Theatre Does a Body and Soul Good!
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The common adage is that children need the arts, specifically performing arts, to help them mature and develop their self-esteem. But the benefits of theater don’t simply dissipate as you pass through stages in your life. The same essential behaviors and attitude that create better students also foster a balanced and healthy adult. Here are ways the relevance of theater can impact your daily-life:
1. Theater creates empathic listeners. Theater-goers statically can access more emotions that otherwise would not be commonly felt. This would benefit our personal and business lives which leads to our next positive!
2. With better functioning relationships, studies show decreases in stress levels. With clear expectations and an elevated tolerance, the mind can compartmentalize stressors more easily. Lower stress promotes better quality of sleep and better organ function according to the American Psychology Association.
3. Theatre helps us understand people from cultures other than our own. We can learn a lot about people from cultures all around the world by studying their performance traditions. In doing so, we can learn to be less ethnocentric, and more accepting of others.
4. There is something to be said for the healing properties of comedy. The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education published research in 2016 stating that laughter can soothe muscle tension, stimulates oxygen intake in the lungs and heart increasing endorphins, and even boosts the immune system to toxins in the body.
5. Lastly, audiences viewing live theater actively listen more than viewers of cinema. When an individual actively listens, they develop a bond with the material which connects to sense memory. When these areas of the brain are activated more often, brain elasticity remains. These effects are said to increase neural function and long-term memory.
The call of live performance does not fade for those who are bitten by this artful insect. Cultural enrichment matters. It produces measurable and lasting benefits for everyone involved. So do that! Get involved with a performing arts organization in your community. You can support local arts knowing you can benefit in more ways thought possible.