Benefits of Drama

Benefits for people who study drama:

Self Confidence:
Taking risks and performing in front of audiences teaches
performers to trust themselves more. They learn to gain self-
confidence. The confidence gained in drama applies to school,
career and life.

Imagination:
In drama, it is essential that
we make creative choices
and think up new ideas to
perform. We dont want the
audience to get bored, so we
use our imagination to think
up ideas for our
performance. Developing
ideas and expanding them so that they will be more interesting
needs imagination and thinking. As Einstein said, Imagination is
more important than knowledge.

Cooperation/ Collaboration:
Drama performances usually involve a cast. This means that there
is more than 1 person performing. Actors and actresses learn to
collaborate with each other. It is essential that they do so to make
the performance successful. Without collaboration, they might
disagree with each other. This can result in conflict which reduces
the time they have to discuss and rehearse for the performance.
The cooperative process includes discussing, negotiating,
rehearsing and performing.

Empathy:
When performing a drama, we might get a character that has
different personalities, cultures, or backgrounds from us. Before
performing them we study our character so we get to know the way
they see the world. Acting out roles from different situations,
time- periods or cultures help us to see the world from different
viewpoints, thus enhancing our compassion and tolerance for others
with different backgrounds from us.

Concentration:
Playing, rehearsing or performing a drama develops concentration.
To perform a good drama the actors or actresses should focus on
the scene they are playing, their characters and their acting
techniques. This will then direct the focus of the audience in
watching the play. Focus is one of the essential elements in drama.
To perform a drama, concentration is needed. This improves the
focus of the mind, body, and voice.

Communication Skills:
Drama enhances verbal
and non-verbal ways of
communicating. It helps
the actors and actresses
to improve their
projection, articulation of
words, fluency and
language. Listening and
observing skills develop by
being an audience,
rehearsing for a
performance, and performing a drama.


Emotional Outlet and Physical Fitness:
Acting out different roles help actors or actresses to experience
and express a range of emotions. Actors will learn to control
aggression and tension, reducing antisocial behaviors. Physical
movements in drama and theatre improve flexibility, coordination,
balance and control.
Self- Discipline:
In performing drama, lots of practice is needed. The process of
converting ideas into dialogue and movements teaches actors the
value of practice and perseverance. Actors will learn how to be
more disciplined when attending practices and rehearsals.
Memory:
By rehearsing and performing dialogue and movements, the memory
of the actors will strengthen. They will be able to memorize
quicker, and like
strengthening muscles,
rehearsing for a drama
performance strengthens
an actors memory.

Relaxation and Fun:
Drama brings laughter, fun
and humor to people. This
means it can help reduce
stress by releasing mental, physical and emotional tension.

Aesthetic Appreciation:
By performing a drama, actors and actresses increase their
appreciation for this form of art. It is important that the younger
generation understands values and considers drama important, as it
is beneficial in so many ways. One of its benefits is in delivering a
message or an issue. Scroll down to find information about the
benefits of delivering a message through drama performances.
Benefits of Drama

Benefits of Delivering a Message in a
Drama:

Drama or theatre is a great media for delivering a message.
Now that we are in the modern era, we are familiar with all
sorts of digital technologies such as print, electronics and
cybernetics. In the past when there was no TV, theatre or
drama was a more important media. In drama the situation is
taken from peoples daily activities or derived from issues
that happen. So, people can relate to it easily and will be
interested to
watch. Sometimes,
drama
performances help
people realize that
what they do every
day has an effect
on the world and it
may have
consequences. So, in
a drama or theatre,
when the characters come alive and make their point in front
of audiences, they raise questions and very strong and
vigorous issues are highlighted. People pay attention to what
is displayed in front of them and they will learn something and
not just relate and get emotional.

Many people consider that in
drama, comedy is the best
way to have an effect on the
audience. Comedy does not
stimulate the audiences
emotionally. Thus, the
audience will be able to think
more wisely about what the
drama is trying to convey
instead of just getting emotional. Therefore, it opens the
audiences minds and they will begin to think about what has
been suggested, conveyed or portrayed in the story. This
means that a certain drama performance can raise their
awareness of a certain issue.

According to Mr. Arif, UNESA Drama Lecturer:
It is an effective media for delivering a message to
audiences. This means that many people will be getting the
message of the story.
Nowadays, there is modern technology and people prefer to
watch drama through digital media rather than watching it
live. However, it is much nicer to watch it live. This is
because a drama performed live will move the audiences
emotions more than a drama that is recorded and shown on
TV of film. It is not certain that people would laugh or sob
when watching a certain drama on TV but they will be
moved more when they watch it in person.
The sensitivity of watching a drama live is different than
watching it through another media. Audiences will be able
to relate to the drama more emotionally if it is performed
live than through other media such as TV and radio.


Bibliography & References:

Benefits of Drama. [Online] Available.
http://nfschoolofdrama.com/index.php/benifits-of-drama,
15
th
February 2014.

The Benefits of Drama. [Online] Available.
http://www.pyjamadrama.com/drama/the-benefits-of-drama,
15
th
February 2014.

The Benefits of Drama Education. [Online] Available.
http://www.dramaed.net/benefits.pdf, 15th February 2014.

Kapil, Nishtha.Is Drama a Good Medium for Conveying a
Social Message? [Online] Available.
http://www.meritnation.com/ask-answer/question/is-drama-
a-good-medium-for-conveying-a-social-message-
discu/mothers-day/6319262, 15
th
February 2014.

Hidayat, Arif. Group Interview. 27
th
January 2014.