American Style Children's Theatre
American-style children's theatre refers to theatrical productions designed to entertain, engage, and educate children through live performances that incorporate music, songs and dance to enhance the overall experience
American children’s theatre embraces a dynamic and energetic performance style that features lively music, vibrant choreography, and interactive elements to actively engage the audience. Productions often feature colourful and visually stimulating elements, including vibrant costumes, imaginative set designs, and creative use of props and typically incorporate interactive elements encouraging audience participation. This can include moments where children are invited to respond, participate in activities, or even join the performers on stage. American children’s theatre performances tend to be lively and physically dynamic whereby actors may use exaggerated movements and expressions to capture and maintain the attention of young audiences.
The goal of American-style children’s theatre is to captivate the audience’s attention and provide a highly enjoyable experience, and whilst themes may explore moral lessons and social issues the principal focus is on entertainment. The intention is to provide entertainment that conveys positive influences on young viewers, with an emphasis on ‘Tell’ rather than ‘Show’ (given the young age of the target audience). Many productions focus on conveying positive messages, promoting values such as friendship, kindness, and perseverance.
American style children’s theatre can be influenced by the commercial aspects of the entertainment industry, that are more and more part of our everyday life. Productions may incorporate familiar characters from popular culture, drawing on material and characters from children’s books, movies, or television shows to attract a broad audience.
There also exists a broader trend in American theatre to incorporate modern technology into productions, with a tendency to integrate multimedia elements, such as projections, digital effects, and interactive technologies.
Overall, American-style children’s theatre is a dynamic and creative genre that seeks to provide young audiences with a positive and entertaining introduction to the world of theatre. The approach may vary across different companies and productions, but the common thread is a commitment to engaging and inspiring children through the performing arts.
How does American Style Children’s Theatre differ from Other Countries?
While children’s theatre globally shares common goals of engaging and entertaining young audiences, there can be cultural, stylistic, and thematic differences that distinguish American-style children’s theatre from that of other countries. Probably the most obvious difference relates to the balance between entertainment and education. American style children’s theatre will place a strong emphasis on entertaining the audience while subtly incorporating educational elements. In contrast, children’s theatre in other countries, for example, in general lean more towards educational objectives.
Theatrical styles and techniques also can differ. American style children’s theatre often embraces a dynamic and visually stimulating approach, incorporating music, dance, and interactive elements, whilst in other countries children’s theatre may have a more minimalist, artistic or experimental approach, focusing on storytelling and emotional engagement, and may emphasize cultural heritage and inclusive programs tailored to various needs and backgrounds.
It’s important to note that these are generalizations, and there is significant diversity within children’s theatre both within the United States and around the world. Different regions, companies, and individual productions may vary widely in their approach and style. Additionally, as cultural exchange and collaboration in the arts continue to grow, there’s an increasing blending of styles and influences across borders, and hopefully acceptance.
Further Reading:
“History of Children’s Theatre”, SOL Children, 2022 by E. Turner
“Children’s Theater”, Rutgers University, Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia, 2020 by Vibiana Bowman Cvetkovic
“The Magic Of Stage: An Overview Of Children’s Theatre”, SOL Children, 2023 by E. Turner