Nurturing growth of children through drama
A girl makes a silhouette at the “Shadow Theater,” the first session of the 2019 fall Creation Lab in Shanghai, staged by the Art Space for Kids.
The power of drama education has been largely underestimated in the cultivation of Chinese children’s personality, culture and core competence, experts told the International Conference on Theater and Innovation Education last week.
The one-day forum was jointly hosted by the Art Space for Kids, National Base for International Cultural Exchange and Research and Shanghai Oriental Art Center. It gathered theater producers, experts and scholars from home and abroad to discuss arts education and its connection with a child’s growth.
Chen Shenglai, director of the National Base for International Cultural Exchange and Research, noted that playful theater will change the traditional mode in education and foster a child’s all-round ability in expression, imagination, creativity and cooperation.
Compared with traditional way of learning, children in theater class are encouraged to describe their own experiences and even create their own stories. They can draw lots of fun from the role playing situations and improvisational performances.
“Many Western countries have included drama education into their primary school curriculum,” Chen said. “In Denmark, a small theater is set up in each community. Theater has become an integral part to a child’s life.”
However, a large number of parents in China are still unaware of the important role of theater in the development of core competitiveness for the future growth of children.
Studio theater of children’s drama, commonly seen overseas, is still rare in China. It usually can hold less than 150 audience members to provide better interaction for the performers and theatergoers.
That’s also the reason why Forrina Chen, founder and artistic director of the Art Space for Kids, has been engaged in building small studio theaters especially for kids in the cities of Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing since 2015.
So far Chen has programmed more than 80 international companies from 40 countries and presented over 4,000 performances around the country.
Diverse styles of theater have been exhibited in the immersive space of small theater. They have also organized drama workshops and art camps for kids in China.
“Children who are growing up with the influences of theater are quite different,” said Chen. “They gain the ability to communicate with the world. They see the world from theater and arts will always delight their life.”
Chen believes art education in China is still in its infancy because of the lack of educational professionals in the field.
“The world of theater usually allows a tolerance for mistakes and failures,” Chen said. “There is no absolute right or wrong way in the world of art. It is not result-oriented. During the process, children can develop creative and critical thinking, as well as the courage of trying new things. They will not be afraid of making mistakes.”
Andy Packer, a theater director from Australia’s Slingsby Theater, considers theater a “Temple of all Human Achievement.”
“This is one discipline that can bind together all of our collective knowledge into one condensed moment in time,” Packer said.
“Sport and large-scale live concerts will always be exciting places to gather in large numbers, but theater can allow us to participate in an intimate setting and to share in the emotional journey of a story.”
Actress Zhou Xiaoli is now a researcher at the Beijing Innovation Research Center with Southern University of Science and Technology.
Zhou has been engaged in domestic drama and art education over the past few years. She demonstrated how drama education is important for the development of a teenager’s personality.
“Theater has a power to change a child,” Zhou said. “Children can use their own eyes to discover a stage and play somebody else. They will be more confident in communication and artistic creation. The weakness of one’s personality will also be amended in a natural way.”
She also hopes that one day theater will become a compulsory course at domestic primary and middle schools.
Experts also recognized the achievements Shanghai has made in art education and popularization.
Over the past decades, Shanghai has produced a Weekly Radio Concert, which has been engaged in promoting classical music to the general public, especially young people.
Lei Wen, general manager of Shanghai Oriental Art Center Management Co, revealed they have organized more than 600 chamber concerts for local residents in 14 years.
Celebrated artists in theater, music and dance have been invited to give lectures and masterclasses to teenage enthusiasts.
Lei said that they’re also extending art education from children to white-collar workers through artistic talk shows and other light-hearted programs.
In addition to regular shows, the Art Space for Kids program will continue to host charity performances for kids who have autism or hearing impairment.
Next year, 100 public-interest performances will be staged for special children. Diverse theater salons and workshops will be planned for more schools and communities in the country.
Thirteen children from China performed at the Festival d’Avignon in France and received a certificate this summer.
“Shh...Bang!” by the British Theatre Guide playfully explores sound and silence.
