“But what’s your real name?” After years of performing as TV characters I realized kids wanted to know who I truly was. My name is Drea, and I do not lie to children. I invite everyone to use our imaginations together. I create a plot line that kids understand is imaginary. I give them the cosmic comic wink, and together we play.

The best way to make a lesson more memorable is through powerful emotional experiences. We internalize messages when we are truly moved through laughter or through an amazing experience. I knew a super hero character would be perfect for this… with a little tweak.

After years performing as different TV and movie characters, I was tired of kids telling me I wasn’t “the real Wonder Woman.” So, I decided to create my own superhero persona, Super Drea. If anyone argued I wasn’t the real Drea, they could check my ID. As a comedian and educator, I have seen laughter transform groups of shy, anti-social kids into receptive, playful participants. I have learned through my research and through experience that laughter opens us up to new concepts and makes lessons more memorable.

Growth Mindset looks like failing
I have spent the last couple years thinking deeply about concepts such as “growth mindset.” Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, has a counterintuitive approach that I love: let go of winning and embrace the journey! This hit home with me in a powerful way. It’s about letting go of looking cool. It’s about laughing at ourselves. It’s about a beginner’s mind. It’s about celebrating our progress and not judging ourselves. Growth Mindset is a super power. Growth mindset is being open, saying yes and turning obstacles into opportunity. These are all things I’ve learned in comedy, so I was excited to have the show teach a lesson through comedy, that making mistakes is ok, even something to be celebrated.

Laughter opens us to learning
The message of the show is spelled out intellectually, but the comedy also teaches the lesson in an implicit and experiential way. Laughter is therapeutic. Watching someone make mistakes is cathartic and the laughter releases the stress of failure, and transforms it into acceptance and joy. Kids learn that they are not alone. Everyone makes mistakes. Even adults! After watching adults be perfect day everyday, they are so relieved to see an adult (me!) making mistakes. We are together in our humanity and constant little failures. Laughter creates camaraderie and community and decreases our sense of self-criticism and our acceptance of others. The show creates a positive culture for learning and enjoying the process.

Kids are the Stars
I wanted to keep going so I took it one step further. The kids are already participating in the show, could I make them the stars? I wanted to make them feel powerful. So often in life, adults are powerful and perfect. They are “right” and kids are “wrong.” What if I used the show to flip the script, make mistakes as an adult, and let the kids teach me that it’s ok? What if I used this as a teaching opportunity to celebrate mistakes, to laugh at ourselves, and to re-focus our attention on the joy within the learning journey?

I already had a super hero character that kids loved from all the festivals, birthdays, libraries and schools where I had performed for years. I wrote a show that captured popular super hero movie elements. I incorporated skills that held kids attention, my ventriloquism, contact juggling, and magic. All these skills are in service to the greater message.

Once I had my character, I made sure she was relatable. I gave her a healthy sense of skepticism that kids can relate to. Then I created a world that kids would understand: Super Drea is met with constant challenges! Throughout the show she is confronted by obstacles and learns to overcome them. She learns to transform obstacles into opportunities: a cornerstone of growth mindset.

Imagination, Patience, Practice
I gave her superpowers that would translate directly to a growth mindset. Super hero movies play to flashy sensationalism, ego and instant gratification. Learning is the opposite of that. We have to become humble and learn to make mistakes and enjoy slow incremental progress. Drea discovers her powers are simple: patience and imagination. First, use your imagination, then practice until you make progress! There is no such thing as perfect.

Everyone has super powers… we just have to use them
The big message of Super You is that we are all superheroes. Super Drea was born from me wanting to be myself on stage. I want kids to learn it’s ok to be themselves – and that they all have superpowers. It’s ok to make mistakes – in fact, we should embrace mistakes as a valuable part of the learning process. We can laugh at ourselves. We can be kind to ourselves. We can enjoy the great journey of learning.