As kids begin school and preschool, parents start to look around for after-school activities to enhance children's wellbeing. We love it when drama is top of the list! But sometimes parents are unsure about whether their little one is really ready for all that drama class involves. Here are some answers to common questions in relation to our wonderful Speech Bubbles program in Canberra or Brisbane.

Is my child ready for drama? 
Speech Bubbles is definitely suitable for 5-6 year-olds, and also for some 4-year-olds, but not all 4-year-olds. Some 4-year-olds are very happy in drama class, while others are really too young to enjoy and appreciate the experience. If you have a four-year-old and you are wondering whether he/she is ready for drama class, consider the following:

• Does my child know how to be part of a group and listen to a teacher's instructions? This includes things like sitting down with everybody else, singing together, joining in games, following basic instructions, and so on. Some 4-year-olds have not yet had much experience  participating in group activities and don't like joining in with others, preferring instead to play their own game in a corner or wander off to look for mum or dad outside the classroom. If this is the case, your child may not be ready to participate in drama class. Of course, we don't expect kids to "have it all together" all the time, but a willingness to participate in group activities is an important aspect of drama class.
• Will I have to wake my child from sleep to come to class? We find that some children who have been woken from a nap in the afternoon aren't feeling great, and consequently are grizzly and reluctant to participate in class afterwards.
• Is my child fully toilet-trained? Perform Australia teachers are not equipped with spare clothes and prefer not to have to stop the class to attend to an accident - since the class is only 45 minutes long, toileting and cleaning up afterwards can bring about an early end to the lesson.
• Is my child intimidated by older/larger children (e.g. boisterous six-year-old boys or squealing five year old girls!)? If your 4-year-old is easily frightened by children larger than themselves, then your child may not enjoy drama class. At times class can be quite noisy and exciting with all those imaginations running wild! - this is all part of the adventure.  Drama should be fun, and it's certainly a great vehicle to help shy kids come out of themselves. But a little 'nervousness' is different to fear. The last thing we want is for a child to be fearful and anxious about coming to class because they feel very small compared to the children around them. If your child is on the younger side of 4, and this is an issue for him/her at the moment, it may be too soon to introduce your child to drama class.

My child is under 4 years of age. Can he/she join a Speech Bubbles class?
No, unfortunately, your child needs to wait until age four to start a Speech Bubbles class in Canberra or Brisbane. We've designed the material so that it is suitable for children who have started or are almost about to start school. Under-4s generally have difficulty with some of the concepts we teach. Moreover, it is difficult for a teacher to juggle the needs of a three-year-old with those of a nearly-7-year-old in the same class; different approaches to drama teaching are required for each age group. It's advisable to wait till your child is a little older, when he/she will be able to fully participate in class.

If any of these situations sound familiar, we suggest you wait another 3-6 months before enrolling your 4-year-old. Between the ages of 4-5, children develop in leaps and bounds - so sometimes it's only a matter of waiting another term before your child is ready. Your child will enjoy drama class so much more when he/she is truly open to the experience!

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call us on 1300 908 905!

Here's a replay of advice we gave via Facebook live to our incoming Certificate IV in Musical Theatre applicants in October. Our next audition is on November 20 - so don't forget to apply and prepare! - ​details and registration here: Musical Theatre Certificate

Performing arts sounds fun, but it is a very challenging and tough career choice. Besides the hard work and years of practice, it requires determination and self-discipline. Some of us are passionate to become a performer while there are others who want to give it a go, have no idea what's really involved.

1. You are not afraid to express your emotions in public. Acting requires you to show anger, sadness, joy, contempt, and every other emotion. Can you do it without shame?

2. You've already been a part of your school, neighborhood or society's acting play - be it as a director, dancer or an actor. If you've already started reaching out to find your own opportunities, and have taken your first steps, and enjoyed it, then that's a good sign.

3.  You enjoy the attention you get when on stage or screen. As a performer, you need to be able to handle people looking at you, without feeling embarrassed. Not to mention the fact that there's a real buzz when you connect with an audience, particularly in live theatre. In some sense, it's not just about you and your ego, though - it's about being part of a story, a big picture. 

4. Audiences love to watch you! You are an entertainer at heart. You can make 'em laugh. Or you can make 'em cry!

5. You are fascinated by the idea of developing characters - characters who are unlike you. You resonate with their emotions and love to explore what it's like to walk around in other people's shoes.

6. You've always thought about taking up drama in school/college. Sometimes it takes aspiring performers awhile to take the plunge. It takes some courage to sign up to a class. But if you've given it some thought, then all that's needed is to enrol.

7. Lastly, you are keen to explore yourself. Acting requires you to be vulnerable, to explore a range of emotions, characters, ideas and ideologies. Every character you play will allow you to explore something new. All the stories you create in some sense become part of you. Although acting is not "therapy", it can be a path to personal growth as you empathise with so many different characters and points of view.

Read More: What To Say To People Who Think Acting Is Stupid

We all love Musicals because of their fun-filled plot, catchy music, and the colorful costumes that keep us entertained. But there is something more than just entertainment when it comes to Musical Theatre.

Musical Theatre is a combination of 

• spoken dialogues,
• magnificent costumes,
• dance sequences,
• songs or choruses,
• catchy music, and
• an orchestra or a band

In other terms, it encompasses of  Drama, Singing & Dancing!

When it comes to co-curricular activities, we often tend to go for one of these performing arts form. But along with learning a new art form, we end up learning few soft-skills that make us a better individual and more employable! One great example is when a musical has a sad plot, we still learn to be optimistic. Similarly, here are a few skills that facilitates in maximizing our learning potential from these art forms:

1. Team Work & Communication Skills - As a part of a musical, everyone needs to be in sync. In order to produce a great performance, every member of the musical needs to collaborate and trust one another. It is essential to be a great listener in order to communicate effectively with other actors.

2. Confidence & Self-Esteem - be it singing, dancing or acting in a musical, every actor has to come out of their comfort zone. It is true that famous celebrities such as Rihanna, Adele or even Jennifer Lawrence have stage fright or performance anxiety. Being able to perform in front of audiences multiple times help us overcome nervousness and gain that confidence level. 

3. Creativity, Criticial Thinking & Problem Solving - We all know that there is creativity involved when it comes to playwrighting, directing and acting. But what we ignore is the fact that actors & performers also enhance their ability to solve problems. For example, making props, lights & sound testing- all of these require to first evaluate problems & them come up with a  solution. Additionally, working through unplanned mistakes during performances is another key skill that a musical theatre student majors at.

4. Improve Learning skills - As a part of any character being played, it is utmost important to first research about the character and history linked with it. As a theatre student, we talk to people to understand and analyse their mind, dig-up history from books and newspapers, watch documentaries to build up and learn more about our character to be played on stage or screen. Additionally, musicals & drama lessons allow us to be part of any social, cultural or global events, we learn more about our society & surroundings. As a pert of Perform Australia, 'A Tragedy is Wanted' is a performance piece prepared by students of Advanced Diploma of Performance . It talks about the challenges of gender relations in contemporary society.

5. Lastly, we all learn to be emotionally intelligent. This means, as actors we learn to empathize with one another - as they learn about feeling, understanding & playing different emotions, pay attention to our surroundings, become self-aware in order to make our acting more real and develop social skills. At Perform Australia, every lesson/class starts with running a few drama games to get actors active, focused and aware. 

Also Read: ​The Actor's Iceberg - What's An Actor's Life Really Like?

Stretching is a must for every dancer. Be it jazz, hip-hop, salsa or even ballet, every dance is performed after a rigorous session of warming up the body. When it comes to Ballet, leg stretches are mandatory as the dance comprises of all the footwork. Stretching of the calves, hamstrings, glutes not only improves performance, but also decreases the risk of any injury. Below are a few stretches that every dancer (be it a kid or an adult) must perform.

Extend your legs and try to touch your toes with your knees locked out. In case, the pain is severe, you could slightly bend your knees. Hold the stretch for almost 20 seconds. This exercise warms up your hamstrings (back of the thigh) and improves flexibility. This could be done wither on the floor or with the barre (as in the video above)

Steps including relevés which includes pointing the toes and balancing on demi or full pointe require a lot of calve muscles to work.Therefore, it is important to stretch the back of the lower leg.

Extend your left leg while bending the right leg. Take a strap and wrap it around the ball of your left toe. Gently pull the strap towards you making sure that your foot is turning towards your knee. Feel the stretch for 20 seconds and repeat the same with your right leg.

This stretch works on your glutes and the lower back to improve your posture while dancing. 
Lay on your back and bend both your knees and hands on the side. Lift your pelvis towards the ceiling, creating a  diagonal with your body. Stay at the stretch for 20 seconds.
This stretch is also named as 'The Bridge pose' or 'Setu Bandhasana'.

Know more: How to get involved in Dancing?