1. The Friends

You're going to make tons of friends in high school. It's inevitable when you have to spend 180 days seeing the exact same faces. But the casual friendship that's dependent on sharing history notes is nothing compared to the life long friendships you'll find in the theater. Because of the nature of the work you're doing and the codependence necessary to pull off what you're trying to achieve, everyone involved in a high school production has to become a family. You see each other eight hours a day during school, and at least twelve hours more each week for rehearsal. You get to know one another pretty well. You see a whole new emotional side of people that you barely knew six weeks ago. The journey to create a production creates lasting and unforgettable friendships.

2. Music

Everyone has music in their life. Whether you only listen to what plays on 96.5 FM or you’re a music junkie who has 5,000 songs on your ipod, music is a part of your life in some way. The reason music is so big in our culture is because of the unity it creates. Music evokes emotion which creates connections between people. Musical theater calls for the ability to read music. Reading music enhances academic capabilities. It increases the ability to make connections when reading. Even if you can’t play an instrument, the ability to read music will help you all through your life

3. Costumes

Everybody loves to play dress up. You can escape the norm of jeans and tshirts and find a whole new person in yourself. It may seem simple, but putting on a ball gown and some heels can create confidence. Escaping from reality changes your perspective of who you are and inspires a whole new level of self.

4. Memorization

Face it, passing high school is memorizing test material. You don’t have to actually learn any content, you have to memorize material. Of course theatre helps with that. If you can memorize a monologue, you can memorize an algorithm. Not only does memorization help during high school, memorization is a skill that can help you all your life.