Good teachers keep learning and “pay it forward.”, It’s October, the month where pink ribbons remind us of the ongoing challenge that many people – including many of you - continue to face. Two years ago, when that challenge became very personal, my “good teacher, pay it forward” mantra clicked into overdrive. So, its October…here are a few thoughts on helping your students build character on- and offstage with the invaluable tools they learn from being involved in musical theater.

• Show and teach compassion. The recent disasters in America are incredible opportunities to exercise relief project/donation drives with your kids. Some of them will uncover a new self-worth in the joy of working as a team and giving back, and not just for applause from an audience.
• Help students develop self-worth. Kids need to understand that they don’t need to add anything to who they are to make them valuable - they are welcome just as they are. Your face and body language can convey this the moment they walk into rehearsal.
• Be a role model. We want kids to realize how role models can affect our lives - good and bad. Ask your students who they admire and why. What kind of role model do they want to be?
• Encourage kids not to be afraid of making mistakes, or taking a chance and failing.  Kids that are afraid to fail or make a mistake may create obstacles for themselves in the creative process. Kids are often afraid that others will judge their work and they’ll be deemed unworthy. Audition jitters are the classic example! Share your own failures with them if appropriate, and recount the lessons you have learned. Stress that everybody fails sometimes, and encourage them to take the opportunity to work on improvement.
• Ask open-ended questions. Try to ask open ended questions that allow for creativity. You can say, “How can we make the opening verse different from the refrain?” or “If you were the director, could you give us another suggestion to change the level of this stage picture and tell the story more clearly?”
• Focus on the process instead of the end result. Deadlines and time restraints many times interfere with creativity. When your process is cookin’, don’t be afraid to enjoy the magic of creativity in rehearsal. When the learning process is joyful, the end result is vibrant. Oh, so vibrant!

When presented with adversity, we become more creative, more flexible and gain a layer of confidence that will sees us through the next storm. Use your artillery of artistic tools and make the world a better place, one musical at a time.