Musical Production with Children

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Concept of the Musical Production

Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs

Bakul Foundation

If not us, who? If not now, when?

Bakul Childrens Library16 Satyanagar

Bhubaneswar- 751007

India

Directed by: Nicole Suchanek

Assisted by: Melissa Cornacchia, Melanie Eidecker, Shaila Pattnaik


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Table of Contents

1. Introduction....................................................................................................4

2. Didactic Elements..........................................................................................4

3. Resources......................................................................................................5

3.1 Director....................................................................................................5

3.2 Assistants.................................................................................................5

3.3 The children group...................................................................................6

3.4 Facilities...................................................................................................6

3.5 Budget......................................................................................................7

3.6 Materials..................................................................................................7

4. Further pedagogic aspects............................................................................7

5. General Objectives........................................................................................9

6. Methods and Outcome...................................................................................9

6.1 Saturday, Dec 8th - Introduction to the theater workshop.......................9

6.2 Sunday, Dec 9th - Creating an own scene............................................11

6.3 Saturday, Dec 15th - First dancing........................................................12

6.4 Sunday, Dec 16th - The cast.................................................................13

6.5 Saturday, Dec 22nd - Starting to sing...................................................15

6.6 Sunday, Dec 23rd - Finishing two dances.............................................16

6.7 Thursday, Dec 27th - The dances.........................................................17

6.8 Friday, Dec 28th - The masks...............................................................18

6.9 Saturday, Dec 29th - The Forest Wild...................................................19

6.10 Sunday, Dec 30th - The learning success...........................................206.11 Monday, Dec 31st - The first full rehearsal..........................................21

6.12 Saturday, Jan 5th - Finalizing dances and scenes..............................23

6.13 Sunday, Jan 6th - The celebration dance............................................24

6.14 Saturday, Jan 12th - The dress rehearsal...........................................24

6.15 Sunday, Jan 13th - The performance..................................................26

7. Expenses.....................................................................................................27

8. Evaluation....................................................................................................28

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8.1 General objectives.................................................................................28

8.2 The children's opinions..........................................................................29

8.3 The facilitators evaluation......................................................................30

9. Conclusion...................................................................................................31

Appendix

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1. Introduction

'I want to be part of a play and show everyone on a big stage what I learned.'

This is what one girl said, who wanted to participate in the musical of "Snow

White and the Seven Dwarfs". The children of Bhubaneswar, finally got a

chance to express themselves through theater. This is the first workshop of its

kind in Orissa.

The following concept is the basis for a children's theater workshop,

conducted at Bakul Children's Library (for further information visit:

www.bakulfoundation.org).

Finally the workshop will lead to a musical production based on Roald Dahls

adaptation of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

Twenty children in total can participate, aged 9-13. The workshop starts on

Dec 8th 2007 and the final performance will be staged on Jan 13th 2008.

Rehearsals are each on Saturdays and Sundays for three hours and the

winter vacation will also be used for rehearsals.

This concept mainly focuses on the workshop itself and the work with the

children. It mostly doesn't refer to all the work, which is behind it, e.g. booking

an auditorium, distributing flyers, arranging things for the workshop,... Still an

overview, in form of a schedule, is being given in the annex.

2. Didactic Elements

This workshop will be an introduction for children to get a knowledge about

theater, certain aspects of acting and their own abilities. It is very important for

the children to know their own abilities. In school mostly they dont get a

chance to explore those. Theater is a good way to find out ones talents and

use them, because it relates to many things, e.g. use of language, arts (for

creating props and costumes), body language, imagination, rhetoric, music

etc.

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http://www.bakulfoundation.org/http://www.bakulfoundation.org/


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Bakul foundation doesnt want the children only to find out their talents, but

also would like to get their interest for stories, theater, music and everything

what relates to it. This workshop is a good base for further productions the

children might want to join, too.

Basically this workshop includes age group friendly theater games, which lead

to creating small scenes and getting into acting different roles. This way the

children experience how to create a character and can use this knowledge for

the production. They will also witness and take part in the whole process

leading to a production and can use the best of their own talents to make it

better. Some elements are creating props, developing dances, working with

the text and making costumes. The children will do as many things by

themselves as possible for best learning results.

3. Resources

The following paragraph gives an overview of all resources available for the

workshop, human as well as material resources and facilities.

3.1 Director

The director has to be sensitive enough to realize on which level the children

understand exercises. Those should not be too complicated, because then

the children might lose interest. On the other hand it should not be too easy,

that would lead to boredom and also a lack of interest. The workshop should

be a challenge for the children, but one they can manage.

The director has experience in working with children and theater, developing

scenes in a playful way leading to a production. But she has no education in

dancing and singing.

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3.2 Assistants

Three assistants are basically going to support the production, apart from

many others helping out with certain jobs (e.g. creating flyers and posters,

helping out during rehearsals etc.).

Melissa Cornacchia from Canada is trained in dancing and helps developing

the different dances, according to the story. She can only be present till

December 27th that is why the dances have to be developed in the beginning

of the workshop.

Shaila Pattnaik is practicing the singing with the children. She herself has a

training in singing and shares her abilities with the participants.

Melanie Eidecker from Germany helps to create props and takes care that

everything behind stage runs smoothly. She cannot attend the rehearsals

before Dec 30th.

Apart from those three, Purabi Das edits the play so we can possibly use a

more Indianized version of the script.

Many other Bakul Members are also supporting, e.g. in getting props, food,

helping throughout the rehearsals etc.

3.3 The children group

A group of children aged 9-13 can participate. The minimum number would be

15 participants. We advertise the play in English medium schools so that

language is not a barrier. Further information about the children are not given

when the workshop is being started.

3.4 Facilities

The library with its three rooms and especially its backyard can be used for

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the rehearsals. The final performance will be held at a major auditorium.

3.5 Budget

The budget is a maximum of 10.000 Rupees, according to how many children

participate. Each child would pay a participation fee of 500 Rupees for the

workshop.

This money has to be enough for snacks, props, costumes and anything else

possible. A sponsor for the venue and other expenses like light and sound

has to be found.

3.6 Materials

Little material is accessible at the beginning of the workshop (paper, pens,

paints etc.). Costumes and props have to be organized and created. With the

money from the participation fee any needed material can be bought.

4. Further pedagogic aspects

In the next paragraph some important pedagogical thoughts are being given,

for a better understanding of the workshop and its background.

Learning:

The children should learn with all their senses and on all levels, like psycho-

emotional, sensu-motorical, etc.

Process:

In the short term the children should get interested in theater and stories, mid-

term they should create their roles and characters and get into the process of

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a musical production. The long-term goal is the final production of "Snow

White and the Seven Dwarfs" at a major auditorium in Bhubaneswar,Orissa.

Learning-Teaching-Gap:

There is always a gap between what is going to be taught and which abilities

the children bring with themselves. After some time the children should learn

different abilities like expression, singing and dancing. The teaching-learning-

gap should become smaller and the children have more abilities in the end.

Partnership:

The children should have a good partnership with each other, so they can act

without any personal barriers. Also they should feel that all Bakul members

are like partners, almost friends for them. They cannot be friends though,

because it would make the situation to lose. A little distance between the

facilitator and the participants is needed to ensure a learning process.

Otherwise it could get too emotional which would disturb the learning process.

Relationship:

The Bakul crew should have a warm relation to the children, not too

authoritative. Those children come to the workshop for having fun and also

because they want to learn things. That way there shouldn't be any barriers or

fears of behaving in front of an adult, unlike at school. If this is the case, the

children cannot enjoy themselves and have any learning process. But like

described before, a little authority should be there to ensure that it is not only

like a fun event without any learning background.

Situation:

The situation should be on such a level that it is open for new ideas. It

shouldn't be too strict, but flexible enough for changes. Though the children

have to understand that there are certain rules they have to follow so that the

workshop can be successful and fun to everyone. Such rules as showing up

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in time.

5. General Objectives

The following objectives are supposed to be met throughout the workshop. At

the end an evaluation should show, if the objectives are met or not.

1. The children should get interested in and have fun with theater

2. A production of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" at a major venue

3. The children should learn how a production is being developed

4. A learning effect of different abilities, e.g. making props, creating costumes,

building a character, should be visible

5. The children should explore their own abilities

6. The children's ideas have to be implemented throughout the workshop

6. Methods and Outcome

The methods used in this workshop are given in a short form for each day.

Some warm-ups, each from the beginning, middle and end of the workshop

are being given as examples in the appendix.

6.1 Saturday, Dec 8th - Introduction to the theater workshop

Daily targets:

1. Have a general introduction in some elements of theater

2. The group should get to know each other

3. Everyone should know that his or her ideas are welcome

4.The children should learn about the need for a warm-up

Methods:

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1. This day is a general introduction into the workshop. Other children will join

the workshop later, which means that the script cannot be read yet, before the

others join. Every child should have the same start to begin with the story.

The facilitator introduces different games which lead to small scenes and give

ideas about theater.

2. In the beginning the group makes a spider web game with a thread. Each

child is introducing himself or herself and has a piece of thread. The child

grabs the thread with one hand and gives the rest to another. That way in the

end a spider web, which connects everyone is created. It has to be very clear

that the spider web only works out, if every person holds the thread.

Also there are different name games in the warm-up. That makes it easier to

remember names.

3. In the warm-up the children have to use their imagination to play the

games. For example in the "Clap Circle". All stand in a circle and one person

steps in the middle and starts to play a scene. Another person claps once, A

is freezing and B joins the scene. Whenever a member of the group feels like

changing the scene, he claps and tips that person on the shoulder who should

leave the scene. He takes the same position and implements a new scene.

Apart from this game groups of 3-4 children have to develop own stories.

They get little cards which tell a place and two things. With those words the

children create a story. Later they design the front page of a book cover and

tell their story to all other children. Part two of this exercise will take place the

next day, which includes creating a small play.

4. In the beginning the facilitator explains the children why they need a warm-up and then actually do it. They have to learn to get ready for theater. It is like

with sports. A runner first has to warm-up before he runs a marathon.

Outcome:

The outcome on this day was good. Everyone got a good introduction and

each child could follow the games and give own ideas.

All got to know each other and even knew most names in the end. Though

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only 12 children showed up so far. The group is small at this time of the

workshop.

Many ideas were being given and one child even said in the end that he found

it very good that he is allowed to give his own ideas.

6.2 Sunday, Dec 9th - Creating an own scene

Daily goals:

1. Develop own scenes and play them

2. Introduce the new children3. Talking about the original story of Snow White

Methods:

1. With the stories the children created the day before, this day they make

little plays out of it. They get some time to decide, who plays which role and

they talk about how to perform it or even rehearse it. Finally everyone gets to

see all little plays the different groups developed.

2. To introduce the new children, the facilitator plays some new name games

with the group, different to those from the day before. That way it is new to

everyone and every child has the same start into the games.

3. In the end of that days rehearsal, the facilitator goes through the original

version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" with all children. They retell

the story how they know it.

Outcome:

1. The children enjoyed playing their own stories, though it took them some

time to decide, how it can be performed. To observe one group was

interesting, because one girl was about 3 years older than all others and she

mostly tries to tell others what to do. But even though the smaller girls tried to

make their voices heard and decided about things.All children enjoyed playing and watching the others, too see what they

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developed.

2. The new children got into the group quite easily, because on this day not

too many children were there. After the introduction games they joined the

group activity of developing a play, through which they could get in contact

with the others. That is one thing about theater, you always have to play with

others. You cannot do it all alone. That way one must get the contact to

others, which helps to develop social abilities.

Some of the children were a little shy though. Hopefully on the following

weekend they would loosen up a little bit more, once they know, what the

workshop is like.

3. Everyone knew the story of 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' very well

and most children saw the Disney Picture.

6.3 Saturday, Dec 15th - First dancing

Daily targets:

1. Improving the group dynamic

2. Find out about the dancing abilities of the children

3. Read the first part of the script

Methods:

1. The children do different activities together, e.g. in the warm-up everyone

gets to meet everyone. Also physical and verbal contact are important. E.g.

the children could meet with different body parts, like elbows, knees, feet,

legs, hands, arms, etc. To get a verbal contact the children can talk to each

other in gibberish. They can even have whole nonsense conversations. This

is supposed to make them looser in the interaction with each other and they

have to be spontaneous, too.

Also the whole group reads the script together and everyone gets involved in

that.2. The facilitator tries different moving games with the children, to see how

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they can move. One is that all stand in a circle and one person shows

something which everyone else copies. After some time a kind of chain

movement can happen. As soon as one person stops, another starts and the

group keeps copying those movements.

The children also can make up own dances, according to the music, which is

being played, so the facilitator gets an impression about what ideas the

children have.

3. All sit down in a circle and different parts are read by different children.

Everyone should have a go. After reading each scene the group talks about

what is happening there, to make sure that everyone can understand the

story.

Outcome:

1. The children loosen a little bit and try new things. Also the shy children

slowly start to speak up and give their ideas.

2. The moving and especially dancing abilities of the children are very well.

They show many different steps and movements which could be used for the

dances in the musical. It was very interesting to observe how dances got

developed and how much fun the children had with that.

3. Everyone seems to understand the story so far and the script is more than

half-way read, which means that there is not too much work left on that for the

next day. Still we have to repeat some of it, because many children could not

attend today's rehearsal because of a school function.

6.4 Sunday, Dec 16th - The cast

This day has two parts of rehearsal. The first part (those children would come

at 11.00) is for those children, who had a school function before and missed

the last two rehearsals. It is also for all who joined in the workshop late. All

other children would join in at 2 PM and stay with everyone else till 5 PM. Forthe children, who come early, the library provides lunch.

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Due to the problem that the choreographer has to leave for some weeks, all

dances must be developed by Dec 28th. That way the main focus at this time

lies on the dancing.

Morning targets:

1. Introducing the children to the workshop, who come for the first time

2. Going through the script till that point, where it was stopped with everyone

else the day before

Methods:

1. The facilitator tells the children about the activities the others did before and

also tells them about what the workshop is about.

2. Like the day before all would go through the script together, except that the

original story of 'Snow White' is being retold first. That way the children

understand the changes in the musical adapted by Roald Dahl.

Outcome:

1. Many children ask some questions and give ideas about the play. They

seem to very interested.

2. The activities are all finished in time and the children already proceeded to

playing some scenes, to try how they could be performed.

Afternoon targets:

1. Giving the roles to the children2. Starting first dances

3. Finishing reading the whole script

Methods:

1. The director and choreographer decide about the cast before the workshop

starts in the afternoon. It would be too much of a discussion to do it together

with all the children. Especially after most girls want to be Snow White and

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they might fight about it.

After the warm-up in the afternoon the group meets in a circle and the

facilitator tells each child, which role he or she is having. There are many

characters in the play, which means that most children have to play two roles.

For them it is good, because they spend a lot of the time on stage and not

behind it. It also gives them the feeling of playing a big role (what each of

them actually does) and not only being there for a time pass. Changes and

discussions try to be avoided, because the whole dress changing plan is very

complicated and several dress changes have to happen within a minute

during the play.

2. The choreographer, starts with a dance, which includes four children in the

beginning. It is a dance, where much choreography is needed.

At the same time the other children start rehearsing some of the scenes which

do not include any dancing.

3. All children finish to read the script and open questions can be answered.

Ideas can be given from the group as well.

Outcome:

1. The children kept asking who was going to have which role. That is why the

decision was very important to them. When it was finally time to tell them, it

was mostly accepted and only one small change had to be done. It was

surprising how little discussions happened on the cast afterwards, which

means that everyone was more or less happy about it.

2. The dancing went slow in the beginning, but the children gave a great dealof input which is used. That also makes it easier for them to remember the

dances during the rehearsals.

3. The children seem to have understood the concept of the play and were

able to retell the story when being asked.

6.5 Saturday, Dec 22nd - Starting to sing

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The director could not be there on this day that is why the work got delegated

to some other volunteers.

Daily targets:

1. Finishing the tree dance

2. Starting to paint numbers for jockeys costumes

3. Singing the songs

Methods:

1. The choreographer rehearses the part of the dance from the week before

and uses the children's ideas to finish the dance.

2. A volunteer provides everything necessary (paper, colors, scissors) and

guides the children to create numbers for the jockeys costumes.

3. The children will be guided in the singing by Shaila, who is trained in

singing.

Outcome:

1. The dances slowly get developed and the tree dance is mostly done so far.

It only has to be rehearsed several times.

2. The children had great fun creating their own costumes.

3. Even though the timing during songs wasn't too well yet, the children enjoy

the singing and learn fast.

6.6 Sunday, Dec 23rd - Finishing two dances

Daily targets:

1. Finalizing at least the tree dance and Snow White's Dance

2. Working on four different songs with the children

Methods:1. Like before, the dances get repeated and children's ideas are used to

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develop more parts of the dances.

2. As above.

Outcome:

1. The tree dance went fine and one can observe a progress in the children's

dance. The Snow White dance, between Snow White and the Mirror is not

fully created yet.

2. The singing improved and the children already learned four different songs.

6.7 Thursday, Dec 27th - The dances

This is the last day when the dances can be developed with the

choreographer, because she is leaving. The main focus lies on the dancing

again on this day.

Daily targets:

1. Choreographing the dances as far as possible.

2. Singing all songs

3. Rehearsing scene 3,4

Methods:

1. See as above. At the end of the days rehearsal the children show their

dances to the others, so that they also realize for themselves what progress

they made.

2. See as above.

3. The children rehearse the scenes which have to be worked on and perform

for those children who are not participating in those scenes. The children have

to learn how to act in front of an audience.

Outcome:1. The dances were not fully developed, but a video of each dance was being

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taken so that the director could rehearse the dances with the children, once

the choreographer was gone. Those parts of the dances the children already

created were much improved from the previous weekend.

2. The songs are getting better and the children sang all songs by now.

3. It takes a few times till the children remember what they have to do during

the scenes (e.g. who comes on stage first).

6.8 Friday, Dec 28th - The masks

This day the children start making props, such as masks for the masqueradeball and crowns for the King and Queen.

Daily targets:

1. Creating masks for prospective Queens, the Kings and Queens crown

2. Finishing the Snow White Dance

3. Singing the songs in which many children participate

Methods:

1. A volunteer is guiding the children to create some masks. All necessary

items are provided.

2. The two girls who play the Snow White and Mirror repeat their dance and

develop the last minute of the dance with their own ideas. The director is only

facilitating.

3. Even though the singer is not there, the director can rehearse the songs

with the children.

Outcome:

1. The children had a lot of fun to create their masks and all prospective

Queens (which will wear the masks later) are done. Though there was no time

left to make the Queens and Kings crown and a big invitation card for themasquerade ball, so this has to be done during the next days.

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2. The dance between Snow White and the Mirror got developed more, but is

still not very good. It is very hard for Snow White to pick up the dance,

because she knows that her dancing abilities are less than the one's of the girl

who plays the Mirror. Even though, both of them try do develop everything

together and one supports the other.

3. The children already know most lines and enjoy the singing. They have a

problem with the timing though, which the facilitator tried to reduce with

prompting and singing with them together.

6.9 Saturday, Dec 29th - The Forest Wild

Not too many days are left till the musical will be staged and the children have

to get a feeling for all processes during the play. One issue on this day is that

no other volunteer can help out to watch the children, so the director has to

find a way to make the rehearsal interesting for all children, even though she

cannot be with all children at the same time. For example is there a song only

between the Huntsman and Snow White (The Forest Wild). One option would

be that all other children watch the two others rehearsing. This would become

very boring for them and they would become loud, at least they did that in the

past. To avoid that boredom, the children who are not rehearsing at one time,

could finish making the Queens and Kings crown as well as some other small

props which have to be done.

In the afternoon, after the general workshop, Snow White will stay back with

the director to rehearse The Forest Wild. Then she doesn't need to feel any

pressure while rehearsing and it is more quiet if less children are around.

Daily targets:

1. Rehearsing scene 1 & 2 in one run

2. Finishing the Jockeys dance

3. Creating the Kings and Queens crown4. Improving with Snow White and the Huntsman the Forest Wild

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Methods:

1. After the warm-up, when all children are outside the facilitator practices with

them right from scene 1, because all children are part of it.

2. Once scene 1 and 2 are done all children except for the Jockeys, the

Narrator and Snow White stay outside for scene 4, which includes the

Jockeys dance.

3. While the other children are outside the Queen and some others can create

the crown and missing props. The facilitator has to provide all necessary

items.

4. After the workshop, the facilitator and Snow White go through the lines of

the song The Forest Wild. Once it is clear that Snow White is pleading for her

life and the actress has the understanding of that, it should be easier for her to

act that way. Then the song can be rehearsed, the facilitator plays the part of

the Huntsman. It is easier for Snow White to practice for some time without

the real Huntsman, because he already knows what to do, but she feels a little

bit self-conscious about it. She cannot look in his eyes for example.

Outcome:

1. The beginning of scene one and two went well, but at some point in scene

2, the children were not sure about how to act. That part has to be repeated

the next day after some individual training with the concerned children.

2. The Jockeys dance went well. It just needs to be rehearsed a little more to

match the timing with the music. The children tend to rush throughout thesong.

3. Both crowns and most props are not finished yet, but they can be finished

throughout the next two days.

4. It takes Shemal, the girl who plays Snow White, some time to understand

the background of the song The Forest Wild. But after she sang the song a

few more times it was easier for her to act at the same time.

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6.10 Sunday, Dec 30th - The learning success

Daily targets:

1. Getting all missing costumes together

2. Finishing scene 1 and 2

Methods:

1. The facilitator talks with the children about which costumes are still missing.

The children should try to arrange costumes themselves as much as possible,

because then they get even more involved in the production.

2. Scene 1 and 2 get rehearsed till everyone knows when he or she has to

enter or exit stage. Also all songs and dances should run smoothly.

Outcome:

1. The children help out each other very well. If one child doesn't have the

required costume, another child would offer something. That way the

expenses for costumes can be reduced and the children learn social

competences.

2. In the end of the workshop the children could do the first two scenes well

and were happy about being able to play this part smoothly. It is a good

learning success they say in the end of that day.

6.11 Monday, Dec 31st - The first full rehearsal

This day is the last day of the rehearsals in the winter vacation and a full

rehearsal of the whole musical is planned. It would be a good end, to finish

the vacation.

After the workshop on the same day, a New Years lunch party will happen.

The children were working very hard the last few days and should be

rewarded for that. Also the theater workshop is about fun and not only hardwork.

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Daily targets:

1. Make a large invitation card for scene 1

2. Rehearsing all dances

3. Have one full rehearsal

Methods:

1. One assistant helps the children to create a large invitation card for scene

1. All required materials will be provided.

2. One after one the dances get rehearsed. The children which are not taking

part in certain dances, can work on other things at the same time, like singing

or making props.

3. In the end of that days workshop all children participate in the first full

rehearsal of the workshop. Some volunteers from Bakul will watch this

rehearsal. It should make the children being more serious about it. One

assistant, who will be behind stage on the day of the performance, is also

behind stage (in the backyard of the library) this time. This way the children

can get used to how things will work later.

Outcome:

1. The children finish the invitation card and some smaller props.

2. All dances are developed, but some still need to be rehearsed. Few

children cannot memorize the steps too good.

3. The full rehearsal was chaotic and the children did not know, when to gowhere. Also they were talking behind stage most of the time. They missed

when they had to enter stage and the scenes themselves were not being

played good. Only very few things were running smooth during this rehearsal.

After the it was over, the director, two assistants and the children were sitting

together and went through the script to see, what had to be improved or

changed.

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Still everyone had a good time at the lunch party after the workshop. All

children liked to dance and play with each other. The group became one big

group of friends and no child was treated as an outsider. Also they help out

each other in any matter.

6.12 Saturday, Jan 5th - Finalizing dances and scenes

After the full rehearsal went so bad the previous week, this time only single

scenes are going to be rehearsed. On the end of the weekend (Sunday) there

would be another full rehearsal with improved scenes.

Daily targets:

1. Creating horses for horse riders

2. Taking measurements of the children who play the trees

3. Rehearsing all dances and songs

Methods:

1. All four horses for four horse riders are going to be cut out of styrofoam

(only the horse's head). Then they will be painted with poster colors and put

on sticks.

3. See as above

Outcome:

1. The children had a lot of fun creating the horses and enjoyed painting them.

Not all four horses are done, but the rest can be done the next day.

2. Measurements are taken and the tailor will finish the tree costumes within 6

days.

3. The dances and songs improved, but sometimes the children still rush too

much. They either sing too fast or dance too fast. At least the dancing should

not be a problem later, because the real stage will be bigger and it will takethe children longer to do certain steps.

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6.13 Sunday, Jan 6th - The celebration dance

On this day the full rehearsal should at least be better than the week before.

Also most props have to be gathered together, to check, what is still needed.

Daily targets:

1. Create the celebration dance

2. Have a full rehearsal

Methods:

1. The last song is mostly individual, improvised dance. That way the children

can just try different things and see, what works best for them.

2. Like the week before, the full rehearsal should be as real to the children as

it will be on the day of the performance. That way an assistant will be in the

backstage area to tell the children when to enter stage and which props to

take.

Outcome:

1. When the children listened to the music everything went very chaotic. They

all went wildly across the stage area and nobody knew what to do. There was

no time to choreograph the whole dance though. So the children got divided in

groups of three or four to create something on their own. They really liked the

idea and developed steps in a group work.

2. Unlike the previous week, the full rehearsal was quite satisfying. This time it

was not too difficult any more for the children to remember when they had to

go on stage. Also they concentrated much better. One reason could be that

the warm-up was calmer this time, with less fun games.

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3. The rehearsal was mostly fine. It just seemed to trouble the children to

change their costumes quick enough. That way it came to some delays. But

costumes will be arranged different the next day at the venue. The children

will have a different dressing room. In the library, where the rehearsals took

place, things were more crowded and took longer.

In the evening, after the children left, some volunteers joined in to get all

props and things needed together for the next day. That way any stress on

the next morning could be prevented.

6.15 Sunday, Jan 13th - The performance

This day everyone involved into the musical (except of the children) would

meet between 11.00 and 11.30. All things would have to be put in the cars.

The children would reach by 12.00. Half an hour later everyone was supposed

to move to the venue. The venue could be used from 13.00 onwards and the

performance would happen at 6.30 PM.

When the children reached at the library, most of them were very excited and

some of them couldn't even find sleep in the night. They started fighting with

each other, probably to get rid of their tension. It was very hard to calm them

down and make them understand that they would still need their energy later

on.

By 1 PM everyone actually left the library. All children and volunteers got

introduced to the stage plan (who has to enter the stage when and where),

which was put up behind stage. Everyone had to have access to it and be

able to check it out, whenever necessary.

The warm-up started with half an hour delay (the warm-up is given in the

annex). By this time the children were so tensed, they could hardly

concentrate on it. That way it took even longer to finish the warm-up and

prepare them for the play (warming up the body, voice, getting involved withthe group, etc.).

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A first rehearsal without any props and costumes took place with more than

one hour delay. The children had to get used to the big stage and the

surroundings. Also light and sound had to get adjusted, which gave the

children some trouble and was very time consuming.

After a short brake everyone got dressed and ready for the dress rehearsal. It

was chaotic. All children had trouble with changing dresses fast enough. The

scenes themselves run mostly smooth though. Some props had to get fixed

(e.g. the huntsman's knife fell off) after the rehearsal.

It was only one hour left till the performance would start, by the time the

children got into their proper dresses and got their make-up. One girl, who

would play a tree, felt a bit awkward, because the make-up people did not

know that she would not be an odissi dancer. After she got a new make-up

she felt more comfortable.

Even though all those problems occurred, the play started with a packed

auditorium at 6.34 PM. Everything went quite smoothly and during a ten

minute brake the children got some drinks and could recover and get ready

for the last two scenes.

Only very few things went wrong, for example was a table missing at one time

and at another time two boys forgot to get changed after one scene. But they

still made it in time to enter stage.

As a little surprise, there was an alternative ending, the children were

suggesting earlier in the workshop. It wasn't matching the play though, why it

couldn't be used for the play itself. That way, when the whole play was over

and the children were still standing on stage, the host announced thealternative ending of 'Deewangi Deewangi' a song of the Hindi movie 'Om

Shanti Om'. All children enjoyed and even all Bakul members started dancing.

The response to the play was mostly good on this night. Most people said that

they really enjoyed and thought it being an interesting idea to perform a

children's musical with a pedagogical background.

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7. Expenses

A list of all expenses is attached in the annex. No sponsor could be found for

the production, so mainly the children's participation fees (in total 9000 Rs)

and some individual contributions made the production possible.

8. Evaluation

To get back to the general objectives (see page 6), now is the time to check, if

the workshop did reach its goals. Also it will be looked at other things which

occurred throughout the workshop.

8.1 General objectives

The first general objective is that the children should get interested in theater

and have fun with it. When the group of children and the facilitator had a

reflection round one week after the play was over, many of them said that

they had a great time, some even told that they had the best time of their

lives. Also during the workshop and at the venue, they seemed to enjoy the

community of the group as well as acting as such. That way the first objective

was absolutely achieved and probably even more than expected. One boy

asked, when the next workshop would be. When he got the answer, that it

might happen in one year from then, he said it would be so long till then. Also

many others, for example parents or people who had seen the play, asked

about another workshop which indicates that they became interested and did

have fun.

The second objective was achieved by staging 'Snow White and the Seven

Dwarfs' at Utkal Sangeeta Mahavidyalaya, an auditorium with 210 seats.

Objective number three wanted to let the children experience thedevelopment of a production. They actually got involved very well, because

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they did many things themselves. That way they had a chance of learning by

doing. Also the facilitator gave them an overview about all parts involved in

the production like volunteerism, expenses and organizing things (e.g.

booking an auditorium).

Objectives four and five are achieved in different ways. One is that all children

could join such activities they liked during the workshop. That means that

those children, who liked to paint, could do the painting and be creative in that

way and probably improve such skills. Other children liked dancing a lot and

were involved in more dances than others, so they might have developed

some more dancing skills. It is very difficult to make out, what a child really

learned throughout the workshop and what not. One reason is that the

children cannot be seen after the workshop, to observe behavior changes and

it also might take a while till a child utilizes its abilities. Still it was very obvious

that the children learned something, even if it was only social skills.

Through the different activities the children got involved into, they had many

possibilities of exploring their own abilities.

The last general objective was that the children's ideas had to be

implemented throughout the workshop. This happened for example in letting

them create the props, develop the dances and create their costumes. Also

the children gave many ideas in how to play a scene.

Generally, the objectives were achieved, but still many things can improve

next time.

8.2 The children's opinions

The children made some suggestions during the reflection. One idea was to

have more fun games and games, which make the children interact with each

other more. The group dynamic in this workshop was very good and the

children all got very friendly with each other. To tighten their relationships,more interaction between the children would definitely be required.

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Also they asked for more teamwork. This could be done for example in having

more activities during the warm-up which include all children. Only one or two

games were usually played in the warm-up which included all children.

Most children also said that the participation fee could be higher next time

(1000 Rs). Then the whole production could be financed with that money and

if a sponsor should be found, other expenses, like a bigger auditorium would

be possible.

The auditorium is another thing, which has to be different next time. The

venue was too small to accommodate all people. Some families even left

before the play started, because they couldn't see anything.

8.3 The facilitators evaluation

The facilitator criticized her time management. This would have to be more

organized next time. On some days time got wasted because the sound

system wasn't ready before the workshop started. Also getting costumes and

props together happened very late considering the time, which was there in

the beginning.

What was very amazing, was how the children became so friendly with each

other. It didn't take long till they were a big group of friends. There were not

any outsiders and all children took care of each other. One situation even

escalated a little bit at the New Years party, when five girls pulled one boy

because they all wanted to dance with him. They all loved to play with each

other. Sometimes, when the workshop was over, some participants used to

stay a little longer to play some fun games.

Also it was quite impressing to the facilitator that so many people from Bakul

supported this production, especially in the end, when so much help was

needed. If people could even give a few hours of their time, it was a great help

for the production. And if people could not be around some supported with

donations to make the event possible.Which leads to another point. For the next project it would be very important

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to find a sponsor in advance, so that the group does not need to rely on

personal, last minute contributions, which might not always be there. Also, like

the children suggested the participation fee could just be a little bit higher to

cover expenses, given that the families are able to afford it. This of course

would not work with children, e.g. from families below poverty line.

All in all the workshop went very well and was beyond the facilitators

expectations. She was very surprised by all the responses which came in,

positive as well as negative.

9. Conclusion

The circumstances given, like the short time and small budget, the project

went very well. Every child was satisfied as well as all parents and Bakul

members. Also many new inputs came up for future projects.

This concept of course can only give an idea about what was done during the

workshop and how much work was involved. Also it does not tell how many

people exactly volunteered (it has been many). But altogether anyone who

did, made it a success. The children too, had much more work, than it seems,

if one just reads this. They spent a lot of time at home, learning lines and

singing songs over and over. It should not be underestimated how much they

really did. It is not the case that the children just showed up for the workshop,

had some fun and went back home. But they learned something for life and

themselves and went home with having made many new friends.

Hopefully this project could be a beginning for a series of plays of fairytales

from all over the world, hosted by Bakul Foundation.

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Appendix 1

I: Expenses

Date Items Cost in Rs

04/ 12 Color Paper 210

04/ 12 Photocopies of poster 270

07/ 12 Cash Memo Book 35

08/ 12 Refreshments 129

09/ 12 Photocopies of script 135

09/ 12 CD's 36

10/ 12 CD's (one for each child) 135

15/ 12 Biscuits 260

16/ 12 Plates, glasses 25016/ 12 Lunch 450

20/ 12 Mosquito Spray 138

23/ 12 Refreshments 81

26/ 12 Photocopies 55

27/ 12 Color, glitter, silver Paper 82

28/ 12 Paper cups 136

28/ 12 Sticks & Peacock feathers 55

28/ 12 Snack Boxes 20028/ 12 Biscuits 84

03/ 01 Biscuits 69

03/ 01 Styrofoam 80

04/ 01 16 m fabric 612,50

05/ 01 2m fabric 70

05/ 01 Fevicol 4x, stapler 184

05/ 01 Orange drink 88

06/ 01 Brushes 30

06/ 01 Snack boxes (20) 160

08/ 01 ribbons etc. 64

11/ 01 Styrofoam 40

11/ 01 Tailor 1000

11/ 01 glitter ribbon, lace 41,50

13/ 01 Sweets and snacks 280

13/ 01 Auto rickshaw, popcorn etc. 120

13/ 01 light, sound, make-up 4000


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Appendix 2

13/ 01 Auditorium 7500 (incl. 2500 caution)

13/ 01 Videography 1000

20/ 01 Lunch 800


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Appendix 3

II: Warm-up's:

Before every rehearsal begins, the group starts with a warm-up. It is very

essential, because not only the body, but the mind and voice have to be

warmed. Every child also needs to reach the room, not only physically and it is

important that the group gets warm with each other each time before starting

to play. All warm-ups are written here, as if the facilitator would tell the

children. The facilitator needs to watch the group to know, when to proceed to

take the next step. Further it is important to keep in mind that even though a

warm-up is well planned, the procedure itself can be very different. If the

facilitator sees, for example, that a group doesnt like or understand a certain

game, the facilitator has to decide to proceed or to try something else. The

here shown warm-ups are presented, like they were planed, not like they

actually happened. There is an example of the beginning of the workshop, the

middle and the warm-up of the day of the performance.

Day 1, Dec 6th

Before the warm-up is started the facilitator explains the children why a warm-

up is so important before every rehearsal to give them a better understanding

of things.

- Walk around the backyard, dont go in groups. Everyone goes for

himself, in his own tempo.

- Look at the different things you see in the backyard. Look closely.

- Feel the ground under your feet as you walk. How does it feel like?

- Look up and see who else is there. Look into the childrens eyes.

- If you meet someone, wink to him, shake hands, meet with your feet,

little fingers, elbows, knees

- Welcome the next person you meet as if it was an alien, elephant, a


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Appendix 4

monkey,

- Get together in a big circle.

Name-game:

All stand in a circle. One person begins and says his/ her name and makes

a movement with this. The next person does the same, only with his own

name and a different movement. Once everyone introduced himself to the

group, one person says his own name, makes the movement and then

says the name and makes the movement of another person. This person

repeats and says the name and makes the movement of someone else.

This can be made more difficult after some time, e.g. could one only make

the movement.

Clap-Circle:

All participants stand in a circle. One person gives a clap to his neighbor

and this person gives it to the next person and so on. Once the clap

reached the facilitator again, he could change directions. Also after a while

everyone can decide himself in which direction his clap should go. To the

neighbor on the left or right side. If the group can manage, the clap could

also go to someone on the opposite side of the circle.

This game is very good to train the attention of the participants. They have

to pay attention to all people in the circle at once.

Huntsman & Rabbit:

With the same principle as the clap-circle, the participants give their

neighbor, whichever character is introduced by the facilitator. All

participants have to make the sound, as well as the movement of that

character. E.g. it starts with the rabbit, then there is a huntsman (shooting

sound), the wife of the huntsman (she calls: Darling, supper is waiting!),

the tourist (clacks of his camera) and God, who says the word Ohm and

makes a big circle with his arms.

The facilitator has to observe, of the group can handle so many characters

or not in one run. They can be used at the same time.

The last game in this warm-up is:


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Appendix 5

Clap-Impro:

Everyone stays in the circle. One person goes in the middle and starts to

play a scene. Another person joins in. After a while, someone will clap, the

actors stay in a freeze and the person who clapped tips on the shoulder of

that person, who should leave the scene. The new actor takes the same

position and a new scene starts, till someone claps again.

Dec 27th

- Walk around the backyard. Imagine you walk on the beach. How does

it feel like to walk in the sand?

- You are late for your train! Run, you have to catch it. Jump, you just

caught it!

- Walk in slow motion, have a dance with the next person you meet.

Walk normal. Imagine, you have a tray full of glasses of juice. You have

to keep the balance. Give one glass of juice to every other child.

- Come together in a circle.

Gift-circle:

The facilitator starts and gives an imaginative gift to the next person. It

should be extraordinary, such as a lamp bulb, a power plant, a leave etc.

The neighbor receives the gift, miming holding it, shows it to the group and

gives something else to the next person.

This game is good to train the imagination; the participants have to make

up things very fast and also they have to learn to take things how they

come and act that way.

In the end of this warm-up the children play molecules. Everyone walks

across the backyard, and when a number gets said out loud, this number

of people has to get together. If someone is leftover, this person has to

leave the game.


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Appendix 6

Jan, 13th

The warm-up starts with the huddle. Have the players stand close

together, with their arms around each others shoulders (called ahuddle). Ask them to close their eyes and be silent while you lead

them through a minute of deep inhales and exhales. When everyone

is relaxed, ask the players to move out from the huddle, continuing

to close their eyes and staying physically connected, if they can. Ask

them to get a sense of the room. Where are the other players?

Where are they in relation to everyone else? Tell them to explore

the stillness and the energy of the group. After a few minutes,remove a few players, who can then open their eyes and observe

what is happening. To end, have everyone open their eyes and

discuss the exercise. 1

- Move across the stage, look at everything intensely. Give

everything a name. A different name, e.g. a curtain could be a

car etc.

- Sing a line out of the Snow White musical for yourself. If youmeet someone, song that line to him and listen to his line.

Slowly walk in a huge circle and without talking the whole

group has to find a line they all sing.

- All stand in a circle.

Zip, Zap, Zop:

The group stands in a circle. The player who starts points across

the circle toanother player, makes eye contact, and says, Zip. The receiving

player points

to another person, makes eye contact, and says, Zap. The new

receiving player points across the circle and says, Zop. The game

continues with the words passed in this order. Players should try to

pass the proper word smoothly. This can also be played as an

1 Theatre-Based Techniques for Youth Peer Education: A Training Manual. Cydelle Berlin.

United Nations Population Fund. Arlington, 2005. Page 69


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Appendix 7

elimination game (i.e., if the receiver speaks incorrectly, he or she is

out of the game).2

- Stand still (everyone is still in the circle). Observe very closely. If

someone makes a movement, even the tiniest, repeat it, just a little bitbigger. And so on.

Actually a whole dance got developed during the warm-up, because the

children had so much fun and the music of the musical was played in the

background.

2 As above


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Appendix 8

III: Poster of the Performance:

Musical Production with Children

Documents

Transcript of Musical Production with Children