Chemeketa Theater

Personal Enrichment

Brain Research

There are so many excellent reasons for using acting as a means to personal growth and enrichment. Some of the most often cited include: overcoming shyness and general stage-fright, developing a stronger voice, improving eye-contact, and having fun. Perhaps the least known and most important reason is the newly-found link between acting and brain health. Check out what the experts are saying at these links.

• Acting out contributes to brain health as we age, study shows
• Five Alive Group - Brain Theatre
• Don't just stand there, think (requires My.Chemeketa login)
• Major Grant For Drs. Noice & Noice
• Act Your Age
• Stagecraft: Acting Like an Actor to Improve Your Memory

Major Grant for Drs. Noice & Noice

“For 11 years, on two continents, Helga and Tony Noice have demonstrated that theatre training can improve older adults’ cognitive performance. They have shown that interacting with others in a dramatic situation—with its mental, emotional, and physiological aspects—activates the brain, which can slow down (or even reverse) cognitive aging effects.”

Brain Theatre

“They discovered that after their elderly research subjects received instruction in acting—a new experience for them—the subjects experienced significant improvement in memory and other cognitive functions. Their general sense of psychological well-being also improved.

‘The more stimulation you offer the brain, the more you increase the chances that the brain will remain healthy throughout your life,’ says Helga Noice, a professor of psychology. ‘The acting process produces a particularly high degree of stimulation.’ An actor, she notes, needs to be engaged on many levels: emotional, physical, and intellectual. All of this complex activity appears to alter neural connections in the brain.”

Acting Out Contributes to Brain Health As We Age, Study Shows

“…acting is a novel activity; it’s cognitive, emotional and physiological, and when an actor is flying on a cylinders, several parts of the brain are involved. That’s not always true with all mental stimulation.

‘You see in the popular press, “do crosswords, do Sudoku,” but I don’t think there’s anyone who demonstrated scientifically they’ll improve your brain,’ says Helga Noice, a professor of psychology at Elmhurst”

Show Business Weekly.com

“In his sessions with the elderly, Tony Noice, an adjunct faculty member in the communications department at Elmhurst College and an actor himself, instructed his patients to ‘listen’ when placed in a planned scene. This forced the participant to be more mentally involved in his or her surroundings. The result is improved cognition at a rate that is staggering: a 52% increase in problem-solving skills in those who have finished the eight-lesson course, compared to a 15% decline in those who received no treatment.”