Theatre is play with superpowers | David Catanzarite | TEDxRancho Mirage

Key Concepts:

• Importance of play and imitation in learning and understanding the world.
• Theater as a superpower, medicine, and essential component of community health and economic well-being.
• Theater education as a tool for mental health, social-emotional development, and personal transformation.
• Accessibility of theater for all, regardless of economic status.
• Theater's role in experimenting with identity, gender, and social roles.

1. The Uncertain Future of Traditional Skills and the Enduring Value of Theater

• The speaker questions the necessity of reading and writing skills in the future due to advancements in AI and text-to-speech technology.
• She references Ethel Pitts Walker, who emphasized the importance of empathy and understanding different perspectives, suggesting that this skill will remain crucial.
• Walker stated that "Decades from now, it is not clear whether our students are going to need to be able to read and write, but one thing they are going to need is the ability to step into someone else's choose and see the world from someone else's perspective."
• The speaker predicts that while film and television may become obsolete, theater will endure because it involves live human interaction.
• She argues that theater is a human instinct, like play, that gets suppressed over time.

2. Theater as Play with Superpowers: Entertainment, Enlightenment, and Health

• Drawing on Aristotle, the speaker states that the purpose of theater is to entertain and enlighten.
• She quotes Bertolt Brecht, who emphasized that theater must be enjoyable before delivering a message.
• Brecht said that "theater, whatever else it was going to do, has to make itself enjoyable. Theater has to be fun. before it gives a message, before it urges you to do anything, theater has to be fun."
• The speaker reiterates that play is how we learn to appreciate the world, and theater is play with superpowers.
• She asserts that theater is medicine, food, and essential for maintaining health.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) study from 5 years ago showed that engagement with the arts accelerates brain development in two-year-olds, contributes to well-being in the workplace, and adds quality of life for people at the end of life and their caregivers.

3. Economic Impact and Accessibility of Theater

• The speaker cites a study by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis and Americans for the Arts, which found that for every $1 spent on the arts, $10 are spent downstream.
• She notes that 7.7% of California's economy is in the creative sector, representing $260 billion and 800,000 jobs.
• For every 100 jobs in the arts, 180 jobs in other economic sectors are supported.
• The speaker advocates for making theater accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay.
• She mentions that many people in the Coachella Valley have never seen a live professional show.

4. Theater Education and Mental Health

• The speaker emphasizes the power of theater for children's mental health.
• She describes theater programs as "smaller learning communities" where students can experiment with different personalities, relationships, and behaviors in a supportive environment.
• She notes that theater allows children to experiment with gender roles, citing examples from Shakespearean plays and the historical practice of teenage boys playing female roles.
• She mentions the upcoming bilingual production of "As You Like It" ("Como Gusta"), where the character of Rosland, who disguises herself as a boy, would have been played by a boy playing a girl playing a boy playing a girl.

5. Personal Anecdote: Alysia's Transformation

• The speaker shares a personal story about Alysia, a sixth-grade student from Mexico who spoke no English and was struggling with self-harm.
• After being placed in the speaker's acting class and cast as the lead in a student production of "Little Red Riding Hood," Alysia underwent a dramatic transformation, becoming more social and confident.
• This experience solidified the speaker's belief in the power of theater education.

6. Theater as a Life-Saving Force

• The speaker shares a story about her best friend, Lee Eisenberg, who credits theater with saving her life after her mother's death.
• She emphasizes that she and Lee have witnessed countless metaphysical transformations in students through theater.
• She describes how theater can empower students, particularly girls, to take on new challenges and develop their skills.

7. Conclusion: The Enduring Power of Play and Theater

• The speaker concludes by reiterating that reimagining the world and manipulating the environment through play is a fundamental human instinct that promises our survival.
• She emphasizes that play is how we first learn to understand the world, and theater is play with real superpowers, a concept she believes will never change.

Main Takeaways:

Theater is not just entertainment; it's a powerful tool for education, mental health, community building, and economic development. It fosters empathy, encourages experimentation, and provides a safe space for personal transformation. Making theater accessible to everyone is crucial for creating a healthier and more vibrant society. The core of theater lies in its ability to tap into the human instinct for play, which is essential for learning and understanding the world.