Top Five Tools You Learn from Being in a show

As a child, did you ever dream of concluding a show for a sold-out audience, blinded by the lights and deafened by rapturous applause? But as you grew up, that reverie faded like an old pair of jeans.

Unfortunately, as we mature, it’s human nature for us to gain inhibitions and lose the natural curiosity we had as children. The workloads pile on (so may the pounds), and those dreams of the West End stage are replaced with new, perhaps less adventurous ones. But what we didn’t factor in all those years ago is just how many benefits there are to perform in a show.

Luckily for you, we have all bases covered. Through Stage & The City and The Anna Fiorentini Theatre & Film School, you can regift that childhood visualisation to your children, or indeed, it’s never too late for you to step up yourself!

Here are five tools you’ll learn from being in a show… 

1. Working as a team

When performing in a show, even if you’re the lead and singing a solo, you still require a team to make it happen. You’ll need to stand in the right spot to be lit by a lighting technician, be in costume, fitted by costume designers, stand on a stage set up by a set designer, and be in unison with your fellow actors who will help bring the show to life.

Add to the mix the heart-pumping adrenaline of performing in front of a live audience, and you’ll see how quickly working as a team becomes critical. This is a skill you can carry through all areas of your life. It also equips you with the fundamental tool of being comfortable enough to ask for help.

2. Discipline

We all struggle with willpower from time to time. Whether it’s to go for a run, iron that shirt, or even get out of bed, performing in a show instills in you a discipline that’s far greater than you’ll ever imagine. You’ll be responsible for all the other actors, and they’ll be responsible for you. You’ll realise that some things, like learning lines, choreography, or song lyrics, aren’t a choice; they’re a must. Through this, you’ll soon start to notice you’re much better at timekeeping and time management.

3. Memory boosting

Memory is a muscle. Like a muscle, if you don’t train it, it becomes weaker, and you’ll see that ricochet off into other areas of your life. But when you perform a show, you’ll be surprised at how quickly, when you have a deadline for a show date ahead, you can memorise lines. This sudden boost to your memory will be noticeable in all areas of your life. It’s not just learning lines you’re good at; it’s remembering birthdays and finally fixing that creaky door! 

4. Confidence and a sense of accomplishment

When we work with adults and children alike, at the beginning of rehearsals, it’s always the same: excitement quickly marshals nerves, and we hear murmurs of ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ Slowly though, as the group works as an ensemble and rehearsals go on, the ‘I don’t think I can do this’ turns to ‘look at me, I’m doing this!’ Confidence is propelled into places you didn’t think it could ever go, and once the show is done, you’ll feel accomplishment like you’ve completed an ultramarathon on your hands and knees!

5. Step out of your comfort zone

As scary as it is at the time, stepping out of your comfort zone is the remedy to a vanilla lifestyle. Humans revolt against change because we like the normal. Normal is comfortable, and normal is easy. But something incredible happens when you push yourself out of your ‘normal’; you’ll feel like you have superpowers! Any difficult task or awkward conversation will be overshadowed by the colossal thought… well, if I performed in a show, then I can do this!

So, make today that you, or your child, work as a team, gain discipline, boost memory, propel confidence, and step out of your comfort zones. You can do it!

To book your child’s place with us, visit: http://afperformingarts.com/theatre-and-film-school

And, if you’re an adult and you want to feel the buzz, too then visit: http://afperformingarts.com/stage-and-the-city