ABSTRACT
Gina MacKenzie’s essay, “Why Teach Theatre?,” is based on her own considerable experience working with young actors. Drawing on an array of plays—A Chorus Line, Into the Woods, Godspell, and High School Musical, among others—she combines her work as a director with analyses of the plot and lyrics to show how the theatre, especially for young people, can nourish an acceptance of self, the practice of empowerment, and the ability “to imprint itself on the heart of those who have experienced the performance.”
