Director Marie Swajeski will tell you that theater arts teaches children skills like projection, movement and stage management, but one of the most important things children learn is how to be good listeners. “That is one of the things that kids find most difficult,” she says. “The first thing I tell the children is don’t act, react. It makes a difference in their approach. It forces them to do something that’s very important, and that is to listen”—both to other actors and to their directors. Children can learn at DCT two ways: through summer camps and, throughout the year, theater workshops. DCT will also perform shorter versions of popular plays at local schools. Another important thing children will learn about: good diction. “The actor is a communicator from the script to the audience,” Swajeski says, “and you can’t communicate if we don’t know what you’re saying.” Wilmington, 655-1014, dechildrenstheatre.org