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Raising Creative Kids

Art in Motion

By Shel Franco

The first step of introducing theater to a preschool aged child is to attend productions. Parents should check with local theater companies to see if a youth theater or child appropriate show is on the schedule. It is important to make certain that the show is age appropriate. "If a young person is frightened by the darkness or is exposed to subject matter too advanced, he or she may reject the experience and diminish the outing for other family members or others in the audience," says Barberio.

Margherita Cappelli, an actress in a local theater company, in Providence, R.I., firmly believes in exposing young children to theater. "I have always taken my 5-year-old son with me to the theater," she says. "He has sat through auditions, rehearsals and set building."

Cappelli finds that this early exposure to the theater has not only made her child an excellent audience member, but it also has had a positive influence on how her child views movies and television. "When a friend of his was afraid to sit through the latest Star Wars film my son told him, 'They're just acting!'" she says.

Eventually, Cappelli's son might want to try performing, and that's just fine with her -- although she also would be fine with a decision not to get on stage. What it really boils down to is the enjoyment. While they flit around the house, twirl their way through dance class, or devour a theatrical performance, a child is learning to use a very important instrument: the human body.