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Our children’s lives have become so stressful and they are
under so much pressure academically, on the sports field and even in their
social lives, they have come to believe that failure is not an option and mistakes
are not acceptable. This however is simply not the truth. Mistakes are the most
magical moments in which one can learn and grow and find out what would work
better and sometimes even who we really are and want to become.
I would love to say there is no such thing as a mistake in
Drama and that you can never do anything wrong, but that is not always true.
When improvising or workshopping a performance piece, sure, there is no right
or wrong as it is purely your imagination or your interpretation, so how can
you get it wrong? But, for instance when you are in a play and you need to
memorise lines, where to stand, when to enter and exit, and so forth, you can
get it wrong. In such a case it is very important to get things right for the
sake of your fellow cast members and the play as a whole. Fortunately, making
mistakes, more often than not, lead to exciting new discoveries or a better
understanding of what one was supposed to have done or said.
I can’t tell you how many times one of my students would
“make a mistake” and start apologising, only for me to stop them and comment
that I actually like the whey they said the line, moved across the stage, or
the timing of the punchline much better than the way it was intended to be or how
I originally envisioned it. Sometimes the “mistake” can open the door to a
discussion of why we have to do or say something in a certain way and all the
students benefit from the discussion, walking away with a better understanding
of the spoken language or performance technique.
I know most people hate the dreaded “WHY?” but to tell you
the truth, as a teacher I love it when the kids start asking why when they’ve
made a mistake – it shows their curiosity, their desire to learn and improve,
and their confidence in our relationship as teacher and student that they will
not be ridiculed for being wrong or wanting an explanation.
So, I challenge you from now on to make a magical learning
experience out of every mistake, and show your students or your children that
there is space in their lives for mistakes, and failure is not the end, but
just a doorway to new knowledge, experiences and creative discoveries.
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