Small people; large personalities.

Anybody who has sat in a child audience will know what I mean when I say the ‘energy’ is totally different. They have no inhibitions, no agreed habitus of the theatre, and a complete ability to lose themselves in the story.

This week one small boy just couldn’t help himself, shouting at the puppet (who plays the main character, Tom) “are you real?”

This was great to see, and definitely makes me consider how I would want to blur the line of audience and performer within my own work. It is necessary to gain some kind of balance, especially with children’s theatre because it’s easy for them to get carried away and lose attention, however, if you can attain that medium then you could work upon impulses to shout out such as the aforementioned “are you real?” and allow the audience to start moulding the work with you. Theatre for children, with children.

‘The Night Pirates’ engages each individual with a lot of looks outward to the audience and facial recognition of them, so much so that many children wave whenever a puppet or performer looks towards the fourth wall.

One of the most rewarding feelings for me as an adult audience member surrounded by people at least fifteen years younger than me was the collective tiny gasp when the illusion of theatre becomes a reality. Stephen, who plays the Moon in ‘The Night Pirates’ quite often cues the lights on or off with a click of his fingers. “How did you do the lights?” was a common question asked after the performance. I was told that during one feedback session a child was asked what the difference was between a play and television, he replied, “a play is real”. Although, at one point at the end of a creative play session one girl wanted to tell me what her “favourite part of the DVD” was.  I think this may be a strong indication of the number of children not seeing enough theatre and too much television at home.

Of course shouting out is not the only kind of reaction you get from your audience.  Some children wriggled and giggled in their seats, others sat right on the edge of their seat until an exciting moment when they would jump to their feet clapping tiny hands leaving the chair to clang back into place.  But amongst all this several individuals sat calmly; quietly taking everything in until the end.

Just like within a group of adults, when you have a class of schoolchildren you can see the variety of personalities and responses to creativity. They notice different things about the characters and the story, “I liked it when the Moon spoke and his eyebrows moved”.

These characters became more apparent to me once we met with them for the creative play sessions after each performance. We divided the audience into four groups of roughly 24 children each and played for 35 minutes with sand, shells, feathers and a large blue ‘sea’ parachute material at the end. A lot of children delighted in blowing a feather up into the air then running  to catch it, but at one point I found two kids sat on the floor carefully placing small shells on the floor in a pattern or showing each other how if you put your ear to the big conch you can hear the sea.

Use of materials that relate to themes of the show also reinforced their memories of the piece, for example for many young ones the feathers became swords and the creative play session became a swashbuckling adventure in the gallery.

This then made me see that through the freedom of creative play sessions we were able to facilitate an enjoyable playtime for a variety of personalities. By making the sessions child led they were being given the option of different materials, being active or stationary, it was possible to take the themes of the show and translate them into a session that each child could get pleasure from in their own way.

Small people; large personalities.

Rehearsals and interviews

1^st October

I find myself well into the second week of my Contextual Enquiry Project and still learning something new every day. Rehearsals for ‘The Night Pirates’ are going well; the characters are looking more and more alive every day. I have been spending some time in the office looking at the exciting and diverse applications for the Departure Lounge at Take Off Festival…

http://www.theatrehullabaloo.org.uk/takeoff-festival-opportunities.asp

And ordering copious numbers of books to strengthen my knowledge on children’s theatre and it’s links to development in the early years. Titles are shown below and any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Today I received some positive feedback from my project supervisor Adele on the direction that my CEP is taking i.e. an exploration of the importance of theatre work for/with young audiences to aid development.

I have arranged an interview which I will document on this blog with Paul Harman (former Director of Hullabaloo when it was known as CTC) who will be able to give me a great understanding of what it has been like to produce children’s theatre since 1993 and how it has evolved over the years.

Alison McGowan has also agreed to spend some time with me discussing her residency which will give me a great insight into how I can bring this back to Alphabet Nursery in Bournemouth.

I am also interested to speak to the NAYT and the amazing work they are doing in Darlington trying to promote the arts with young people.

Books I am using for my research include:

Theatre for Children by David Wood

Arts in Their View: Study of Youth Participation in the Arts by John Harland

Children’s Theatre: A Philosophy and a Method (Theatre & Drama) by Moses Goldberg

The Young Audience: Exploring and Enhancing Children’s Experiences of Theatre by Matthew Reason

Acting with Intent: Theatre Companies and Their Education Programmes by Dick Downing

My practice

Observation of Hullabaloo’s practice and how it makes me think about mine

The way in which Hullabaloo are bringing children’s theatre into Darlington isn’t just rehearsing and performing a show then leaving it at that.

For example, ‘The Night Pirates’ has spurred on a variety of projects around the area including…

• A nursery residency with playtimes inspired by themes in the show
• Imaginative play sessions for the school groups that come to see it which happen straight after the previews in October – their teachers also receive a learning pack so the children can do pirate and sea themed work back at school
• A literary workshop run by Chris Connaughton on development of language skills and emotional literacy

This is just a fraction of the creative response that the piece is drumming up in the area. This shows me that as a company it is beneficial not only for you but for the public also to use the entertainment factor to also encourage some education in the area. This is definitely something I would want to apply to my own practice as I feel it’s not enough just to have your audience for forty five minutes and not use the energy that a good performance gives out.

I am very much looking forward to taking part in both the workshops at the Darlington Arts Centre and the nursery residencies. I will spend time watching professionals and adopting their child-led style for a playtime at Alphabet Nursery which will be a great learning experience for me. It is definitely the idea of allowing the children to take you on their imaginative journey that draws me to this work the most.

‘In childhood, the baby at first isn’t psychologically separate from parents and has no ego’

[Chalquist, C 2007]

Children have the purest form of play as they are unhindered by what Jung calls the ‘ego’ and as a student of devised theatre I could learn a lot from them. When devising we are encouraged to surprise ourselves, be impulsive, play. If you could learn to play like a child then analyse it like an adult I think you could devise some excellent work for young audiences.

Hopefully when I finish this project completely I will feel confident being able to create a piece for and with children then proposing work upon the educational themes to schools and nurseries in the area.

Bibliography

Chalquist, C. (2007). A Glossary of Jungian Terms. Available: http://www.terrapsych.com/jungdefs.html. Last accessed 24 Sept

Hullabaloo’s Nursery Residency

Nursery residency with Alison McGowan

Themes (taken from ‘The Night Pirates’) that could be applied to a playtime with the children:

• Shadow puppets
• Going to bed – are shadows scary or exciting?
• Fuzziness then revelation in the shadows
• The moon as a light giver – noticing the way in which the children have a couple of minutes to take in the lights at the beginning of the show so they have the chance to take it all in. This is another great example of how strongly the children are taken into consideration; this isn’t just about entertainment and overwhelming them into submission with visuals and sound. The fact that the moon also shines his light over them means they make a kind of connection with him from the word ‘go’.
• The ‘drone’ or ‘om’ – set at a certain pitch which was chosen after trying different notes with nursery children trying to find the one that made them most comfortable and relaxed.
• The simple set – that is moved around a lot in order to transform objects e.g. the deck is first the bedroom then the front of a boat. Encourages the idea that an object can be what it is used for but then can be something totally different, a strong indication of playfulness, children quite often play with an object and transform it in their mind multiple times.
• Feet – the tiptoeing girl pirates underneath the house. (Links in to a theme for a short performance I want to create for children with characters changing by the shoes they wear and the way they walk).
• Adventure over fear
• The colour blue – a strong set and lighting theme in the show. Blue material, light shining upon it, blue material as the sea.

The idea is to go with the children in these sessions. The work is mostly non verbal making it accessible to every child, speaking is just one of many ways in which to communicate with others. As the time is child-led they can choose the way they want to connect and take you with them. The added benefit of having an adult there to be involved but to also observe is that you can communicate what happened to the nursery and parents and perhaps shed some light on what the child prefers or how they respond to certain stimuli. This would undoubtedly be positive for both carers and parents as they could develop upon this for playtimes in the future. Here the children take ownership for what the adults do.

Suggested research

Newcastle based artists ‘Dry Water’ and their work for KS1 and KS2. Non verbal, child led sessions.

http://drywater.org/earlyyears.php

Early years and adult years

Research Point

‘For every £1 spent on early years you get £10 later on’ -  Dr S. Zeedyk

Dr Suzanne Zeedyk’s research is into development in very young children and the connections they make in these years. Her studies show that these connections made in very early life drastically affect the kind of connections we strive to make later on.

‘Synapses become robust through repeated use.

Unused synapses wither away.

Thus, early learned behaviour is resistant to change.

The brain sustains what is first experienced.’ -  [Zeedyk, S 2008]

From these findings this can only strengthen the significance of positive stimulation for early years children through theatre, especially the kind of work that is created here by Hullabaloo. By providing these young people with engaging pieces that will connect with a variety of different synapses (visual, aural, touch) surely it would encourage the stimulation that encourages healthy brain growth. This in turn would have a positive ripple effect as this young person grows up, the child, parents, school teachers, the criminal justice system etc.

‘[O]ne of the most effective ways of reducing violence in adulthood is to give more attention to the early years, when social and emotional experiences are having the greatest impact on development of the brain.’ [Zeedyk, S 2007]

There is further evidence from observations of children adopted from Russian and Romanian orphanages and brought to America. The conditions ‘were described as ranging from ‘poor’ to ‘appalling,’ [Pollak, S 2003] with children left in colourless cots for hours with no toys or human contact. This had a detrimental effect on their physical and mental abilities even after moving to America and living in an enriched environment. For instance, they struggled to listen to verbal instructions and remember them and their sensory-motor development had been stunted.

‘”This clumsiness…could affect their ability to play with peers and, as a result, form social bonds with other children.“‘ [Pollak, S 2003]

In my mind after reading these articles to absorb the kinds of themes and brain stimulation that arise in ‘The Night Pirates’ would be nothing but beneficial to a child’s growth and development. Subjects such as not being afraid to adventure and challenging of the pre-conceived idea that pirates would be male are actually integral to forming a well rounded adult. This kind of work for early years children should be being encouraged by the government as much as possible to ensure that future generations have the best chance to have a healthy and happy adolescent and adult life. It also makes me think about the fact that this may be the future of theatre for young people, working alongside individuals such as Dr Zeedyk to create pieces with optimal entertainment, educational and developmental value.

Bibliography

Pollak, S. (2003). Orphanage experience alters brain development. Available: http://www.news.wisc.edu/8291. Last accessed 22 Sept

Zeedyk, S. (2007). Building babies’ brains through parents’ love. Available: http://www.touchlearn.co.uk/Downloads/Building%20babies%20brains%20through%20parents%20love.pdf. Last accessed 22 Sept 2010

Zeedyk, S. (2008). The impact of early social interactions on children’s long term development. Available: http://www.cleftsis.scot.nhs.uk/documents/minutes/2008_dr_zeedyk.pdf. Last accessed 22 Sept 2010

My final proposal (before I arrived in Darlington)

A photographic account can be found at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54129241@N05/sets/72157625009557518/

I have been given the opportunity to work with a children’s theatre company called Hullabaloo who are based in Darlington, UK from 20^th September to 15^th November 2010. I will be spending time in all areas of the company in the hope that I will come away with an all rounded understanding of the inner workings of a children’s theatre company. (both creative and administrative).  I have not produced any work intended for a young audience whilst at Dartington but worked with a local company in my area for two years producing site specific children’s theatre before my degree (providing me with an up to date CRB check which I will be taking with me to Hullabaloo).

I decided to apply to Hullabaloo for this enquiry because of the particular context that they are working in.  By word of mouth I have heard mixed things about Darlington as a place. I do know that it has suffered greatly from government choices such as the abolition of the Future Jobs Fund and diminishing Connexions support in the area. This has left the youth of Darlington with barely any opportunities therefore reducing motivation resulting in an unemployment rate over 17%. [Nichol, T & Rowan, K 2010] Arts funding in the North East has also declined considerably making things difficult for those in our line of work.

A young couple from Darlington have been interviewed by Oxfam for their ‘Close to Home’ report. They have four young children leaving them no time to find work making them worry that they cannot afford to buy the right food for their family. They dream that one day their children will get out of Darlington and have a comfortable life. [Oxfam 2009]

Evidence such as this suggests that the youth of Darlington need as much encouragement as possible to gain confidence from an early age and know that they are not limited to live in one way in one place for the rest of their life. This is where I feel theatre for children comes in strongly. Hullabaloo’s manifesto states ‘[T]he UK has developed a progressively ambivalent relationship to its young people…young people need theatre to help them understand an increasingly complicated world.’ [Hullabaloo 2010]

By working closely with schools in the area and hosting events such as the Take Off festival at the Darlington Arts Centre which is visited by educational and multi-sensory shows from all over the world (e.g. Oily Cart’s Drum and La Società della Civetta’s Droplets) I feel they are interrupting the everyday life of the youth in the area and introducing some magic. I want to be fully involved in this looking at how their practice affects the context of Darlington as a place and the people who live there. I also want to explore how they view the area they are working in and whether they create their work simply in response to Darlington or a more national/international context.

I intend to document a lot of my work through images but when working with the children themselves obviously photographs are not an option so I am looking into the work of Matthew Reason and how he allowed children to draw their responses to theatre instead of being barraged with potentially intimidating questions. I would like to keep daily notes of my experiences and what I learn and also use found traces from when I was there, e.g. snippets of speech that I hear or something somebody has left in the working space.

For my final performative outcome I would either like to write and perform (either live to an audience in Falmouth or a film of it) a performance lecture on ‘The Importance of Theatre Work for Early Years children’ or run a workshop or playtime with some children in Bournemouth therefore absorbing elements of the good work that is done in Darlington and using it in a more familiar context.

I start on 18^th September and finish the placement 20^th November leaving me over five weeks to find a place to live in Falmouth, write the documentation (which will have been ongoing through the project anyway) and prepare the presentation.

Bibliography

Hullabaloo. (2010). About Us. Available: http://www.theatrehullabaloo.org.uk/about.asp. Last accessed 4th Sep

Nichol, T & Rowan, K. (2010). Youth unemployment has almost doubled in Darlington in a year. Available: http://www.tuc.org.uk/economy/tuc-18334-f0.cfm. Last accessed 5 Sep 2010.

Oxfam. (2009). Poverty in the UK . Available: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/oxfam_in_action/issues/poverty-in-the-uk.html. Last accessed 4 Sep

Matthew Reason’s – Drawing the Theatrical Experience – http://w3.yorksj.ac.uk/pdf/Drawing%20the%20Theatrical%20Experience%20Final%20version.pdf

My first day

I am almost certain now even after being here for a day and a half I will be wanting to follow the enquiry…

‘The importance of theatre work for early years children’

As I am definitely in the right place for it.

Photographs from my time here can be found at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54129241@N05/sets/72157625009557518/

The show (with points about the audience)

‘The Night Pirates’ inspired by the book by Peter Harris and Deborah Allwright.

“When dark shadows come stealing down Tom’s bedroom walls he thinks it might be monsters or ogres or trolls. But Tom’s not afraid, for he’s a brave little boy. So he peeps out of the window and what should he see but PIRATES. Stranger still they’re GIRL PIRATES, stealing the front of his house!”   –   [Theatre Hullabaloo 2010]

With this piece literal representations of objects and people are used as it is a child audience. Symbolism and conceptualising is all very well but because things are made obvious for their audience they do not have to interrupt their enjoyment of the piece to ask their parent what something is or what something means.

The text is minimal (ten pages of a book has been turned into a 45min show) and is only given to the Moon (who basically acts as the narrator) so the audience is treated to a more visual performance. This is especially stimulating for the younger children who perhaps can’t completely understand fast, complex sentences. The puppets, props and set are painted in a surreal style moving the piece less from a natural people to more of a dreamlike experience.

Unlike ‘Five’, another piece made for a young audience by Hullabaloo, ‘The Night Pirates’ is less of a multi-sensory experience and generally has the audience as the fourth wall looking into a story. They try to have some audience interaction to make them feel included but it is mostly limited to looking out at them or a torch light rolling over where they are sat. Although there is no direct contact between the performers and audience I still feel this will be quite an experiential piece due to the fact that the children are sat on the floor surrounding a small set in which the performers and puppets move around a lot and will engage them with the colour, music and enthusiastic performance.

Although the senses that are addressed are done so with sensitivity and a lot of previous research. A sort of ‘drone’ or ‘om’ plays throughout the piece tying the sound together. This was chosen after testing different notes and finding which was the most comfortable to nursery children. Even from only being here a short time I can begin to understand the way in which the adults here allow the children to  greatly influence their decisions in the creative process which must be the best way to create pleasing theatre for young people.

Questions I intend to ask

• To you what is Darlington like as a place? (for a subjective view, this is a difficult question though because of either not knowing or not wanting to offend if not sure about the place)
• How do you collect your feedback from young children after the shows?
• When devising do you think more about the context of Darlington children (because that’s where they are based) or just children in general?
• How do you find responses from the school groups in contrast to the children brought by parents? (Bear in mind also when Hullabaloo was CTC they booked a lot more schools whereas now they bring school trips to the actual venues)
• What do you think it does for the child being able to have time out from everyday life and watch theatre? (Especially considering it is theatre primarily focussing on entertaining and educating a child audience)
• Challenges of adapting a book to the stage? (Especially for a child audience)

A point about process

The children and their preferences are taken well into consideration after about two weeks of rehearsal and development (R n D). Evidence of this can be seen in the rough script – (e.g. written in the margin is ‘cat?’). In the book Tom’s cat is always about somewhere, this creature was not originally included in the final show but the kids said that it felt like he was missing from the piece so a small puppet was made and popped in. Genuinely considering and going with what they had said is a strong indication of this company’s dedication to entertaining children.

Outside practitioners come in to help the performers polish their work, Alison for example has been a puppeteer for fifteen years and she comes in to help Sam and Stephen with Tom as because of his cumbersome head he’s quite hard to operate.

Kitty is the main choreographer for this piece but the performers themselves actually have a lot of say in the scenes that they are in. Consideration of limits and differences in discipline are taken into account and it is clearly a strongly collaborative process involving both adults and children.

My recommended reading

Matthew Reason’s new book ‘The Young Audience: exploring and enhancing children’s experiences of theatre’

http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/rc7_eng.pdf

http://thefutureplayground.com/

Dr Suzanne Zeedyk’s child psychology work

‘An overview of child well being in rich countries’

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6359363.stm

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/psychology/people/academics/mszeedyk/

http://www.ourladyandstcuthbertscrook.org.uk/

http://www.cleftsis.scot.nhs.uk/documents/minutes/2008_dr_zeedyk.pdf