Peachland youth wanted for theatrical performance

by Caleigh Ellis
Peachland Youth Centre

Are you a youth who loves to be in the spotlight? Or do you know a youth who enjoys costume design?

If you are a youth who has any interest in theater arts join us from August 20 to 24, when Okanagan Boys and Girls Club will be partnering with the Peachland Players to put on a small production. Everyday that week youth will meet at Fourth Street Place from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to rehearse and practice their theater skills.

If you are between the ages of 12 and 18 and are interested in participating or would like more information please call Caleigh at (250)859-3893.

During the summer, especially in a Summer Olympic year, we often see media and research attention given to specific segments of leisure programming. It is not unusual to find sports or outdoor pursuits getting more attention than art and culture programs.

Participation in both sporting activities and cultural activities has been shown to result in gaining new skills, improving formal and informal learning, increasing self-confidence, self-esteem, and a feeling of self worth, enhancing quality of life, promoting social cohesion, personal and community empowerment, improving personal and local image, identity and sense of well-being. It has been further proven that participation in the arts is an effective route for personal growth, leading to enhanced confidence, skill building and educational developments which can improve young people social contacts and employability.

To develop a sense of belonging and participate in the life of the community, youth must grow their capital. Participation in the arts is an effective route for personal growth, leading to enhanced confidence, skill building, and educational developments which can improve peoples social contacts, employability, which will in turn grow their capial.

More civically engaged youth who participate in art programs are more likely to show civic minded behavior than youth who did not, with comparatively high levels of volunteering, voting, and engagement with local or school politics. A study by the Small Town: Big Picture project found that it has clearly been the involvement of artists which has unleashed community aspirations and energy, creating an environment where trust, cooperation and motivation are offered in abundance.

Participation in the arts can also benefit a youth’s education. The Art Endowment of America found that students involved in sustained theater arts (scene study, acting technique, dramatic or musical theater production) often show gains not only in reading proficiency, but also in self-control and motivation and in empathy and tolerance for others. Their researcher’s found that learning in and through the arts contributes significantly to improved critical thinking, problem posing, problem solving and decision making. They also found that it involves the communication, manipulation, interpretation, and understanding of complex symbols, similar to language and mathematics. Involvement in the arts has also been found to develop a youth’s imagination and judgment.

Arts learning experiences can alter the attitudes of a youth toward themselves and each other. Being involved in expressive activity helps youth feel in touch with their real selves. It also adds excitement and joy to their lives, and arts related experiences have been found to create an understanding of and appreciation for the arts that will lead them to participate more as adults.