Understanding and Connecting during Theatre In Our Schools Month

By: STO Gentry Phillips, Springtown High School, Troupe 1494
 
Hope you all have been having a fun, safe, and productive Theatre In Our Schools Month! This week on the blog we are going to go over the next two letters of S.A.U.C.E: U standing for Understand and C standing for connect! Let's dive into how these topics are important and why they are vital not only in this month, but in general life as well. 
Let's start with Understand! When you’re cast in a show, what is the first job you try to accomplish? You focus on understanding your script, whether that be in an acting or technical sense. You want to get a good grasp on what your show is about so you know how to execute it well. The same type of analysis comes into play during TIOSM! You need to understand why you are advocating for theatre and why it is important to you personally and how it affects your community. When you have a good understanding of the facts, statistics, and your own personal opinions, you are better prepared to talk to others about it. When you understand what you’re talking about it is easier to teach others!
Understanding could also help with the next letter of S.A.U.C.E., which is C for connect. Connecting and networking with others is so vital to advocacy. Big change comes from large groups of people, and while you are more than capable of making those changes happen it’s nice to have some helping hands. By connecting with others and understanding where they are coming from, no goal is too large for you to achieve. Working together makes the job easier, quicker, and a lot more fun!
But, who should I reach out to and connect with? How do we all come to a similar understanding of each other and what we are trying to accomplish? Both of those are great questions. You should connect to people who have similar goals and interests. For example, say you’re trying to have your principal declare March as Theate In Our Schools Month for your high school. To achieve this, it would be beneficial to you to get together members of your theatre troupe or company to work together to get this done. By communicating and listening, we understand each other very well. Coming up with a common goal and working as a team makes sure that what you set out to do will indeed happen!

You’ve got this!
Your 2021 Texas State Thespian Officers