The Illinois State University School of Theatre, Dance, and Film’s Impact Series features the different ways that Illinois State students impact the education of the fine arts in primary and secondary school students in the community. In this second installment of the series, Dr. Michael Vetere, head of the Saturday Morning Creative Drama program provides insight on how the program works, and three students who taught in the program during the spring 2024 semester share their different perspectives.
According to Vetere, the Saturday Morning Creative Drama program originated in 1979 by former faculty member Pam Rich. Since then, the program has served as a laboratory for teacher candidates to learn about and implement creative drama in educational settings. “The goal of creative drama,” said Vetere, “Is to engage students in the art of theatre through drama.” Through the program, primary school students are taught by Illinois State University students to learn to use their imagination, creativity, and collaboration skills to recreate scenarios, solve problems, and engage in dramatic play. “Creative drama is a process-centered art form and allows participants to explore without the pressure of performing,” said Vetere.
While not a requirement to volunteer with the Saturday Morning Creative Drama program, many students who start teaching with the program do so by taking the Creative Drama course, THE280, or Arts for Elementary/Early Childhood Education: Theatre, THE281. During THE280, students learn the basics of working in the Saturday Creative Drama program, leading various activities, and working with primary school students. Every Illinois State University student starts out as a “buddy” who supports the ISU student who is teaching their lesson for the day. THE280 students also have the opportunity to teach lessons at Metcalf and to help run story drama and drama activities with pre-K and third grade students on Thursdays. The Creative Drama course is only offered to ISU students every other spring semeste; however, those who have successfully completed the class can continue to volunteer with the Saturday Creative Drama program that runs every semester.
Emily Robins is a junior Theatre Teacher Education and Acting double major. She started teaching with the Saturday Creative Drama program during the spring 2024 semester as part of the THE280 class. Robins said she began her teaching endeavors as a drama specialist at a summer camp where she worked with 3-to-8-year-old campers, which solidified that teaching young students was what she wanted to do with her career. Despite having this experience going into Creative Drama, Robins said that it was still a little scary in the beginning. “I wasn’t sure if I knew enough to do well in the program,” said Robins, “But I really gained my confidence.”
According to Robins, creative drama is the art of teaching young people through play, so it is all the fun without the big scary performance at the end. That is not to say it is not challenging though because the little kids kept Robins on her toes. “I love a challenge. If something is going to be hard, let’s go!” Robins made lesson plans before she went into the classroom with her students, but when it was her specific day to teach, she led her students through an improvisational exercise where they defended/prosecuted fairytale characters in court. In the beginning, her students were quiet and shy, but by the end, they were bouncing off the walls with how much fun they were having. When asked if she had any advice for future Creative Drama teachers, she said, “If you are thinking about being a Creative Drama teacher, do it. I wish I had done it sooner. It is my favorite class.” Robins says that she plans to volunteer with the Saturday Creative Drama program in the future.
Mariana Garcia, who is a senior and elementary education major with an ESL endorsement, came to teach with the Saturday Creative Drama program through THE281, which she took during the fall 2023 semester. She took the course as a fine arts elective because she had always wanted to incorporate theatre into her schedule. As a part of THE281, Garcia taught lessons at Metcalf. Her particular lesson plan included reading a book about toys for story time followed by an interactive creative drama game where the students competed to see who could act like the best toy. She also observed the lessons of other fellow Illinois State University students. It was through THE281 that Garcia learned about the Saturday Creative Drama program. She started as a buddy for the program in the fall and then began teaching for the program in the spring semester.
Garcia has enjoyed working with Creative Drama so far. “It gives me the opportunity to think outside the box and come up with creative ideas,” said Garcia, and she did think outside of the box with her own Candy Land themed lesson plan. Each day the students would go to a new location in the candy themed board game, like the Licorice Forest, and pretend to be different kinds of candy. “It’s not curriculum based. The kids do it for fun, and they want to be there,” said Garcia while talking about why Creative Drama should be incorporated into regular lesson plans. “They think that they’re playing and don’t realize how much they are learning.” When asked if she had any advice, Garcia said, “Just go into everything with an open mind. You’ll learn a lot from Professor Vetere and the kids. Get into character and get involved because that is what will benefit you the most. The more comfortable you are, the more comfortable the students are.” Garcia plans to continue to volunteer with the Creative Drama program for as long as Vetere and her schedule allows.
Not everyone who has taught for the program has found the Saturday Creative Drama program through a class that they have taken. According to Vetere, any student who shows interest, and passes the required background check, is welcome to volunteer with the program, and that is exactly what happened for Kelli Saldivar, a senior acting major. During the fall 2023 semester, a friend asked Saldivar to help out with the program, and she jumped right in as a teacher and stayed with it for the spring semester as well. During her first semester, one of her lesson plans was an activity in which the students had to help a lost citizen of Atlantis find their way home. Saldivar was the lost citizen and had to use her acting training to come up with a character that would engage the children. In her second semester, she worked with Garcia on the Candy Land activity.
While describing the program from a teacher’s perspective, Saldivar said, “It’s a lot of lesson plans, play acting, and teaching the students to work together and solve problems.” According to Saldivar, the students also had the opportunity to tour the theatre spaces on the Illinois State University campus as well as talk with a panel of actors who visited their class. Because Saldivar is not an education major, she decided not to continue volunteering with the Saturday Creative Drama Saturday program to free up that space for an education major whose coursework depends on it. However, she did say that she would love to continue to help out if needed. When asked if she had any advice to give, Saldivar had this to say, “Don’t be afraid to commit to the situation you give to the kids. The more excited you are, the more excited the kids will be and open to the characters.”
Though each student found the program in different ways and had very different experiences teaching for the Saturday Creative Drama program, Robbins, Garcia, and Saldivar all fell in love with the program and working with the next generation of theatre lovers, instilling in them an early love for the arts in their lives.
Registration for the Saturday Creative Drama program is now open for all students in kindergarten through sixth grade. The 2024 fall session begins September 7, 2024, and runs until October 5, 2024. For more information visit the Saturday Creative Drama webpage.
