Momotaro And The Ogre is a fun collaborative effort to educate children on theatre and practical values, writes Aref Omar
THE popular Japanese folktale of a magical young boy whose kindness, bravery and friendship enables him to save his village from a fearsome ogre will be retold by Anak Chintan Theatre.
Founded by theatre practitioners Marina Tan and David Chin early this year, the group’s production of Momotaro And The Ogre will feature close to 30 children aged 9 to 15.
Of that group, 10 of the young participants were fielded by Yayasan Chow Kit, with the rest from members of the public. All had auditioned for the show in August.
The family theatre performance will be staged at the Damansara Performing Arts Centre (DPaC) from Wednesday to Sunday. When met in Phileo Damansara, Petaling Jaya, both Tan and Chin were enthusiastic about their production, a pilot project featuring a community-partnering initiative using theatre as a platform to develop the wellbeing of a diverse group of children and teens.
CHAMPION ASIAN FOLKTALES
With the staging of Momotaro And The Ogre, Chin explains that it fulfils one of the objectives of Anak Chintan Teatre, which is to champion Asian folktales.
“We find that theatre and drama works directed at young people mostly come from western countries, so we feel a need to reacquaint local children with their own stories,” Chin says.
The fun-filled show will be set in a traditional Malaysian village where two teachers share the Japanese folktale with their boisterous group of children. Captivated by the story, the youngsters imagine how the story plays out and follow the rollicking adventures of Momotaro, the Peach Boy of Japan, and his animal companions — a dog, a monkey and a pheasant — as they travel on an epic journey to defeat a fearsome ogre.
With a combination of narration, dialogue, music and movement, as well as exciting action and interaction, the show is expected to engage, delight and tickle family members and children aged 3 and above.
Tan explains that one of the things they liked about the legend was the assortment of characters in the story that learn valuable lessons about empathy, cooperation, diversity and friendship.
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
But more importantly, this production is also a collaborative effort. “We are very grateful for the support of the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur that has enabled the participation of Japanese facilitators Shoichi Ayada and Kuala Lumpur-based Doppo Narita,” says Tan.
Ayada, who is also present, explains that he believes theatre can develop abilities in children.
A freelance actor and educationist, he has conducted hundreds of theatre workshops in urban and rural areas of Japan, many of which have led to actual performances by participants. Ayada has worked with children and adults, as well as teachers and the disabled. He also teaches a performing arts course at Saitama Prefectural High School of the Arts.
“We are not teachers but artists. We are also outsiders to the children and teachers, so we’re able to provide a different perspective,” he says.
Ayada is a key member of NPO, Japan’s leading company in conducting a communication education project by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Through this project, which began in 2010, he has been facilitating a lot of theatre workshops in schools all over Japan to improve students’ communication ability.
“It’s been a great opportunity to learn how they do things, absorb their knowledge and experience so we can do similar things with our own stories in the future,” says Tan.
The children in the show underwent a month-long workshop to perform, work on set and props, as well as create costumes for the show, under the guidance of various facilitators. “The children worked together to come up with the storyline and basic ideas based on the legend,” says Tan.
After Tan and Chin finalised the script, the children were divided into different groups to work on their tasks. Tan explains that it was an exciting, fun and challenging experience for all involved. “The adults are accountable for the show but the kids take ownership and they learnt lessons in conflict resolution and cooperation,” she says, adding that the children, who were from diverse backgrounds, were provided with a safe space to get comfortable and to try things out.
The upcoming run of Momotari And The Ogre will be the first phase for Anak Chintan Theatre’s pilot project. The second phase will hopefully see the group working with a new set of young participants from Penang early next year.
Tan says that the hour-long show will include a Q&A session for the children and families in the audience to get a feel of what it was like to create the production. Chin says: “We are also happy to be able to support Yayasan Chow Kit with a charity show on Saturday to help raise funds and spread awareness on their mission.”
WPRKSHOP SERIES
Aside from Momotaro And The Ogre, Ayada will also present a workshop series for trainers from Tuesday to Thursday, 7pm-10pm.
Titled Using Theatre Skills To Work With Kids, the workshop is limited to 20 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. The three-day evening sessions at DPaC will encompass physical theatre activities, exercises and games, creative activities, and discussion/Q&A.
Participants will have the opportunity to be trained in, observe, practise and ask questions about some of the techniques Ayada uses in dealing with children and teens. The workshops are aimed at teachers, home-schooling parents, children’s workshop facilitators, directors and coaches of children’s and family theatre.
“These skills are useful for adults to get children to focus, take ownership and have the discipline and concentration to listen, pick an objective and fulfil that objective,” says Tan.
Admission is RM250. To register, send a Facebook message to Anak Chintan Theatre (www.facebook.com/AnakChintan) or email chintan.theatre@gmail.com with Subject Heading: “SHOICHI AYADA WORKSHOP”.