One time when it’s good to act up

Lauren Vane

In place of a lecture on how to behave, Tiffany Winemiller’s class of

sixth-graders at Schroeder Elementary got to act out and learn a

lesson in the process.

On Thursday, the students acted in skits alongside actors from

Stop-Gap Theater, a Santa Ana group that uses interactive theater to

help students learn important lessons, in this case the value of

team-building and listening to one another.

“You can imagine if I was just standing up there lecturing them on

how to behave!” Winemiller said. “Their attention is held because

they’re interacting.”

Three actors from Stop-Gap stood in front of the students and

asked them to be a part of several skits, each one depicting a

certain type of behavior. After each skit was finished, the actors

led a discussion with the students on the pros and cons of the

behavior exhibited in the skit.

Stop-Gap actors Nancy Petersen, Lorena Billings and Kyron Gibbs

used everyday scenarios, such as a man trying to return an item to a

toy store, to show several different kinds of behavior. The students

had the opportunity to join the actors in front of the class and

participate in the skit.

“How was he acting?” asked Billings.

Hands shot up all around the classroom and the students gave their

opinions on whether or not the man’s actions were appropriate in the

situation.

“He has some disrespect in his system,” said sixth-grader Jasmine

Carson.

“He was impatient,” added another student.

In one scenario, Gibbs purposely played the man as overly passive;

in the second skit, he was too aggressive. For the third rendition,

the actors ran the skit again, this time using the students’

suggestions on the correct behavior the man should exhibit in the

situation.

Winemiller said that her class gets along with one another and is

not particularly in need of behavior lessons, but at this age

constructive teamwork is an important value.

“You want them to think about their behavior,” Winemiller said.

The interactive nature of the skits is an effective way for them

to learn, and the students can apply these lessons to the classroom

and the playground, Winemiller said.

“They’re actually practicing the positive behavior and what to do

in that situation,” Petersen said.

The Stop-Gap Institute is a theater company that performs skits

for a variety of audiences, on topics from decision-making and

friendship for middle-schoolers to skits on date rape and drugs for

older audiences.