TOW #19- Why Children's Theater Matters (Written)

Why Children's theater matters is a transcript of a speech given by Lyn Gardner. The audience is stated to be those in attendance that the Unicorn Theater in London. Her speech followed that acceptance of an award for outstanding contribution to children's arts. Gardner develops an effective argument for more recognition needed to the performances done for children. She has excellent arrangement as she begins by establishing ethos through her analogy, explaining why this issue needs change, developing the issue in a greater context, and finally point-blankly stating how she believes theater should be viewed.

While clearly being viewed as one with upstanding credibility, given she was being recognized for it, Gardner still begins by giving reason for her opinion to be valued. She casually reflects into some of her past work, but in the field of children's novels. She equates the questioning of why children's books are seen as less to why theater is seen as less. This analogy is effective as it is not too far from the actual ideas Gardner plans to propose and easy to connect to. Even if you do not like theater, nearly every child of the parents in her audience is in love with a book, making it simple to establish a connection between her ideas and the audience.

Following suit, Gardner explains why there should be change. She defends art as a whole, but keeps her focus on why it is beneficial for children. She does not diminish the other forms of theater, but explains how even Shakespeare teaches us to cherish art for young people. She continues to explain why art should be fostered in schools, providing examples of when misconceptions arose of math and science being of far more importance. The entire body of her speech works to spark a new thought, or a different perspective, for her audience, and is effective in her overall goal of arguing that children's theater matters.

Gardner ends her speech with a simple two sentence paragraph that articulates what she has implicitly argued the entire speech. She takes the broad ideas she has developed and comes back to her original, pointed thought. By the end of her speech, Gardner develops a provocative argument that works to leave the audience questioning and pondering how children's theater is viewed.