By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
Most elementary-age children have to wait until middle or high school to experience acting, but for Yukon and Piedmont children their luck has changed.
Drama Kids is a business franchise that offers classes to elementary students in schools, churches and community centers across the world.
Co-owners Kris Heston and Christine White, of Oklahoma City, said they are finalizing an agreement to offer classes at the Yukon Community Center this fall. Drama Kids will hold classes at the Piedmont Public Library during summer programming.
“We haven’t worked out all the logistics yet as to dates, but we have agreed to work with them,” Yukon Parks and Recreation Director Jan Scott said. “I think it’s something that is different and adds some other form of arts to our programming. They did a booth at Festival of the Child, dressed up kids and took pictures and the kids really enjoyed it.”
Drama Kids focuses on developmental drama.
“We help develop children’s communication skills, confidence, creativity and we do that by teaching them different acting and drama techniques,” Heston said.
The lesson plan is structured to move students from the most elementary communications skills to learning improvisation, a discipline that is considered one of the most difficult in the acting profession.
“One of the things we do is called a start line,” Heston said. “We will say, ‘the sky is blue.’ They repeat that and then we ask them to tell what they think about that, how you feel about that, what that means to them.”
The class is structured differently than a children’s theatre troupe where scripts feature a star and few supporting roles.
“Nobody is particularly singled out to be the star of the show,” Heston said.
“They may have separate roles, but everyone has a line, and everyone gets to participate.”
Heston said the program has the power to draw out students who are shy or withdrawn. She and White toured other franchise classes.
“In two of the classes there was a child that was shy and intimidated and didn’t want to participate,” Heston recalled. “One of the things the program prides itself on is it helps children to be communicative and interact and be creative. Even in that one hour, in both instances those children became involved in the class. At the beginning they were not, but they were looking or moving or saying words or talking.”
The program seems to work well for those children who have a hard time not talking.
“My granddaughter talks incessantly and for kids like her it teaches them to reign in it and listen,” Heston said.
The program is one hour a week after school from September through May and while the cost depends on overhead expenses, Heston said it averages around $60 per month.
Students perform a winter and spring presentation to demonstrate to parents the lessons they have learned.
While neither Heston or White have a background in acting, both said they were active in drama during middle and high school. Drama Kids provides training to franchisees.
The international company was started in Australia by Helen O’ Grady in 1989. Four years later the franchise was sold to U.S. owners and today boasts 1,500 locations worldwide with 15,000 enrolled children in the U.S. and 50,000 worldwide.
