Research suggests that incorporating diverse active learning approaches, including creative and entertaining activities, into a class helps sustain students' attention and improve their ability to engage with the complex problems of the modern world. This study investigates how two different artistic classroom activities, one based in performing art and one based in visual art, compare to conventional classroom activities with the same broad educational goals.  This study finds that artistic classroom activities and conventional activities generally encourage similar understanding of course content, attention, and interest in students.  A performing art activity (in the form of a roleplay) encourages more improvement in communication skills than a similar conventional activity.  Some students view a disconnect between learning content and learning communication skills, however, so instructors must ensure that students recognize the value of artistic teaching techniques.  Suggestions for helping students adapt to new artistic activities are presented.