September 12, 2024

In this new series, The Power of Education, The Anne Frank Center USA will share monthly messages from members of our team, reflecting on the work that we do and the ways that students inspire us. Today's message was written by Alexandra Gellner, Associate Director of Education.

Mirror neurons are what fire off in our brain when we observe an action being performed by another person – our neuron responses mirror the responses of the brain of the person carrying out the action. We feel a sensation as if we are carrying out the action ourselves.

The theater is a rich environment for activating this type of cognitive process. It is an invitation to engage our imagination and to enter a world different from our own. In a shared space the lights are dimmed and we, the audience, are collectively drawn toward the lights of the stage. We forget we are in a black box theater and find ourselves in a new imaginative setting that invites us to see, to feel and to notice how others experience the world. This is what sets the scene for mirror neurons to begin their magic.

When you bring true stories from history class to life through theater, it can activate primary source materials for students and give them an alternative entry point to understand what they are learning in school. An emotional connection is established and they become more invested in the lives of real people they are learning about in their history books.

As an actor and teaching artist I strive to support accessibility to the arts for everyone and I was drawn to theater because I believe it is a powerful tool for teaching empathy. Empathy is crucial for learning, relating and connecting to yourself and others. In learning as much as you can about other people and their stories, your idea of what is possible expands. This activates students’ imagination and gives them the tools to be collaborative problem solvers which will only help them in their personal and professional lives.

As resources for the arts continue to dwindle, accessibility to the arts is becoming ever more scarce and is in danger of becoming reserved for only a select few. We have to remind ourselves that the arts do not exist solely to deliver aesthetic pleasure or escape. Art is crucial in educating audiences at every stage of life.

It is my hope that expanding access and continuing to share the stories of others’ lives can let our collective empathetic muscles flex and give our mirror neurons more opportunities to dance.

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Learn more about Anne Frank Center USA

About Anne Frank Center USA
The Anne Frank Center USA provides a powerful catalyst for social change by promoting Anne Frank’s timeless message of hope to young people. We bring programs and experts into schools and communities across the country, offering an affordable, high-impact educational model. Our vision is to grow communities across the United States that prevent bigotry, antisemitism, racism, and discrimination.

About Anne Frank
Born on June 12, 1929, Anne Frank was a Jewish teenager from Frankfurt, Germany who was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust. She and her family, along with four others, spent over two years during World War II hiding in an annex of rooms on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, today known as the Anne Frank House. After being betrayed to the Nazis, Anne, her family, and the others living with them were arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. In March of 1945, seven months after she was arrested, Anne Frank died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She was fifteen years old.

About The Diary of a Young Girl
Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank's diary has become one of the most powerful memoirs of the Holocaust. Its message of courage and hope in the face of adversity has reached millions. The diary has been translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold. Anne Frank's story is especially meaningful to young people today. For many she is their first, if not their only exposure to the history of the Holocaust.