From Stage Fright to Self-Confidence: Why Cari Goin Wants Every Child to Experience Theatre

Cari Goin

The Dalles, Ore., June 18, 2026 — For Cari Goin, theatre was never about becoming a star.

It was about finding a place to belong.

As a shy child growing up in small towns across Washington, Goin often felt like she didn't quite fit in. She tried sports, loved stories and spent much of her childhood creating imaginary worlds, directing neighborhood plays and recruiting siblings and friends into her latest productions. What she found through theatre would ultimately shape the course of her life.

Today, after more than 20 years teaching theatre in Los Angeles and a lifetime immersed in the performing arts, Goin is bringing that same experience to Columbia Gorge children through her new program, Emoji Improv. (Details at end of story)

"I was an awkward kid who felt like I didn't belong anywhere," Goin said. "Theatre was always the place where I felt like I had a value and a voice."

The program's first summer session begins June 27 in The Dalles, offering children ages 8 to 13 an opportunity to learn improvisation, storytelling, acting and communication skills in a supportive environment designed to build confidence as much as performance ability.

But Goin is quick to point out that her goal isn't to create professional actors.

"I'm not training people to become actors," she said. "I think of it more as classes in confidence and classes in knowing who you are, what you think, becoming comfortable in your own skin and building relationships with others."

A Teacher Who Changed Everything

Goin traces much of her philosophy back to a high school theatre teacher, Jon Kerr, who taught in both Camas and Port Orchard, Washington.

Kerr had an unusual talent for recruiting students from every corner of campus. Athletes, cheerleaders, artists, introverts and students who rarely crossed paths suddenly found themselves working together on productions.

"He brought us all together," Goin recalled. "We no longer sat at our separate lunch tables. We became a community."

The experience taught her that theatre's greatest value isn't what happens under the spotlight. It's what happens during the creative process.

Students learn to trust one another. They solve problems together. They tell stories. They discover perspectives different from their own.

Most importantly, they realize they have something worth contributing.

That lesson stayed with her through adulthood.

From New York to Los Angeles

After high school, Goin attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and performed in children's theatre, community theatre and professional productions. She also volunteered with youth theatre programs, teaching workshops in improvisation, mask making and kid-created theatre.

Her passion eventually led her into education.

After earning a degree in English Language Arts from Cal Poly Humboldt in Northern California, she began teaching and soon found herself leading drama programs.

An opportunity to teach theatre full-time in Los Angeles changed everything.

For the next two decades, Goin taught theatre to elementary, middle and high school students, creating original productions based on students' ideas, experiences and stories.

Rather than simply producing traditional plays, her students often developed original works that blended acting, writing, music, movement, film and visual art.

"My passion became taking kids' experiences and turning those into stories on stage," Goin said. "The real magic happens during the creative process."

Why Improv?

Improvisation may conjure images of comedians making jokes on the fly, but Goin sees it differently.

For her, improv is a tool for helping children develop confidence.

"It really is about creativity, collaboration and confidence," she said.

In improv, there are no scripts and often no right answers. Students learn to think on their feet, listen carefully, support one another and take risks without fear of failure.

Risk-taking, Goin says, is one of the most important lessons theatre can teach.

"I think risk is a word that I use all the time in my theatre classes," she said. "Take a risk."

Those risks might be as simple as volunteering an idea, speaking in front of a group or stepping into a character's shoes.

For some children, that can be transformative.

More Than Performance

Goin believes theatre provides something increasingly rare for young people.

In an age dominated by screens and digital communication, theatre requires face-to-face interaction. It asks students to listen, collaborate and connect.

Those skills translate far beyond the stage.

Whether giving a presentation, interviewing for a job, participating in a meeting or simply navigating friendships, the ability to communicate confidently remains one of life's most valuable skills.

"Theatre is about finding and using your voice," Goin said.

Success, she said, isn't measured by whether a child eventually pursues acting.

Success is the shy child who volunteers an idea.

The anxious child who makes a friend.

The student who discovers they have something meaningful to contribute.

Bringing Theatre Home

After spending 20 years in California, Goin felt drawn back to the Pacific Northwest.

"This is home," she said. "My family is here, and I always knew that someday I would return."

She moved to the Gorge and now teaches sixth-grade English Language Arts and drama at The Dalles Middle School. Over the past year, she has begun laying the groundwork for what she hopes will become a long-term community arts resource.

Emoji Improv is the first step.

Goin also plans to partner with The Dalles Public Library, work with Civic Kids Summer Theatre Camp and eventually expand into workshops, playwriting, private coaching, film projects, mask making, stage combat and community-created theatre productions.

Her vision is ambitious but rooted in a simple belief: every child deserves access to the arts.

"Theatre is for everybody," she said. "It's not about becoming an actor. It's about becoming comfortable being yourself."

Emoji Improv Summer Sessions

Emoji Improv is open to children ages 8-13 and will meet from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays at the United Church of Christ, 111 E. Fifth St. in The Dalles.

Session 1: June 27, July 11, July 18 and July 25

Session 2: Aug. 1, Aug. 8, Aug. 15 and Aug. 22

Cost is $65 per child per session, with a $5 discount for additional siblings.

More information and registration are available at emoji-improv.com.