One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned through my almost a decade of working in schools through Theatre Education is to never underestimate the softest voice in the room.
“This kid is shy”, “This student is often a trouble-maker”, and “Good luck trying to get [insert name here] to participate” are things I’ve commonly heard upon arrival at a school. These labels may sometimes hold merit but one thing about confidence, participation, and engagement is that it is not linear. There are so many things that influence it.
This is why I love going into a classroom with the intention of letting the kids tell me who they are, in their own time. I want them to show me (when they’re ready) what they are capable of and I don’t expect them to trust the work of theatre immediately, or even the new human in the room that they are meeting for the first time. Through this approach, I have been blown away by some of the students I’ve had the honour of teaching that have busted through their shell or have taken a few days to find a brand new form of expression they wouldn’t have otherwise discovered without theatre.
Some students whose first words were “I’m shy”, have been integral to the writing process of the show. Some students who never put their hand up for brainstorming sessions, suddenly get on the stage and are overcome with their overflowing ideas that they delight in sharing with the class. Some individuals who might not participate or don’t participate in most class subject become the lead in the show – having built their own costume from scratch, while being so excited to share it with the parents in the audience. For some, they really just aren’t into theatre and that’s okay. It’s not my job as an educator to convince them to love something that makes them uncomfortable, it’s my job as an educator to present a new experience and let the kids shape their participation in it, while discovering a little more about who they are in the process.
A couple years ago I was assigned a grade 3 class for a story themed, Artists in School Residency program with Quest Theatre.. This program is where we as instructors take a story that’s already written and let the kids build a play by sharing the story in their own way. The book was a simple children’s book but the story the kids wanted to change it to where the main character of the book was a superhero type who saved the forest from various disruptions. At the beginning of the week, a large group of students all wanted to be the main superhero, to which I said “of course!”. They built, wrote and rehearsed the entire play through the week with my help, and as the week went on, some of the students in the superhero group did not return to school due to a nasty cold that went around.
As the performance approached, the superhero group was left with a single student, a softer voice who didn’t have much to contribute during the week but you could tell she loved playing the superhero character she chose. This student was one where the teachers had warned me ahead of time that she would only participate in a group setting so I was a tad nervous and wanted to ensure she was supported. “I can do it” she said with a big smile on her face. “If you feel like you can do it, I trust you can” was my response.
During the dress rehearsal she had come in full costume ready to go, including a special set of gloves she was excited to wear. The performance in the dress rehearsal was quiet, her stage presence was timid and a few other instructors came to me to share their concerns. Some grown ups yelled “be louder, come on you can do it”, which made her tense up a little more. I could tell this student was trying out a new skill and seeing how she felt saying those lines by herself.
After the rehearsal I said “how did you feel”. “I loved it!!” She said in a response with a huge smile on her face. I shared some tips with her on how to project on stage and left her with the words “When in doubt, loud and proud – you got this. I’m so excited for you”.
When it was their time to perform, the students took their places on stage. I sat in front of the audience just in case they needed additional support as some of the kids had taken on new roles the days prior. The student and I made eye contact before the show started and I whispered the words “remember, loud and proud” while she nodded, smiling, as if to repeat the words back to herself.
During the show, this student was not only one of the most clear voices on stage – her stage presence was magnetic. Her excitement was palpable and you could tell she was so proud of herself. After the show, I not only had the other instructors share how blown away they were, I had other school staff (including her homeroom teacher)share with me how impressed they were and how they never thought that performance would come from such a “shy” student.
They were surprised that the softest voice in the room became one of the bravest students who stepped up and owned it. So with this I leave you with the notion – what if you left space for the softest voices in the room to shape their expression in the spaces they call ‘home’. What if you let the “shy” label be a reflection, not of their identity, but of their passing emotion in spaces they are learning their identity in. But never underestimate them 😉
