By: Lyla Rupp and Elena Pomeroy
In first-year teacher Andrea Rupp’s Theatre Arts class at Surf City Middle School, students are being taught to harness their potential, become more confident, learn essential life skills, and overall grow and evolve into good human beings. Though it may seem like it at first, Theatre Arts is not just about memorizing scripts, performing on stage, or designing sets and costumes. It’s also about discovering yourself, building confidence, and learning lessons that can last a lifetime in any environment.
If nothing else, Mrs. Rupp is striving to teach her students “how to gain confidence, build trust with their peers, and stretch their creativity.” More than anything, she hopes they realize “that the skills they learn from theatre can be applied through adulthood in all areas, not just on the stage.”
When asked why she believes theatre should be taught to middle schoolers, Mrs. Rupp explained, “I think theatre needs to be taught to students so they can learn empathy, tap into the creative parts of their brain, and learn to work collaboratively with people other than friends.” Through Mrs. Rupp’s Theatre Arts class, students gain confidence, explore their creative side, learn to work with others, and develop skills that will serve them for years to come.
For the students inside Mrs. Rupp’s classroom, these essential skills and lessons are learned through active participation, collaboration with peers, and hands-on tasks. For instance, students start each class with a warm-up that is used in professional theatre casts, including “Yes”, “Freeze”, “Yes, And…”, “One Word Story”, and "Fortunately, Unfortunately”. This helps to build trust among peers, and lightens the mood to create a welcoming and positive classroom environment.
In terms of actual lessons, students have completed their unit on ensemble and tableau (or creating a frozen picture on stage), and are wrapping up their unit on improv with a creative commercial project. Students have explored improv through various “improv games” such as “Infomercial”, “Party Quirks”, and “Questions Only.” Mrs. Rupp likes to give a brief explanation of the history and guidelines of her lessons, then lets her students experience the concepts first-hand with games and projects.
This hands-on approach has really paid off! When asked what students were enjoying most in her class, Mrs. Rupp answered, “Improv. They love the group improv games. They’ve given each other permission to fully embrace their creativity, which makes the best comedy.”
Overall, Mrs. Rupp’s Theatre Arts class at Surf City Middle School is creating good humans who can collaborate effectively , harness their confidence and creativity, and lead with empathy. The lessons learned inside this classroom follow them throughout their lives and into adulthood and the workplace. Students are already loving her class and thriving under her hands-on approach to learning so far! Surf City Middle can’t wait to see what wonders this class will accomplish next!
As Mrs. Rupp reminds her students, ”Even though acting as different characters on stage may be fun, off of the stage, your unique qualities and character are what matter most.”