Beyond the Fourth Wall: Learning Through Performance

There’s something both scientific and magical about learning through theatre and performance. Being on stage has always given me a sense of freedom and creativity that no other experience can match.

Reading another character’s lines feels as if engaging with a new language. Once I get curious about it, I connect and make meaning, embracing the new reality with ease. Living each scene “as if…” is how I discover new parts of myself speaking. Learning my character’s language is how I rewire my brain to put aside what I know and open up to possibility.

You can’t play a character you judge. Each character is unique, operating from a specific set of values, beliefs, emotions, skills and motivations driving the story and the conflict. The character may look like us or feel completely opposite to what we know we are. Each role is an invitation to connect with empathy through the lens of curiosity and open communication, not fear and constrained evaluation.

It’s the relationship between the characters on stage that naturally engages the audience in the room. The more we let go and be the character, the more present we feel. And the more present, the more authentic.

Theatre has this incredible way of making education come alive, turning abstract ideas into real, lived experiences. Whether it’s exploring emotions, history or human connection, performing on stage has taught me to communicate, collaborate and think deeply in ways that traditional learning sometimes can’t.

We often get trapped in our heads, analysing and overthinking, which can disconnect us from taking action. Acting, and embodied learning in general, reminds us that knowledge is more than just a mental exercise; it’s about feeling and experiencing concepts physically. And by changing our physicality, we become more mentally flexible too.

To me, theatre is a practical tool for self-discovery and visible transformation. Acting helps us change through play, making the journey into the unknown so pleasant and natural, we forget how hard setting the goals seemed at first.

As learning facilitator and youth worker, I’ve discovered that tools like role-play, storytelling or improvisation can easily engage people and spark their imaginations.

Diving into diverse types of performances helps me experiment and gain valuable insights, creating interactive workshops where people can express themselves, build teamwork skills and explore their identities. I love how theatre not only energises the room, but also fosters trust and curiosity among participants, breaking the most important wall against the world: the egos. Instead, remove the shell of fear and release our core SELF, ready to learn, play and connect authentically.