theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

kid or theater kid is a common

stereotype In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

of a young

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, usually a student, who openly displays a talent and/or passion for

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

. Common traits associated with the stereotype include obsession with or devotion to school plays, the tendency to spontaneously perform or quote lyrics in everyday social situations, and a personal obsession with musicals.

In popular culture

Examples of the theatre kid stereotype have appeared in various film and television productions, including ''Glee'' and ''

High School Musical ''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...

''. A "theatre kid" subculture exists on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

, with '' The Michigan Daily'' noting that content posted to the "theatrekid" tag (and related topics) routinely amasses billions of views.

Notable examples

In an interview with '' Vanity Fair'',

Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time'' ...

called himself a theatre kid, saying "I wear that badge proudly."

Rachel Zegler Rachel Anne Zegler (; born May 3, 2001) is an American actress and singer. She made her film debut playing Maria Vasquez in the 2021 musical drama ''West Side Story'', for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Pictu ...

has identified with the label.

References

{{Theatre-stub Theatre Stereotypes