ATTENDING THE THEATRE FOR THE VERY YOUNG

By Jenn McEwen

Educators will tell you that a child's attention span is 1 minute for every year of their age. So no way my daughter at 3 years old should have sat peacefully through an hour at the symphony. But she did. Here are a couple of my pro tips:

1. Pick content that is interesting to them. Age appropriate kid content is a no-brainer, but you can introduce more family friendly multi-generational programming, like holiday performances or familiar stories like classic fairy tales that have been adapted to stage, dance or opera.

2. Make sure that they can see what is going on. My daughter likes to attend the Nutcracker each holiday season, but at 5 years old she still does not weigh enough to not get snapped up in the seats at the Seahawk Cultural Center, so I arrive prepared for her to sit in my lap so that she can comfortably see. Good sight lines help maintain engagement.

3. Don't be a hero. Be comfortable to leave at intermission if you've had a successful first act and don't want to press your luck. The lasting effects of a positive shorter experience will translate to longer experiences faster than staying too long and devolving into a meltdown. As my husband says, it's always better to leave the party too early than too late.

4. Pack quiet snacks. Keeping blood sugar level for little ones is key to attitude. But don't bring anything noisy that will deter from the experience of other audience members like crinkly bags of chips or Goldfish.

Hopefully some of these tips will work for you and your little arts enthusiast will enjoy their first theatre-going experience. PIQ

Jennifer McEwen comes to Hilton Head Island to fill the role of Director of Cultural Affairs following a successful track record in arts leadership and marketing strategy in Atlanta, Georgia.