Growing Leaders

Some of our students serve as mentors in the Wednesday Troupe. They rock as role models for the Troupe Members during warm up activities, rehearsals, or while on stage together! The Mentors are learning leadership skills while participating in a comprehensive study of reflective thinking, goal-setting, and curriculum planning.

The foundation to our work with Mentors is grounded in a belief that we are all learners and that learning is a process that is ever-growing and ever-changing. 

We ask questions that are open ended to inspire reflective thinking and to grow self-awareness.  We model for each other setting personal goals and then changing personal goals when the time seems right.

We support the Mentors to feel empowered in their abilities to learn and grow as individuals and actors while mastering leadership skills. The Mentors welcome opportunities to be positive role models as well as skilled "acting buddies." And they are!

A theater environment is beautifully vibrant and fertile with many opportunities to practice leadership skills. Mentors learn to speak out and express their ideas, take part in a shared project, solve problems creatively, lead theater exercises, and interact with others in positive and caring ways.

The Mentors have noted that some highlights for them in their mentoring are seeing Troupe Members laugh, gaining experience leading activities and then “getting the hang of it,” feeling a sense of personal growth, seeing people’s faces as they become engaged in activities, and having the experience of doing a good job.

Theatre Adventure is writing a book to encourage other communities to create inclusive theater opportunities for individuals with disabilities who have a burning desire to perform. Below is a chapter from our book, THEATRE ADVENTURES.

Mentor Leadership Program Structure

The Theatre Adventure Mentor Leadership initiative has been developed over many years in direct response to the observable growth of many of our students over time. Some of those students expressed the desire to be given responsibilities such as helping plan classes, leading activities, participating in evaluating classes, and understanding the process of creating a show. We developed the Mentor Leadership Training curriculum to support learning the skills required to take on these leadership roles.

We started meeting with the Mentors after each Wednesday class and it soon became clear to the Directors that we needed to create a structure, a mapping of sorts, to support the Mentors in their learning process.  As one new Mentor said one fall during a meeting, “Learning to be a Mentor is big.”  This statement inspired the Directors to tease apart this “bigness” and break down into “digestible” chunks the concepts we wanted the Mentors to learn. Each of our Mentors has a distinct learning style partially informed by their developmental disabilities.  It is important to us to work with a curriculum that is accessible to everyone.  We design our curriculum as an ever-fluid structure that accommodates individual needs while also inspiring learning and growing for everyone. A centerpiece of our work in Theatre Adventure is that we are all learners---students, mentors, teachers, directors, and support professionals.

Reflective Thinking

We initiated the process of learning to think reflectively by asking: “What did we do today?” Learning to recall the order of activities that had happened during class strengthened the students’ recall memory as well as ability to articulate what they remembered about what had just happened.  This task of remembering also gave the Mentors practice in thinking in a linear way, i.e., the class had a beginning, middle and end.  This certainly helps in learning how different parts of the class build upon one another in a sequential way. Further, this awareness helps give a foundation to understanding that setting goals, planning, evaluating and then planning some more is an intentional process grounded in observation of the students.

Next we asked: What did you notice today? Learning to recall something from a class that had just happened, and then articulate what one had seen was an essential first step in learning about reflective thinking. Choosing to make an observation during class helped us then practice thinking about what was observed and to ask: “What was the student telling us with his/her behavior?”

The Directors knew that supporting the Mentors to learn how to reflect would then give the foundation to evaluate and plan future classes.  It would also give motivation to intentionally make observations during class, knowing that later in our meeting they would be asked to describe something that they had noticed during class.

The observations the Mentors began to share started out as straightforward reporting of what had happened. Over time and with practice, the Mentors started sharing observations about students that inspired them to begin noting that a student seemed engaged in an activity, or a student seemed distracted, or a student seemed disinterested, or a student had a lot of energy or seemed tired.  The groundwork was happening for using observations to learn about the students which would then inform planning the next class.

Problem Solving Skills 

And then, observations started to lead to the Mentors sharing their own experiences and feelings in response to their observation.  For example, one Mentor noticed that the same student kept sitting next to her during snack. She really did not want to always sit with the same student.

This led to a brainstorming of various ways the Mentor could work with that situation. Problem solving skills in action!  The Mentor had noticed a regular occurrence in class, she wanted to make a change, and then she came up with a strategy: tell the student that as a teacher she needed to sit with many different students during snack.

Self-empowerment and self-advocacy is certainly fueled by becoming observant, being supported, being heard, and being part of a caring and responsive team.

Planning

Over time, the Mentors began asking more and more questions about why we do what we do during class.  That is, how is it decided and further, why did we not do something that had been previously planned?  The Mentors were seeking to uncover the questions that were guiding the planning process as well as connect what we were learning from the students and how that was informing our planning of the subsequent classes.

“I noticed that you decided not to start Stage Time when we had planned to, I wonder why”

“I noticed that the Mentors were going to lead warm ups but instead you led a very slow breathing exercise, why was that?”

“It was interesting that we stayed in the Opening Circle for a long time---longer than usual.”

A light was shining on the decision-making that a Lead Teacher makes from moment to moment.  The Mentors were curious about this internal process.  When their questions were discussed their desire to understand deepened.

“I did notice that one student seemed to be having a hard time.  It wouldn’t have worked to go on to the stage at that time.”

“Oh I see, yes the class did feel scattered in that moment.  Yes, that does make sense that we spent more time with quiet grounding.”

We also ask the following question to help us make informed plans for the following week’s class: “What are the students telling us in terms of their interests as well as their needs?”  So if there is a lot of interest in a given scene, we know we need to focus on those scenes.  If there is need for helping actors connect with one another, we might use a familiar theater warm up activity to encourage connecting with one another. Again, it is learning to observe students during class and then making plans from those observations. It is quite exciting watching the Mentors develop these skills

Facilitating Meetings

Soon it became clear that the Mentors were ready to learn how to facilitate meetings.  The Mentors are now taking turns leading a meeting—starting with calling the meeting to order, using invitations for input, making eye contact, steering conversations to stay on track, ensuring everyone is heard and has had a turn, summarizing what has been decided, and closing the meeting. 

We now use a posted agenda template on foam board.  This has been very useful.  The Mentors are learning about the organizational tool of using a posted agenda that everyone can refer to and see throughout the meeting. This also reinforces the benefits of having a sequential meeting structure similar to having a sequential structure for our classes. A predictable structure helps create a climate of comfort, ease, and a readiness to participate.

Setting Goals 

We have introduced the concept that classes are guided by overarching goals.  For example, when we introduce Off-Stage Stations, we make that a goal for the whole class. We walk the actors very slowly through the process of leaving the audience and going with fellow back stage actors and sitting in their Off-Stage Station chairs to feel what it is like to be backstage. 

We experience our goals first hand and then ask ourselves if we achieved our goals that day.  A shared concrete experience sets the stage for a discussion that otherwise might seem abstract and difficult to understand. If we do not meet our goals for that day’s class, we talk about what we did instead and what was the reason for the change. The Mentors are learning that class goals organize the whole group to work together on a shared goal---and this engenders a positive team spirit.

The Mentors also set personal goals for themselves.  They learn the importance of weekly checking in with their goals.  This happens before class begins. We discuss how doing so helps focus their attention on their personal growth in addition to learning Mentor skills.

Growing Edges

Two years ago we introduced the concept of a person’s “growing edge” as that skill or task that is hard for a person at that given time. This was a natural evolution for us.  For so many years we had talked about the concept that at Theatre Adventure we are all learners—that there is always something that each of us is learning. We set our personal goals informed by our acknowledged “growing edges.” 

As a result, the Mentors have become invested in knowing everyone’s “growing edge” and being supportive with one another in our learning environment.  A spirit of helping one another with those things that might be difficult for some and not for others generates good will and a nurturing environment.  For example, one Mentor expressed that the social skills of greeting or sitting with someone during snack is hard for him.  He has autism and he recognizes that he has to work on learning social skills.  He is making a point to greet a couple of different students as they arrive in the morning.  He has also asked a student a few times if he could join him during snack.  That student is much younger and also has autism. Then one day, the Mentor was asked by the younger student if the Mentor wanted to play with him. The Mentor accepted the offer! This was all celebrated with the Mentor during the meeting.

We help our Mentors learn that “growing edges” change and that the same is true for class plans as well as our curriculum.  The Mentors are grasping that a clear structure for class and for meetings is essential for helping to create a predictable environment and yet within that set structure there is room for change, for being creative and inclusive. And further, we are all learning all of the time.

Learning to set plans that are predictable and yet have fluidity and room for change is quite a grand goal in and of itself----and yet we are striving for that with our delightfully diverse group of Mentors.

Evaluation

The process of making plans, observing, discussing what was observed, and then evaluating and making new plans has been established.  Mentors are experiencing in action this continual cycle from week to week that includes ample opportunities for reflective thinking and assessment. It is very powerful to watch our Mentors grapple with understanding what they have observed and at times their own personal responses, and then articulate what they think could happen next in class. 

Developing self-awareness in addition to awareness of others is key to growing great leaders.  As one Mentor stated, “When I lead that activity today I felt powerful.” We then asked her to reflect on how she might work toward leading the students toward feelings of empowerment.

We are seeing that the program structure we have developed is providing practice with some key skills for becoming leaders who are tuned in to their environments and those around them with caring and respect for all. And further, that there is space and time to think about and then learn from all of our class experiences.

Our guiding questions for assessing what happened in class are:

“What did we learn?”  

“How might we want to do things differently next time?”

One day during a class this year, a student was having a difficult time.  The lead teacher guided the group to leave the classroom as part of a class warm up activity---while that student and his teacher worked through the problem in privacy.  Later, while discussing this situation, two students remembered a situation from many years ago when a different student had an extremely difficult time and we needed to leave the classroom very quickly while leaving that student and his teacher to work through the situation.  It was the reflective thinking that then occurred for those two students that helped them recognize how these two situations seemed similar and yet how very different they also were.  And further, how did we respond to each situation to strive to meet the needs of the rest of the class? What did we learn? And, what might we do differently next time?

Evaluating requires a stopping of the action and a consideration of many issues, factors, and needs. It is a cycle of doing and then thinking about what happened.  It is a cycle of planning and assessing.  It is a cycle that is rich with reflective thinking, articulating one’s ideas while also listening to others’ ideas. The Mentors are practicing this cycle of planning and assessing each week during our Mentor Meeting. Growing leaders?  Indeed.

Taking Leadership Roles

Role modeling is the primary means for learning and teaching leadership in our program.  The teachers model thoughtful and respectful interactions with students, parents, and Support Professionals. The Mentors learn first that their job is to be positive role models for the students.  They practice: greeting students in a welcoming way; inviting students to team up during theater warm ups; asking students if they would like help with a costume; being an acting buddy while on stage; reading the script together with a student; and practicing lines together.

Then the Mentors begin practicing leading warm up activities in class.  There are a group of specific warm ups that the Mentors know and before most classes they choose which warm up that they would like to lead individually during class. One Mentor created her own warm-up activity she called: Full Body Expression.  This Mentor describes an emotion such as surprise and uses her whole body to express that emotion.  Then everyone joins in.  A student was so enamored with this exercise she wanted to also start leading the exercise.  As we were becoming more familiar with our current story, the student started to show emotions of particular characters of our story, and everyone then joined in!  Growing ideas and growing leaders takes flight!

Mentors take turns facilitating meetings.  They also choose particular students they might sit with during snack and then facilitate conversations. They have certain jobs such as helping with costumes, helping set up snack or the cast photo display, reading the schedule board to a few students, greeting students, or handing out paperwork.

The Mentors learn specific job skills as they learn to role model and take leadership while working side by side with the teachers and directors.  Some of the job skills the Mentors are learning include: being reliable; how to be an important member of a team; helping others; taking initiative; being self-reflective; articulating ideas, reflections, and feelings; being a positive role model; and seeing a project through to completion. Further, the Mentors are learning to speak up, advocate for themselves, and listen to others. Most importantly, Mentors are learning to believe in themselves as individuals with the capacity to learn and give while contributing to their community. 

Self-Assessment

As has been outlined, the foundation to our work with Mentors is grounded in a belief that we are all learners and that learning is a process that is ever-growing and ever-changing.  We ask questions that are open ended to inspire reflective thinking and growing self-awareness.  We model for each other setting personal goals and then changing personal goals when the time seems right. 

Mentors who are new to our program are asked these questions:

What am I learning about being a Mentor?

What goals do I want to set for myself this semester?

What is a question I have about mentoring?

Mentors who are returning are asked these questions:

Goal you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester:

How did you do working with your goal?

What did you learn this past semester?

What is a highlight from the semester—what did you really enjoy?

What is a challenge from the semester—what was hard for you?

Our goals for the Mentors of our program are to empower them to believe in their abilities to learn and grow, master skills, and then become great leaders. This is especially important for our Mentors, all of whom have developmental challenges.  Most of our Mentors need a boosting of self-confidence and belief in self.  Many had negative school experiences as well as have lacked opportunities to be leaders in any setting.

A theater environment is a beautifully vibrant and fertile environment with many opportunities to practice leadership skills such as: self-expression; working with ideas; being part of a shared project; creative problem solving; leading exercises; speaking out; and interacting with others in a positive and caring manner.

The Mentors learn to pose their own questions about their own learning and mastery of leadership skills:

“I noticed I wasn’t sure how to handle that situation?”

“I am curious how it would feel to direct that scene?”

“I am not sure what it means to be a leader?”

“I want to lead that activity, but I am not sure how to do that?”

“I think I could have done that exercise differently?”

“The students seemed scattered, I wonder why?”

Learning to believe in self and think reflectively empowers the Mentors to become leaders with distinction. This became apparent in our experience with the SEEDS project.

Next Steps

The foundation of our established Mentor leadership Program and the successful completion of the SEEDS Project has stirred our ‘pot of imagination” in regards to our Mentor Leadership program as well as our book, THEATRE ADVENTURES.

The fertile ground of an inclusive theater program steeped in a history of a well- designed curriculum that inspires great leaps of development begs the question: shouldn’t more individuals with developmental challenges have these same opportunities for self-empowerment? Further, we believe inclusive theater not only improves the lives of individuals with challenges, but it also invites a dynamic conversation between the actors/directors and the community.  

The on-going change that we are observing in our own community is a deep shift in thinking toward people who have developmental challenges. We hear stories all of the time from audience members who stop actors on the street, in a restaurant, or at the local food coop and tell the actor what a fantastic job they did on stage, and more. These compliments and praise are then reported back to us.  Further, often audience members speak directly to the Directors expressing their appreciation for having an opportunity to be in an audience and recognizing the talent of the actors, many of whom they have seen in town for years and had no idea that individual was such a creative performing artist.

This is the power of inclusive theater.  Inclusive theater empowers the actors to discover self and then claim the stage with conviction and a commanding presence.

Some of the walls that divide us in our community have begun to dissolve.

©theatreadventure.org