Masterpiece Theater

My moment was in the theater just like Jonah and Brendan (I try not to read blogs before I post, so as not to be swayed, but I happened to see theirs). :)

I sat in the theater for awhile trying to figure out how the type of play I saw on stage connected to the theories we've been learning about the past few weeks. I asked myself, what does it mean to a 4 or 5 year old to be on stage and put on a performance? What kind of meaning are they constructing about being on stage/performance?

Although at first it seemed like chaos on the stage, I quickly realized the richness of the development that was happening before me. Some kids stayed behind the stage to open and close the curtains, some kids put on costumes and pranced across the stage, some kids controlled the lights and sound from the stadium, and some kids made music in the back. While these elements weren't formally coming together to make a sophisticated show, each participant was constructing their own meaning as to what being a part of production means.

I was especially interested in one little girl who was manipulating the lights and sound. She could see what was happening on the stage and realized that if she pushed certain buttons, the feel of the whole theater would change. She spent a long time experimenting with the sound, sometimes repeating sounds over and over. She was in control of her environment and able to be a full participant in it.

While the production that was happening at the Children's Museum wasn't refined or polished, it had all the elements of a true production - stage management, extras, performers, musicians, and lights and sound. The children were able to move between roles and experiment within each role to find out the in's and out's of that role.