Shadow Theatre Workshop
Do you want to create your own theatre?
During last five years the Society for Animation and Development of Children’s Drama Creativity is implementing Shadow Theatre workshops, based on model developed by Pygme Theatre from Stockholm. Our animators and coordinators were trained for their work at this renowned theatre in Sweden. Work with this specific way of drama expression, that is not widely present in our country, assured us that children were fascinated with the play of light and shadow. We would like to share our knowledge and experience with you. We worked with school children of almost all ages, with teenagers from already existing drama groups, with children with disabilities and they all wanted us to come back.
How does the workshop look like?
We form groups of 20 participants and let children create their own performance during one day with support of our knowledge and experience. In creating concrete performances we split this group into smaller groups consisting of:
- Dramaturg – how to tell/write a story
- Actors – division of roles and tasks
- Designers – drawing and designing puppets/marionettes
- Directors, producers – rehearsing of the performance and coordination of puppets
- Production designers/arrangers – usage of light, sounds and other tools.
In our workshops children are creating. Educators are supporting and steering them in certain segments, they are coordinating workshops, but children are creating their own theatre work. As they are choosing topics for the performances and designing characters their imagination is fully engaged. Puppets mage of cardboard and colored paper are easy to use in children’s creative work and we are there to support and offer some technical solutions. Our goal is to create conditions in which children can freely create while our coordinators will offer tools and technical solutions for realizations of their ideas.
The Shadow Theatre will help you to:
- become familiar with this theatrical expression;
- children asking questions and analyzing topics they find interesting;
- children writing texts they will present on the scene;
- children becoming actors; they say some of their thoughts and ideas publically, behind the screen – even if they are shy;
- children participate in a joint project and harmonize their ideas with others;
- learn how to work with Shadow Theatre and how to teach others…
To work with the Shadow Theatre you do not need to have any special talent, it is enough to be curious and to free your imagination. All the rest you can leave to the magical world of light and shadow and the effects will be fascinating.
