|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Grades 4-12
Using improvisational theater to deal with growing pains
A nonprofit improvisational theater troupe called Urban Improv runs workshops for some 6,000 at-risk students in Boston every year, focusing on difficult issues such as bullying, peer pressure, violence, substance abuse and teen pregnancy, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
The troupe draws students into role-playing scenarios to help them work through common adolescent problems and come up with fresh strategies for coping with them. The adult actors will kick off a scene during an assembly and then freeze it, inviting students to step into their roles and resolve the conflicts they've created on stage.
One recent scenario challenged fourth- and fifth-graders to make peace between two bickering project partners, for instance. Another dealt with potential gun violence.
After running through the scene, the students are sent off into small groups to craft their own scenarios. "You can hear in their conversations that they're thinking it through," says troupe member Mary Armstrong-Rogers.
This artistic approach appears to be paying dividends. A new study by the Trauma Center of the Massachusetts Mental Health Institute suggests that fourth-grade Urban Improv participants did better over the course of a recent school year in terms of cooperating, controlling their emotions, remaining engaged in the classroom and avoiding aggressive behavior.
"I want them to see a positive figure in the community," says actor Collin Knight. He calls the improvisations "a rehearsal for life ... and they need as much rehearsal as possible."
For more information about Urban Improv, visit http://www.urbanimprov.org.
|
|
|
