BOUESTI JOURNAL OF PERFORMING ARTS

This study assesses the impact of children's theatre on theatre education and performance development. It explores children's theatre as a pedagogical and artistic tool that enhances creativity, communication skills, emotional expression, and theatrical competence among learners. Drawing on Drama -inEducation ideas, the study conceptualizes children's theatre as an experiential learning process that promotes active participation, meaning making, and holistic development in educational contexts. The study employs a qualitative documentary and analytical approach, using secondary sources comprising peer reviewed journal articles, scholarly books, conference papers, policy documents, and relevant theoretical works on children's theatre, drama-in-education, theatre education, creative pedagogy, and performance development. The selected literature is critically examined through qualitative content analysis to identify and interpret recurring themes concerning children's participation, experiential learning, knowledge acquisition, creativity, communication, emotional expression, collaboration, and performance skills. Findings from the study indicate that children's theatre plays a fundamental role in theatre education by fostering creativity, imagination, confidence, collaboration, and foundational performance skills. It also significantly contributes to performance development through improved acting abilities, emotional interpretation, teamwork, and early talent identification. However, the study identifies persistent challenges such as inadequate funding, shortage of trained theatre educators, weak institutional support, and cultural undervaluation of theatre arts, which limit its effective integration in schools. The study concludes that children's theatre is essential for holistic educational development and should be fully integrated into school curricula. It recommends stronger policy support, teacher training, increased funding, and establishment of theatre programs in schools to enhance its impact on learners' artistic and developmental outcomes.

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