From Lauren Gunderson’s (dramatist and theatre essayist)
How Theatre for Young People Might Save the World :
"Not to sound overly grand … but so much of the toxicity in this world comes from a collective draining of empathy. We don't understand each other, and we don't want to. But theater invites us -- no, forces us -- to empathize. Theater is like a gym for empathy. It's where we can go to build up the muscles of compassion, to practice listening and understanding and engaging with people that are not just like ourselves. We practice sitting down, paying attention and learning from other people's actions. We practice caring. Kids need this kind of practice even more than adults do. This is going to be their planet and they've got more time to apply that empathy and make a difference. If you take a child to the theater, not only will they practice empathy, they might also laugh uproariously, or come home singing about science, or want to know more about history, or tell you what happened at school today, or spend all dinner discussing music, or learn how to handle conflict, or start becoming future patrons of the arts. Take a child to the theater. Take them all the time. And don't ‘sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.’ Lean forward, engage and start changing the world for the better.”
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