Learning about puppet making? Check! Learning about stage making? Check!
Next up, learning how to perform!
A selected group of K2s had an enriching afternoon on 5th July, 2017, as they attended a final workshop of shadow puppetry. This time, they were taught the skill of performing a shadow puppet show. They had soak up as much knowledge as they could on this workshop as they have to put up not just one, but TWO brilliant performances about the Singapore story. These performances would be in conjunction with the National Day celebration, where for one, parents would be invited to come down to celebrate this joyous occasion with their little ones. The other one would be performed as part of the programme as we visit a nursing home to bring them the National Day festive spirit!
Our delightful trainers began with explaining the script that would be used as well as assigning roles to every child. They could barely contain their excitement as they gripped on their assigned puppets.
Before using the giant stage the K1s have worked on in the previous workshop, they tried acting out their puppets againts the whiteboard. This is mainly to understand the flow of the story as well as getting a hang of how to handle the puppets.
After practicing against the whiteboard several times, the kids were ready to take on the stage. So off they went into the big cardboard theatre for an actual shadow puppet play.
They tried running through the entire script with the stage. Despite having practiced against the whiteboard, it was still challenging for them as they performed under different condition. They had to be mindful of how they held the puppets so as not to block the light, as well as being careful not to apply too much pressure on the cloth since their puppets have to be pressed against the screen. These are just a few things out of many, many, many things they have to work on. With just a few weeks left to rehearse, it might sound mighty tough. But in the quest of bringing joy to everyone around us, were our children afraid of taking on this challenge? Not at all. They are all fearless (little) big dreamers!
With love,
MK@Westwood
