Passionately Smashin' Every Expectation: Arts in Education by Ally

Passionately Smashin' Every Expectation: Arts in Education by Ally - August 2018 Scholarship Essay

Over my years as part of the theatre community, I wholly believe in a story’s power to be a catalyst for change with humanity. After all, when you have an audience walking in from every walk of life and background to see performers of every size, shape, color, and personality, the one commonality is each individual’s humanity. Settling on which type of storytelling art to pursue required a deeper introspection. I found that theatre and its purpose resonate deeply with my compassionate, empathetic nature, fusing with my love of stories and introverted nature to make my soul come alive. Our world, no matter how broken it may seem, needs people alive in their passions.

This podcast would cover the importance of the arts in schools, fostering a place of creativity and community for children of all ages. It would interview current professional performers on what their arts education meant to them (or lack of), current theatre and music educators on the growth and passion they see in their students, and students of all ages, genders, sexualities, and races on their experiences in the arts. We should be FOR the arts and the good the arts do for students.

Theatre, for me, has been an interdisciplinary way to develop all of my passions. Chorus taught me to empathize with the pieces I sang, yet I could be intellectually stimulated with choral history and the challenge of sight-reading music. Participating in athletics gave me a chance to challenge my physical strengths while strategizing with my mind. Language arts let me explore stories while thinking critically about them to appreciate their craft and impact. Theatre is a hybrid of all of my passions, allowing me to pack the creativity and challenge of every aspect of my life into one. Theatre grows me morally, intellectually, and skillfully, whether in physicality from movement or dance, in heart by the stories shared and the individuals I work alongside, or in mind through the works themselves and how I approach them as an actress. Theatre, as a platform, has the capability to evoke thought on issues, to bring to light injustices, and to celebrate events of the past, present, and future.