How To Work On Emotions With The Theater? – Being Parents

Theater is an activity that has many therapeutic benefits. Indeed, it is a discipline that allows you to work, release and express feelings. Here is why we are going to take a look at how to work with emotions in theater.

Expressing the darker aspects of the human experience can be extremely heartwarming for people. Theater offers many opportunities to explore the shadows and aspects that remain within oneself. 

Interpreting characters gives the opportunity to transform on a personal level.

Likewise, the most important aspect of expressing creatively is that it  allows us to bring out the darker dimensions that inhabit each of us.

By playing tyrannical, selfish and destructive characters,  we release the repressed negative energy that is stuck within. If not externalized, it can lead to serious problems that affect psychological and mental health.

The theater contributes to the development of the youngest

Theater is an element that contributes to the development and well-being of individuals. 

It is an opportunity for young people to learn to work on emotions by experimenting and questioning their relationship to the body, to beauty, to ideology and to values. These are very important themes in our time.

Adolescents find in theater a combination of situations and emotions that they experience every day. But which transcend the artistic dimension a little. This means that they are having a rewarding experience at the same time as they are building their relationship with the world.

Among other things,  the theater offers young people a knowledge of their own body, their emotions and reactions. In addition, it also helps to acquire listening skills, teamwork, empathy, improve relationships and increase self-esteem.

In itself,  the theater generates a space to be able to envisage different situations. While having fun and playing roles for a specific purpose.

In fact,  more and more schools are integrating theater into the educational program. Emotional education plays a very important role in the full development of people.

The idea of ​​having theater classes allows students to work on this aspect. Also, this is a great way to connect them with the world of emotions.

Exercises to work on emotions with the theater

If you want to work on emotions with theater, you should know that there are a few simple exercises. Here are the easiest ones, take note!

1. A die to express emotions

To perform this first exercise,  we need a large die with 6 faces represented for each emotion that we want to work on. For example, we can put sadness, admiration, fear, etc.

Students should sit in a circle and each participant should take their turn. Once the dice has been rolled, the student must express the emotion attributed and explain what he or she has previously experienced with this state.

“Creative expression allows us to bring out the darker dimensions that inhabit each of us”

2. Role play

This second exercise is, without a doubt, the most fun of the three. For this, we need several participants who will be responsible for  maintaining a conversation between them by representing various roles and emotions.

Before starting, give each child blank sheets with different emotions. Then, at the end of the exercise,  everyone should discover what type of emotion the other participants represented.

3. Guess the emotions

Finally, we offer you a very simple exercise to work on emotions. As with the first activity, the children should sit in a circle next to each other.

Each participant must represent an emotion and the classmates must guess it. When they succeed, we move on to the next.

Before concluding, it should be noted that  the theater is a great tool for working on the emotional education of young people, but also of adults. Indeed, we can all use the skills practiced in theater.

This activity allows individuals to control emotions in a positive way. And  also to acquire essential capacities for personal and social development. Finally, theater improves self-esteem, empathy, responsibility, teamwork, and confidence in oneself and in others.