Videotaping as a Means of Self-Monitoring to Improve Theater Students' Performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of retroactive and focused self-monitoring, actualized by videotaping, on children's theater performance. In Experiment 1, 20 students in a theater performance program were randomly assigned to either a control or a self-monitoring condition, and their weekly rehearsals were videotaped. Only students in the self-monitoring condition viewed their videotaped rehearsals. The authors found that retroactive self-monitoring enhanced theater performance. In Experiment 2, 36 children preparing for a Christmas play were randomly assigned to either a focused or to a general self-monitoring condition. They viewed their videotaped rehearsals; the focused self-monitoring group received a list of important aspects of the performance to watch. The focused self-monitoring enhanced the children's performance in the play.