NOV
3

Using Theatre to Prevent Bullying

Part 1 

By Madeline Stephenson, Project Editor, Pioneer Drama Service 

Fortunately, theatre directors and teachers hold a unique — and powerful — position when it comes to reducing bullying.

Recently, bullying has come under the media spotlight, and a number of celebrities have spoken out against what is now being defined as a national epidemic.  Sadly, more than 50% of teenagers report being victims of bullying at one time or another.  Fortunately, theatre directors and teachers hold a unique — and powerful — position when it comes to reducing bullying.  In this two-part series, we will explore how theatre teachers can develop a safe, bullying-free environment where teens can learn, grow and thrive; and then share how you can effectively use drama to develop empathy, start meaningful discussions and successfully teach anti-bullying tactics.

Making Your Theatre a Safety Zone

Bullies can target anyone, but more likely than not, they’re going to pick on someone who lacks self-confidence and a strong group of friends.  A drama group at school or in the community can offer a shelter for teens and provide a place where everyone is accepted.  Helping students find a niche in theatre — especially those not otherwise involved in school extracurriculars — gives them a place to belong where they can develop a group of friends and also enhance their self-confidence.  Even if some don’t see themselves as actors, we all know there are an endless number of behind-the-scenes roles they can fill that will still allow them to be an important part of the theatre group.

As a theatre teacher, you have the advantage of working with some of the same students for several years.  In addition, you oversee not only your classroom, but likely also a much larger theatre space.  If your school is like many of our customers’, students “hang out” in this area before school, after school, during off periods and lunch breaks...  really any time they can.  Why?  Because they feel safe and accepted there.

By your attitude, you can establish your theatre space as a haven where students’ unique qualities are embraced, where their differences become assets rather than ammunition for unkind teasing.  When bringing a new group of students or cast members together, take the time to help them get to know each other and to form bonds.  Using get-to-know-you activities when you first come together and regular team-building exercises can be a great way to forge friendships that may provide a source of strength and support outside the theatre.  Develop rules for your rehearsal sessions.  Make an agreement with your cast that only directors can critique performances and that no outside business or arguments can be brought within the theatre.  Make your rehearsal time, and in fact your theatre space at all times, a safety zone for your cast.  Most importantly, your students must understand without a doubt that you will not tolerate any form of bullying.

To protect the sanctity of your safety zone, you also have to think about the possibility of your students being bullied by someone not even in the theatre.  It’s discouraging how clandestine bullying has become thanks to modern technology.  Getting away from a bully used to be as easy as retreating to the safety of our homes, but now going home holds its own terror:  cyberbullying.  It sounds extreme, but consider making your rehearsals a cell phone- and laptop-free zone.  If parents need to get in contact with their children, offer them an alternative, whether it’s a school number that can still be directed to your rehearsal space or even your own cell phone as a means of contact.

Teaching acting, whether in a play or through improvisation and theatre games, is another important tool you have to reduce bullying by helping your cast members develop stronger self-esteem, teamwork and empathy.  One of our customers expressed this quite well:  “The transformation I see after participation in drama is unbelievable; I watch students become more responsible and mature and many of them develop a much stronger sense of who they are and who they want to be.”  We know that learning to deliver lines and be comfortable onstage helps a student develop confidence and poise.  But did you ever think of this as an antidote to bullying?  A student with well-developed self-confidence is less likely to take a bully’s unkind words to heart.

Likewise, spending time in someone else’s metaphorical shoes through improvisation or character development can help potential bullies better understand different perspectives and empathize with the many different types of people they interact with on a daily basis.  Developing understanding and empathy is an important weapon in stopping bullying in its tracks.

Any extra-curricular activity helps diminish bullying by giving the bullies something constructive to devote their energies to and by helping the victims develop a group of friends.  But theatre goes several steps further:  it provides a “hang out” space that can become a safety zone and it teaches skills that develop both self-confidence and empathy.

We hope you see the difference you can make to students as a theatre teacher.  For further information on positive school climates and what you can do to help stop bullying in your school, check out stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov!

In our next issue, we will discuss what you can specifically do onstage with your students to develop greater empathy, start meaningful discussions and successfully teach anti-bullying tactics.

Want more information?  Use these links to read part 2 of this article and to explore more of Pioneer Drama's anti-bullying resources.