the creativity of your children in the first instance may seem like somewhat of a difficult task. How are you supposed to do this in an organized, repeatable manner, or how might you do so in a way that is suitable for them? You may be into French detective films from the 1940s, but it’s unlikely that this will be as appropriate to share with them at this stage in their development.

 

Thankfully, this needn’t be rocket science. With the following advice, you’ll be sure to spur the creativity of your children, on the off chance that they love it:

 

Show Them Theatre

There’s almost nothing more engaging, hilarious, mystifying, and impressive than heading to the theatre. Children that have been deprived of this experience are certainly missing out, and this goes not only for young children but teenagers too. It might be that sourcing broadway tickets could be one of the best and most incredible festive treats you hope to enjoy, no matter if you love musicals, dramas or internationally renown plays. This is sure to bolster the wonder of your children, which in turn will bolster their creativity.

 

Engage In Creative Arts

Viewing art is one thing, while practicing it can be even more impressive. Why not take time to engage in creative arts with your children? No matter how this takes place in your household, it’s usually valid. Perhaps you’ll begin a creative writing session with your children and work on a story together paragraph by paragraph, or you’ll get involved in crafts, or you’ll enter a local pottery making class. These active, creative passions can help you bond with your children, and will help them actualize their imagination in a fundamental manner.

 

Invest & Pay For Lessons

 

If your child shows an inclination for a certain thing, it can be worthwhile to help them develop those positive feelings and give them the tools to try and encourage their art. You may decide to purchase a guitar or a violin and allow them to take lessons, or perhaps help them enter a landscape painting class or art study group outside of school. Often imagination is not completely nourished through an odd family visit or a limited period of a lesson in school, and so helping your children explore their natural talent or curiosity can surely spur their potential creativity from now into the future..

 

With this advice, you are certain to correctly encourage the imagination and creativity of your child.

Filed Under: fatherhood Tagged With: acting, art, artist, arts, creativity, dad, dads, drama, father, fatherhood, theater, theatre

The Wiggles School Rules Tickets #Giveaway

August 30, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Wiggles
 photo disclaimer_zpsaa1cb05b.jpg

 

#Bpopevents-schoolulesIt is getting later in August and that means that school will be starting soon. This means that it is again time to celebrate with the Blog Pop Team for their annual School Rules Event! Between August 27-30 the 10 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The 10 blogs that are a part of the school rules  event include:

 

Daddy Mojo Still Blonde After all These years Dad of Divas Being MVP Way to Go Life
Momma Told Me
Comeback Momma Keenly Kristen Modly Chic Andrea’s World

 

My next giveaway is Below!

Following on the heels of their smash hit Australian tour of 145 sell-out shows with 100,000 tickets sold, the wildly popular children’s entertainment group, The Wiggles, will return to the U.S. this fall with their incomparable brand of preschool entertainment for their “Rock & Roll Preschool” tour. Ready to once again delight families at the Fox Theatre on Sunday, October 11 at 1 p.m., they will be touring in support of their brand new CD and DVD, Rock & Roll Preschool, as well as a new season of their hit TV series airing on Hulu.  For a preview of Rock & Roll Preschool click here.

 

 

Joined on stage by their lovable friends Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus, founding member Anthony Field (Blue Wiggle), Emma Watkins (Yellow Wiggle), Simon Pryce (Red Wiggle) and Lachlan Gillespie (Purple Wiggle) can’t wait to deliver a rocking good time for their audiences. “The Rock & Roll Preschool” tour will include their wiggly favorites and new music from the Rock & Roll Preschool album. Kids will shake to “That’s the Sound of Rock & Roll”, rise and shine with “Wake Up!”, and be the coolest kid in preschool with “I Want a Leather Jacket”.

 

Don’t miss your chance to see the highly entertaining quartet thrill their fans with an exciting dose of Wiggly singing and dancing that gets the kids up out of their seats.

You can also follow the gang on Twitter via Twitter.com/TheWiggles or become a fan of the group’s official Facebook page at Facebook.com/TheWiggles.

 

Giveaway

How would you like to win a 4 pack of tickets to see The Wiggles on  September 13, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. All you need to do is fill out the below form to enter.

 

The Wiggles on Stage Ticket Giveaway

          • Enter any of the giveaways below

 

   

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

THE FINE PRINT: All entrants must be 18 years of age or older. Please read each giveaway’s directions carefully as entry methods may differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. Please note that Dad of Divas, Blog POP! or the Blog POP! bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. Good luck!

 

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Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: blog pop, giveaway, The wiggles, theater, tickets

Alvin and the Chipmunks Live School Rules Ticket #Giveaway

August 29, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

AlvinAndTheChipmunks
 photo disclaimer_zpsaa1cb05b.jpg

 

#Bpopevents-schoolulesIt is getting later in August and that means that school will be starting soon. This means that it is again time to celebrate with the Blog Pop Team for their annual School Rules Event! Between August 27-30 the 10 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The 10 blogs that are a part of the school rules  event include:

 

Daddy Mojo Still Blonde After all These years Dad of Divas Being MVP Way to Go Life
Momma Told Me
Comeback Momma Keenly Kristen Modly Chic Andrea’s World

 

My next giveaway is Below!

Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products and Iconic Entertainment Studios announced today that Alvin and The Chipmunks: Live On Stage!, a brand new, music-filled interactive live show, will take the stage, touring 50+ cities nationwide for a total of 80 shows, including two performances at the Fox Theatre on Friday, October 30 at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The world’s most famous chipmunk trio – accompanied by the Chipettes – will delight fans of all ages with live performances that will feature world-class production, music, special effects and immersive interactivity to encourage audience participation.

 

Tickets ($19, $25 and $40)  go on sale Friday, July 10 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000.  For additional information, call (313) 471-6611. Group discounts on select seats are available for groups of 10 or more. Call 313-471-3099 for details.

 

Based on the characters from the hit Twentieth Century Fox movies, the show will bring the music and excitement of a live rock concert to life as the Chipmunks perform hits by One Direction, Maroon 5, Christine Aguilera, Elvis Presley and more! Join Alvin, Simon and Theodore as they sing and dance their way across America en route to their big charity concert.  From an “old school” breakdancing competition in Chicago, to a no-holds-barred food ?ght in New York City, and with the Chipettes along for the wild ride, Chipmunk fans from coast to coast will experience it all –LIVE on stage!

 

Produced by Iconic Entertainment Studios, the show’s world-class team includes Tony Award- winning Lion King costume designer Michael Curry, and the production team that won a Billboard Touring Creative Content award for its show Yo Gabba Gabba.

 

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit, www.alvinlive.com

Giveaway

How would you like to win a copy of this book? All you need to do is fill out the below form to enter. The contest will run for one week and will end on September 12, 2015.

 

Alvin and The Chipmunks Live Ticket Giveaway

        • Enter any of the giveaways below

 

 

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

THE FINE PRINT: All entrants must be 18 years of age or older. Please read each giveaway’s directions carefully as entry methods may differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. Please note that Dad of Divas, Blog POP! or the Blog POP! bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. Good luck!

 

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Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: alvin and the chipmunks, alvin and the chipmunks live, blog pop, giveaway, musical, theater, tickets

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Ticket #Giveaway

March 26, 2015 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

 photo disclaimer_zpsaa1cb05b.jpgblogpop-Spring-Fling-2015The weather is getting warmer and that means that it is time to celebrate with the Blog Pop Team for their annual Spring Fling Event! Between March 26-29 the 10 bloggers from Blog Pop are working together to bring you some awesome giveaways! So go and check out the following blogs for some other great prizes, and remember to come back here a lot over the next few days to enter for some great prizes! The 10 blogs that are a part of the school rules  event include:

Daddy Mojo Still Blonde After all These years Dad of Divas Being MVP Way to Go Life
Momma Told Me
Comeback Momma
Keenly Kristen Modly Chic Andrea’s World

IfYouGiveAMouse

My next giveaway is Below!

 

Olympia Entertainment and Etico Productions once again present the children’s favorite, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, a family production that explores the tasty chain reaction set in motion when a little boy offers a cookie to a visiting mouse. This heartwarming stage adaptation, produced by Performance Network Theatre, returns for another delicious run at the City Theatre on Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7.

Tickets ($19) go on sale this Friday, February 27 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased at OlympiaEntertainment.com, The Fox Theatre and Joe Louis Arena box offices, Hockeytown Authentics in Troy (without service charge) at all Ticketmaster locations and Ticketmaster.com. To charge tickets by phone, call (800) 745-3000. Groups of 10+ receive a discount by calling (313) 471-3099 for more information.

Created and directed by Etico Productions founder John Manfredi, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie is a madcap messy ride through Laura Joffe Numeroff’s best-selling children’s book. Don’t miss this funny heartwarming story about a boy and his energetic, demanding and inquisitive visitor. Michigan’s Etico Productions has been a leader in providing live family entertainment since 2007, including creating the Michigan Premieres of Alexander and the Terrible No Good Very Bad Day and Good Night Moon. Etico has also adapted other If You-stories including; If You Take a Mouse to School and If You Give Pig a Pancake.

The production is produced by the Performance Network, Ann Arbor’s premier professional theater. The theatre is home to award winning theatre, music and concert events, making it one of Michigan’s most renowned cultural destinations.

Performance schedule:
Saturday, June 6 – 11 a.m., 2 p.m. & 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 7 – 11 a.m. & 2 p.m .
Giveaway

How would you like to win a 4 pack of tickets for If You Give A Mouse A Cookie for you and your family? I will be giving away two 4 packs of tickets for the Sunday, June 7 performance at 2PM!  All you need to do is fill out the below form to enter. The contest will run for one week and will end on April 9, 2015.

 

If You Give A Mouse A Cookie Performance Ticket Giveaway

 

        • Enter any of the giveaways below

 

 

Winner must be a resident of the U.S or Canada.

Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

As required by the FTC: Blog POP! received no monetary compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are those of the writer’s alone.

THE FINE PRINT: All entrants must be 18 years of age or older. Please read each giveaway’s directions carefully as entry methods may differ, and giveaways may be open to different world areas. Please make sure you leave a way (valid email address) with your entries to be contacted if you win. Please note that Dad of Divas, Blog POP! or the Blog POP! bloggers are not responsible for sponsors that do not fulfill their prizes. We have represented each sponsor with the expectation they will fulfill their prize and in a timely manner. The sponsors, in most cases, are shipping their items to you directly. We will make every effort to assist you obtaining your prize. If there is an issue with a sponsor please notify the blog you won a prize from within 30 days for assistance, after that we may be unable to assist you. Good luck!

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Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader

Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com

Filed Under: Blog Pop, giveaway Tagged With: blog pop, Detroit, giveaway, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, play, theater, theatre

My First Broadway Show

September 9, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment




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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: broadway, musicals, theater, theatre

Masterpuppet Theater: The World of Shakespeare–at your Fingertips!

August 20, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

About the Product

All the world’s a stage—and with this extraordinary book-plus kit, you can dramatize the most memorable scenes in all of theatre. Contents include:
  • Sixty finger-puppet cards featuring Shakespeare’s most famous characters, including Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, Shylock, and Falstaff
  • Twelve stand-up sets of castles, forests, balconies, and battlefields
  • A 96-page “folio” of classic scenes—from Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” soliloquy to Romeo and Juliet’s classic balcony serenade
Created by Michael Rogalski, the book includes 60 finger puppet cards featuring Shakespeare’s most famous characters. Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Lady Macbeth… even the ghost of Hamlet’s father is included!

Inside the book, you’ll also discover twelve stand-up sets, providing proper backdrops for every Shakespearean play, as well as a 96-page folio that includes excerpts from classic scenes. You’ll never miss a line from Hamlet’s “To Be Or Not To Be” soliloquy ever again.

They are also running a Masterpuppet Theatre DIY Shakespeare Contest, encouraging our advance readers to create their own mini-Shakespeare production. We’ve got some great prizes lined up, including a Flip Cam and VISA gift cards. You can read all about that here. [http://bit.ly/cvsa8x] 


Once you’ve finished staging the Bard’s entire canon, you can mix and match masterpuppets to produce your own Shakespearean mash-ups. Perhaps your Romeo will fall in love with Lady Macbeth!

About the Author

Mike Rogalski owns and operates EYEWASH, a graphics studio in the Philadelphia suburbs. This is his first collaboration with William Shakespeare.
My Take on the Product
As a past theatre major in college and a theater lover all-around, I loved this product! What I loved most about it was the fact that you are able to introduce anyone to great plays and have fun while doing it. I also loved the fact that there are finger puppets for so many plays and the folio itself contains so many scenes, you are guaranteed for many hours of family fun (and if you have a video camera – great shots for youtube!). As a father of two girls I tried this out with my own daughters and they got a kick out of it. While they also probably thought that Dad was being a bit wacky, they did laugh and listen which are both great signs!

So if you are trying to introduce your family to the Bard and his plays, what better way than through the use of puppets. You will have a blast!

If you would like to find this for yourself, you can find it over at Amazon!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Filed Under: book review, product review Tagged With: books, theater

Chicago, a City that Lives Up To Expectation!

June 23, 2010 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

Last weekend I had the opportunity to experience two separate events in Chicago! I will talk about both separately as they were both great opportunities and we had a blast. Diva-J, her friend Emily, Nonna as well as Emily’s father and I were given tickets to attend a Peter Pan Ice Cream Adventure as a part of the Emerald City Theatre Company’s summer show series. I shared this great show with you previously and now had to experience it for myself!
So we ended up getting up at around 5:30 in the morning to make sure we were fed and dressed so that we could make the 4 hour drive to the windy city. We packed the car with educational kids toys, videos and games to aid us on our trip. The girls were troopers and I have to say that having a portable DVD player within the car (with dual screens) was a life saver along the way.

The trip as mentioned was uneventful except taking a back route and finding that it was closed and then having to maneuver my way around these slight detours. All-in-all we had no problems and traffic was quite light until we hit downtown.

The Apollo Theatre, where the Emerald City Theatre performs is a small venue, but it’s intimacy allows for you to truly experience that show that you are seeing.

We were lucky enough to have front row seats and this meant that we were able to practically be in the production ourselves. There were times when I thought the actors were going to come and join us as they walked by, but alas they were professional and stayed in character.

One of the things that I loved about this production of Peter Pan was that they got the audience involved. The actors spoke with the audience and took what they said and incorporated it into the production itself in a few parts. This made the production fun and the kids could not say enough positive things about this as it allowed them to be a part of the show.

Everyone in the theatre and in the cast were so warm and willing to become engaged with the kids. This made the drive and the show an ultimate success in my perspective. Also as a theatre major, I appreciated how well the cast interacted together and how well the show flowed from start to finish. The show was so good that it went by too quickly. As soon as it seemed that it had started it was over, but I know that most of this feeling was in fact due to me getting engrossed in the story and the music of the show itself. You get transformed and I found myself inadvertantly smiling with enjoyment throughout the play.

There are still a few Ice Cream Adventure productions (where the guests get ice cream sandwiches after the show) left in the season and I would definitely recommend the shows to anyone looking for a great time. You will get transformed and brought to Neverland with the cast. It is a journey worth taking! Just look at the faces of these girls and know that all of the kids (that I saw) at the show had similar smiles leaving the theatre!

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: chicago, dad of divas, Diva-J, friends, musicals, nonna, theater

Book Review – The Amercan Theatre Reader

December 4, 2009 by dadofdivas Leave a Comment

In celebration of American Theatre’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the editors of the nation’s leading theater magazine have chosen their best essays and interviews to provide an intimate look at the people, plays, and events that have shaped the American theater over the past quarter-century. Over two hundred artists, critics, and theater professionals are gathered in this one-of-a-kind collection, from the visionaries who conceived of a diverse and thriving national theater community, to the practitioners who have made that dream a reality. The American Theatre Reader captures their wideanging stories in a single compelling volume, essential reading for theater professionals and theatergoers alike.

The American Theatre Reader is a compilation of the best essays and interviews from the magazine’s history.  It is an intimate look at the people, plays, and events that have shaped American theatre over the past twenty-five years.  This one-of-a-kind collection includes more than a hundred artists, critics, and theatre professionals, from the visionaries who conceived of a diverse and thriving national theatre community to the practitioners who have made that dream a reality.  The American Theatre Reader captures their wideanging stories in a single compelling volume, essential reading for theatre professionals and theatergoers alike.


My Take On This Book


As a theatre major and one who loves everything to do with the theatre, this was a great book, and would be a great gift for anyone who like me appreciates the Theatre. As I do not receive the American Theatre Magazine, this book provided me a window to the profession that I do not get working in Higher Education or in watching the Tony Awards or in watching a great on-stage production.


This book is a huge treasure trove of theatre material that any theatre enthusiast will enjoy. It will keep any reader enthralled for days with over 600 pages of essays directly related to the field/profession itself.


I have to be honest and say that I would not have liked to have been the editor who had to choose which essays were worthy of such a compilation. Yet, the person or people who did put this together did a wonderful job at providing the reader with a cross reference of the profession with conversations and essays with the like of August Wilson, Hal Prince, José Rivera, Sam Shepard, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Miller to name but a few. 

So I encourage all of you Theatre lovers to consider this book for yourself or as a gift for someone else this holiday season. The book retails for $24.95 and are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution. Orders: 800-283-3572. SAN number: 63170X. Individuals may call 212-609-5900 or visit our online bookstore at http://www.tcg.org/. For postage and handling, please add $5.00 for the first book and $.50 for each additional copy. I will also say that I found some other copies at both Amazon and Half.com.



If you are interested in seeing some of the covers of the last 25 years of American Theatre Magazine, the American Theatre Guild has posted them for all to see.




The featured product in this post was provided to me free of charge by the author. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company. Please refer to this site’s Terms of Use for more information.


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Filed Under: book review Tagged With: books, theater

All The World Is A Stage – And Our Children Should Be Watching

August 28, 2008 by dadofdivas 3 Comments

Over the next few days I will be having a few guest posts from individuals that I have asked to share their experiences in specifically the arts. I have asked each one of these individuals to talk about the importance of sharing the arts with our children from an early age.

Our first contributor is Darren from Clare’s Dad as well as his theater website. I truly thank Darren for sharing his perspectives with all of us as I believe that he arts are very important for all of our children.
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Dad of Divas recently learned that I work in theater. He asked me to write a guest post answering the question “Why is it important to introduce children to theater?” Here’s his answer in a nutshell.

Someone once wrote, “All the world’s a stage.” He didn’t write “All the world’s a science lab” or “All the world’s a math club.” Nope, all the world is definitely a stage. There’s your answer right there. Theater is important.

Okay, so the guy who wrote that was Shakespeare. He may have been a little biased toward the stage. In fact, I think I once read that Shakespeare never even studied science or math in school. What he wrote is true though. Each of us, in everything we do, is living a story. In our actions. In our communications. In our emotions. In our just being. And the world is the stage on which this story plays out.

Like Shakespeare, I’m a guy who values the arts. I got involved in theater in high school, and got more involved in college where I also took several theater classes. After college, I completed a graduate program in Theater Management and Production at Columbia University School of the Arts. My training and experience includes both non-profit and commercial venues on Broadway, Off Broadway, in regional and community theaters in New York and Connecticut, and in theater service and advocacy organizations. Since high school, I’ve produced, stage managed, acted, directed and designed for theater. These days, I’m consulting with theaters in Connecticut in fundraising, management, producing, and programming.

When my daughter Clare was just two years old, she began coming with me occasionally to a theater where I was then working full-time. She would have a ball there, and most everyone on staff and involved in productions knew her and loved seeing her around. When I’d bring her to production meetings or rehearsals, she loved looking at the lights, sets and costumes for each production. By the age of three, she was sitting through full productions and concerts. By the age of four, she had even made her stage debut in the children’s chorus of a production of Seussical. Since then, she’s seen shows in community theaters, regional theaters, and on Broadway. And she’s still only six. (Or six and three-quarters if you ask her.) So, for anyone wondering how and when to introduce their kids to the arts, my answer is start ‘em young. Not everyone works at a theater obviously and can bring their kids to see a stage and watch rehearsals, but most larger cities have some kind of theater for kids. Even a good story time at libraries can be an introduction. Start ‘em young and they’ll want more.

But what about the parents who aren’t so sure that theater is important at all? To them, I say, “Maybe you’re right.” Maybe your kids won’t like theater. Maybe they won’t be interested in art or music. But, maybe they will. And maybe they won’t be interested in math, science or sports. Kids should have the opportunity to explore as many subjects and activities as are available to them. On their own, they may discover—like I did—that the arts are pretty important to them.

In this age of “no child left behind” and teaching for testing, arts programs have been reduced or dropped altogether at many schools. In response, researchers have conducted studies to attempt to show the importance of the arts. Students who study the arts perform better in other subjects. Students who study the arts learn discipline, collaboration, participation, and empathy. Students who study the arts develop more self-esteem. But, by their very subjective nature, it’s pretty difficult to “prove” that the arts do anything. In my experience, the proof isn’t in any numbers or statistics, but in the children themselves.

My last full-time position in theater involved producing a few children’s performances during the school year. Five or six times a year, over 1500 students would come to the theater by bus. For some of them, it was their first time in a theater that didn’t face a movie screen. Seeing the eyes of just a few of them light up—knowing that they might be thinking, “Maybe I could be a part of this someday”—makes theater worth it. For a few of them, theater probably will be important in their lives. Most of them probably won’t grow up to actors, directors or producers any more than they’ll grow up to be princesses, ballerinas, cowboys or astronauts. But theater may be important to them nonetheless.

In the long term though, theater and the arts aren’t important only to a few of us. A professor—and not a theater or arts professor—once asked a class I was in whether we thought the sciences or the arts and humanities were more important. There were arguments on both sides, but I’ll always remember one the most. The sciences heal us, feed us, shelter us, and keep us alive. But it’s the arts and humanities that we stay alive for. Across centuries, across borders, across all times and places, the arts endure and connect us as humans. The arts—and the ability to think and create—are what make us human and humane. And maybe, just maybe, the kids that you take to see Peter Rabbit or bring to story hour at the library will discover that too. At the very least, those kids will discover that all the world’s their stage. They’ll discover that they can be anyone and do anything. Is there anything more important than that?

[Darren is the author of Clare’s Dad and Darren Farrington Theatre Management and Production Consultant. Along with his wife and daughter, he resides in Connecticut.]

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