ISU's Saturday Creative Drama class is available for children in kindergarten through 6th grade and allows students to participate in drama and work together all while staying safe.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of activities that children might be able to find enjoyment in fall to the wayside temporarily, but the Fine Arts Department is looking to continue one of them in a safer format.
The Saturday Creative Drama class is a program for children in kindergarten through the 6th grade here at ISU that runs for five weeks per semester. The classes serve the dual purpose of giving kids an opportunity to exercise their imagination and work together with others while also being completely online, and thus safe from any potential issues the pandemic may cause.
This year will be the program’s 42nd in operation. Children are divided into classes based on grade level: there is a K-1st session, a 2nd-3rd session, and a 4th-6th session, with each session providing a different experience based on their age.
“Younger children often experience drama through large physical movements enhanced with small group and large group activities,” said Dr. Michael Vetere, an associate professor at ISU and the person who is overseeing the classes. “Their curriculum includes sharing ideas, listening, and collaboration. Our upper elementary age students involve more intellectual activities, including writing as a character, solving moral situational dilemmas, and working together to accomplish a task.”
Although the program has been running for over four decades at this point, this is only its second semester in an online format. While some might find the medium of theater and what’s so exciting about it much more difficult to communicate over a Zoom call, it seems the program is up to the challenges that are being presented, given all the benefits that it brought in.
“We were all on the same learning curve and offering the drama classes online provided us with unique challenges and some incredible opportunities,” said Dr. Vetere, discussing the pandemic and its effect on the classes. “Our program could reach more kids and we had local students as well as young people from New England, Texas, and West Virginia.
For those who are interested in applying their child to these Saturday classes, the sessions start on Jan. 30 and end on Feb. 27. There is a $30 cost per child entered, and classes run from 11 to 11:35 a.m.
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