Exploration Of Musical Theatre

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Exploration of Musical theatre as a form of Music therapy for young people suffering from mental illness in various forms.

Music therapy has a strong link to musical theatre in current day theatre, with the rise of shows such as Dear Evan Hansen and Next To Normal, which heavily revolve around a central character suffering from a mental illness, we can, with more ease with each new show, draw parallels to the usual forms of music therapy and musical theatre, and the possibilities of musical theatre performance being used as such. Music therapy is being explored at an accelerating rate in relation to children, and helping them break down mental barriers, be it something more common, like anxiety, or something rarer such as an Autism Spectrum …show more content…
In an interview, famous Hollywood actor, Brad Pitt claimed he is “Fiercely shy and protective” however on stage Pitt gets to “let loose, often playing exciting, energetic characters to mask his own shyness” (https://www.femail.com.au/ma_bradpitt.htm). This isn’t just the sake for Brad Pitt alone, many famous celebrities ranging from Barbara Streisand to Cher Bono credit performing for helping them overcome the shyness they struggled with as youths, Cher even goes so far as to credited performing to maturing her as a person. For children that suffer from anxiety or shyness, confidence is the main factor. They don’t often feel confident in who they are and as such hide themselves away so as to avoid hurt through things such as un-acceptance from peers. Performing, putting on another character, becoming someone else is a great escape for these children. For just a moment they get to become someone else and see through somebody else’s eyes, potentially looking upon themselves and learning to accept who they are. It can also be a great help for children suffering from Histrionic Personality Disorder, a disorder characterized by constant attention-seeking, and suggestibility. Being on stage can provide a lot of the attention that these children crave while being in a safe environment in terms of suggestibility due to the strong controlling adult presence in the form of directors, …show more content…
For children who struggle to vary from the academic side of life, especially those suffering from illnesses such as OCD which induce a strong attention to specific aspects of the child’s life in an obsessive manor, theatre can be great to try and open them up a little, expanding their mind through play. While theatre can have all of these positives as a more thought-driven exercise, theatre also is routed in playing pretend. Playing pretend being something prominent in most childrens early life, playing pretend ignites the imagination, letting the child become whatever they want, expanding their mind with possibilities, something which many children who suffer from OCD struggle to do as they shoehorn themselves into a very specific route in their life, sticking to it as their
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