Theatre becomes child's play
By Emma Masters
From space travelling babies through to an orphanage for lost toys,
there was drama and fun for kids, families and UniSA students at the
Adelaide Festival Centre during the July school holidays.
As part of Windmill Performing Arts’ Little Season for young children, 24 UniSA early childhood education students presented free workshops as follow-up activities to two Windmill theatre productions, The Flying Babies and Fluff.
The 45 minute workshops, designed by the education students with UniSA education lecturer Jeff Meiners and Windmill’s arts project officer Julie Orchard, incorporated themes from both the theatre performances and included activities that were both educational and fun, from picture matching and art construction through to music and dancing. They also encouraged the children’s carers, families and friends to join in.
Dean Drilling, grandparent of a six-year-old participating in the workshop said he, his wife and granddaughter all enjoyed the play, Fluff.
“It’s great because the play is pitched at the kids’ level and they engage and interact throughout,” Drilling said.
“My granddaughter really enjoyed it and it was great to share the play and workshop with her – it’s something we can all talk about together.”
Orchard said the interaction between the children and their accompanying guardians was an important focus of the workshops.
“We’re really thrilled with the way the play and workshops work together and include everyone,” Orchard said.
“It’s that sense of sharing something with each other and exploring the ideas of the show that makes the workshops extra special.”
Co-leader of the collaborative program, Meiners said the UniSA-Windmill partnership provided a great opportunity for UniSA students to gain valuable experience working with young children in an arts environment.
“It’s a great learning experience for the students, applying their skills and knowledge in a context that is very different from the basic classroom situation,” Meiners said.
“The workshops are very challenging because the students have to make quick relationships with people they don’t know and keep the group working together cohesively.
“The experience also gives them a variety of skills, from developing their teaching techniques and behaviour management to learning how to include the children’s responses into the workshop plan.”
Leah Johnson, a second year UniSA student volunteering for the entire play season, said she loved the opportunity to work with children’s theatre, especially with a company like Windmill. Similar sentiments were expressed by her workshop peers, some back volunteering for a second year.
“It’s a wonderful experience and opportunity to work in arts education – children’s theatre is so much fun,” Johnson said.
“I mean, why should children miss out on theatre because they’re deemed too young – kids can learn such a lot from drama and play.”
And while Windmill celebrates its second birthday this year as a theatre company dedicated to presenting quality drama to South Australian children, it is also celebrating an ongoing relationship with UniSA.
“The collaboration is exciting because it gives something to everyone – the students get great value from it and in terms of future employment, it is certainly adding to their experience,” Orchard said.
“It also brings the skills and knowledge of students to the table and because we’re after quality and best practice, we go to a university for that.”