Acting Up at Home During Holiday Breaks

Acting Up at Home During Holiday Breaks

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Acting Skills are Life Skills

 

Make a Family Music Video

We all watch various music videos on YouTube and have seen those adorable homemade music videos go viral, so why not try your hand at it? Pick out a song that the whole family loves, coordinate your outfits, choreograph some dance moves and go to town! Don’t forget to share that video with your local Drama Kids on Facebook!

 

Put on a Play

Of course some theatrical offerings would pop up…….we are Drama Kids International after all! Your house could host a family play, with everyone in your family acting out parts of your favorite movies or even a special children’s book! Gather props from around your house, create some fun costumes with clothes from your closet, use lamps as stage lights, and get acting!

 

Camp out in the Backyard

There’s no need to pack up the car and drive to a campsite when your backyard is just as accessible. Perhaps you have a non-nature lover in the family or young children who might not be ready for the big camp out yet—your backyard is a great place to introduce them to the outdoors. The indoor plumbing accessibility is just an added bonus! If the weather is not so nice, you can also camp out indoors! Build a blanket fort, string some twinkly lights, grab some snacks, and have a camp in!

 

Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Plan a scavenger hunt through your neighborhood or perhaps a nearby park. Give your children a list of things to find, whether they are actual items or just landmarks. Then enjoy watching and helping them discover everything on the list!

 

Host a Dance Party

This is probably self-explanatory, but bust out the tunes and get down with your bad selves! There’s nothing wrong with holding a family dance party, especially if it gives you a chance to show off those awesome moves to your kids! There are tons of videos online of choreography your family can learn together. Find your favorite song from a musical, learn the choreo, then stage your own show!

 

Enjoy a Lazy Day

We’re often so busy that sometimes the most fun you can have is sleeping in then staying in your pajamas for the day. Everyone deserves a break now and then! Take the morning slow and enjoy spending some quality family time.

 

Have a Snack Party

Pick out your favorite snacks and enjoy them with your family. For a more interactive experience, perhaps try your hand at making your own! Gather all of your snacks and arrange them in a charcuterie style for a cute presentation.

 

Have a Musical Movie Marathon

Break out some of your favorite childhood musical movies and share them with your kids! There are tons of wonderful musicals now available to watch on demand. Pick something you have never seen before, grab that snack charcuterie, and get cozy!

We hope you are able to take some of these ideas into your home during the upcoming holidays! Remember, if your kids have a flair for the dramatics, our drama classes for kids are a great way for them to hone those skills and learn new ones!

 

Make a Family Music Video

We all watch various music videos on YouTube and have seen those adorable homemade music videos go viral, so why not try your hand at it? Pick out a song that the whole family loves, coordinate your outfits, choreograph some dance moves and go to town! Don’t forget to share that video with your local Drama Kids on Facebook!

 

Put on a Play

Of course, some theatrical offerings would pop up…….we are Drama Kids International after all! Your house could host a family play, with everyone in your family acting out parts of your favorite movies or even a special children’s book! Gather props from around your house, create some fun costumes with clothes from your closet, use lamps as stage lights, and get acting!

 

Camp out in the Backyard

There’s no need to pack up the car and drive to a campsite when your backyard is just as accessible. Perhaps you have a non-nature lover in the family or young children who might not be ready for the big camp out yet—your backyard is a great place to introduce them to the outdoors. The indoor plumbing accessibility is just an added bonus! If the weather is not so nice, you can also camp out indoors! Build a blanket fort, string some twinkly lights, grab some snacks, and have a camp in!

 

Go on a Scavenger Hunt

Plan a scavenger hunt through your neighborhood or perhaps a nearby park. Give your children a list of things to find, whether they are actual items or just landmarks. Then enjoy watching and helping them discover everything on the list!

 

Host a Dance Party

This is probably self-explanatory, but bust out the tunes and get down with your bad selves! There’s nothing wrong with holding a family dance party, especially if it gives you a chance to show off those awesome moves to your kids! There are tons of videos online of choreography your family can learn together. Find your favorite song from a musical, learn the choreo, then stage your own show!

Enjoy a Lazy Day

We’re often so busy that sometimes the most fun you can have is sleeping in then staying in your pajamas for the day. Everyone deserves a break now and then! Take the morning slow and enjoy spending some quality family time.

Have a Snack Party

Pick out your favorite snacks and enjoy them with your family. For a more interactive experience, perhaps try your hand at making your own! Gather all of your snacks and arrange them in a charcuterie style for a cute presentation.

Have a Musical Movie Marathon

 Break out some of your favorite childhood musical movies and share them with your kids! There are tons of wonderful musicals now available to watch on demand. Pick something you have never seen before, grab that snack charcuterie, and get cozy!

We hope you are able to take some of these ideas into your home during the upcoming holidays! Remember, if your kids have a flair for the dramatics, our drama classes for kids are a great way for them to hone those skills and learn new ones!

Acting Skills are Life Skills

Acting Skills are Life Skills

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Acting Skills are Life Skills

 

Learning how to act is more than just learning how to be an actor. According to Dr. Louis E. Catron at Appalachian State University, there are 25+ special advantages, or life skills, that students learn when they study theatre. We will break down a few of those skills here:

 

Communication Skills

Both oral and physical communication skills are important in everyday life. As students grow, it becomes increasingly important that their communication skills grow as well from giving presentations in school to effectively expressing their emotions.

Acting provides the skills to speak with confidence in front of groups as small as two or three to as large as 100 and beyond! Through speech activities, students sharpen their articulation, projection, and vocal dynamics to be able to speak clearly and convey emotions effectively. This allows for clear and precise verbal communication.

Movement skills help students convey emotions and stories without the use of words. It teaches them to be very specific with the way they use their facial expressions to convey emotions and how they move their bodies to communicate. Acting reminds students that moments of stillness can be powerful. And gives them room to explore, in their own way, how to be comfortable and confident in their own skin.

 

Working Cooperatively 

A lot of acting involves group work. Creating group scenes, improv with a partner, theatre games with the whole class, etc. And in an acting class, there can be people of all different ages, backgrounds, and skill sets. All of these different people end up in the same room together for one reason: to act.

Students learn to work cooperatively in these group settings to reach a common goal. Flexibility and the ability to adapt is a vital skill that is learned during acting classes because each person must support the group in any way they can while ensuring no one is left out. “There is no room for “we” versus “they” behavior; the “star” diva is a thing of the past.”

 

Creative Problem Solving 

The ability to solve a problem in a new and creative way is a skill that is highly sought after. And it is one that can be attained with practice.

During an acting class, students are given new characters or situations to then build off of. Unless there is a script involved, students must use their creativity and ingenuity to create a whole world from very little.

For example, the teacher might tell a group “You are a band of pirates looking for treasure” and that is all they get. How they look for treasure, their relationships, where they are, and more is all up to the group.

If that same prompt is given to 5 different groups, odds are there will be 5 completely different scenes. Space pirates, lazy pirates, pirates who speak their own language, and more. This is creativity at work. The “problem” to be solved here is there is a missing story and we need to find it. The “solving” comes from the students using their imagination and creative thinking to, very quickly, create a unique world from scratch.

These problem-solving skills convert easily to everyday life. Students begin to look at problems from a new perspective. A project at school or a small fight with a friend. Instead of solving the problem the lazy pirate way, they choose the space pirate way.

 

How to have Fun

 Overall, acting gives students the permission to be whoever or whatever they want. It encourages them to be silly and not to take themselves so seriously. In a world where it is so important to be academically successful and as art programs get pulled from schools, it is vital that students still have the ability to be creative and have fun.

Acting is hard work just as any other skill is. It requires practice and dedication. And it is these life skills, and many more, that make acting such a wonderful thing to learn.

 

Learn more about the acting/life skills that Drama Kids teaches today! Get in touch for details on our class offerings.