Not so long, long ago, I visited the Raven Theatre Company, 6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, to see Aesop’s Fables performed on stage. The Tortoise and the Hare, the Grasshopper and the Ant, the Lion and the Mouse, Patty the Milkmaid, the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs and the Boy Who Cried Wolf were all performed by three-super-speedy-awesome-actors who engaged over 60 KG-2nd grade students. During the play, the actors commonly broke the 4th wall to engage the audience to ask moral and ethical questions, making sure that everyone was enjoying the production as much as they could. At the end was a question and answer session in which the audience got to ask the actors questions. An endearing question of “what inspired you to become an actor?” from a 2nd grader reminded me again of why I want to pursue art education and teach kids. Children’s brilliance is fascinating and on point.
Art Lore 
What a nice experience to witness especially when young people can engage directly with professionals in the field. My question would then be, how did the actor answer the young girls question? Did you find it a satisfying one? Do you think this question was one she made up or thought about before hand in preparation for the show? If you provided young people with opportunities to meet or work with professional artists in the field like this, how might you further engage them to think about their futures or interests? In other words if this was your class, what would you do leading up to the experience, what would you have your students do after?
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Thanks for your comment, Carolina. The actor’s response was that he was fond of acting since childhood and followed his passions into adulthood and became an actor. The answer was not only satisfactory it was also encouraging because he addressed his own childhood and the audience was able to relate to that. In my own class, before the play, I would actively read Aesop’s Fables as a group and discuss the morals that stem from the tales. After the play, I would have the students investigate how we can bring literature to life employing the arts.
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