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We are a group of friends/parents that run a not-for-profit cultural association in Spain.
This is our (bilingual!) blog about our theatre workshops for kids...

viernes, 18 de noviembre de 2011

Getting going... finding the right idea

While I'm on the subject of inspiration, I thought it might be a good idea to start making a list of songs, poems and stories that would make good children's theatre scripts. I'll get the ball rolling (but please chip in!).

So, based on our own personal experience, I can thoroughly recommend:

Both have:
  • a clear structure
  • the possibility for varied scenes/settings
  • lots of visual potentia
  • underlying messages that are relevant to young people but which adults can also relate to (they have universal appeal)
Other sources for theatre scripts that occur to me:
 In the Night Kitchen cover by SendakImage via Wikipedia
  • Still on a Maurice Sendak theme, In the Night Kitchen. Tthough this has always been a controversial book, I loved it as a child and it has that same magical feel to it as Where The Wild Things Are (though perhaps best to avoid the nudity issue!)
  • The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)
  • Storybooks like Simon Bartram's Man on the Moon (a day in the life of Bob)

  • Modern classics like Michael Rosen's We're Going on a Bear Hunt (perhaps changing the objective of the hunt - ghost, monster, treasure...?)



In terms of songs, perhaps:
  • Space Oddity (David Bowie)
  • Pierre (Carol King, but sung by The Dresden Dolls)
  • The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie (Mewithoutyou)
..... I'm open to suggestions! So fire away......












  

8 comentarios:

  1. how about "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"? Maybe as a starting point not a whole play?

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  2. Hi Anna, Thanks very much for putting the Drama Resource link on your blog. I enjoyed reading it very much and will mention it in my next newsletter as I think it will be of interest to the readers!

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  3. There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly

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  4. OK, I've thought of a few more:

    For a simple play/show, The Bones song (or the Skeleton Dance). Could perhaps be extended into a longer choreography about the human body with kids as different bones?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e54m6XOpRgU

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  5. A song that could be used as the basis for a longer play is The Ugly Bug Ball. Lots of creepy crawlies (worms, crickets, fleas, beetles, butterflies....), potential either for complex, colourfull costumes or simple masks. Scope for dancing (as it's about a ball!)

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  6. Here's the link:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHdKEhFM7mY

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  7. Other songs that might work either as a starting point or as the structure to a play:

    Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO23WBji_Z0&feature=related

    She's Leaving Home (The Beatles)

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