I’ve been so struck by the Parkland theatre students who have been speaking out so forcefully after the tragic shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School a few weeks ago. It’s been reported that several of them participate in the theatre program at the school. Besides the obvious techniques such stage presence, there are other, less well-known, but just as powerful takeaways that we, as a nation, have been watching play out on the national stage. Following are a few of them. Take note if you want to break through barriers holding you back and get heard…

Show, don’t tell. Performing arts requires the ability to look, move, and sound persuasive. This is the obvious stuff, the physical and vocal delivery of lines. You’re playing a part, often based on a character you have no familiarity with. So when you see these kids looking comfortable vs. stiff (like so many politicians), that’s why. Empowerment. When you do a public performance, you take charge and control the energy of a room. Parents and teachers who have always have the upper hand are relegated to being the ones to sit and pay attention. One of the most interesting outcomes is the “popular” kids, who may have not wanted to have anything to do with those theatre kids, are suddenly attracted to them. The performer recognizes this and internalizes it so it becomes a superpower.

Manage conflict and tolerate dissent. All dramatic texts contain a conflict that must be resolved one way or another. When student actors study scripts, they learn a variety of ways to argue, debate, and solve the problem..Since not all plays have happy endings, they learn increased tolerance for disagreeable outcomes.

Teamwork. Just like in sports, when kids put on a show, there is an enormous amount of teamwork involved. Each person’s performance is dependent on others doing theirs right. You don’t want to let your teammates down, so you work hard to hold up your end of the bargain. Strong bonds. You form such strong bonds that when the play’s run ends, there are a lot of tears. This camaraderie remains long after the drama club experience ends. Judgment. One of the most common critiques of theatre training is that it’s subjective, that quality is a matter of opinion. That’s one of the biggest canards out there and a reason so many parents object to their kids participation in arts programs. Among other things (see above), all arts training, including performing arts, teaches how to judge what’s good and what isn’t in the absence of fixed or easy-to-quantify rules and metrics. That’s a huge skill and has real applications for real life, unlike a multiple choice test.

All these benefits accrue to what you are seeing in the Parkland students today. In my own life, it has enabled me to walk into any room, even in the early days when I felt little confidence, and command attention. This skill enabled me to get hired over other, more qualified candidates.

Though you are likely well past high school, it is never too late to learn the skills, put them into practice, and reap the enormous benefits that accompany them.

Whether you agree with them or not, the Parkland theatre students are hard to ignore. They will remain so. Something to learn from.