ArtsHub Australia: The arts play a vital role in helping young people engage with the world around them, improving motivation, concentration, confidence, and social and emotional development. Two new works at Arts Centre Melbourne are getting in early, targeting children four and under – even babies – by providing them with access to original artistic experiences.
3 comments:
I love this! As a member of a generation that is becoming increasingly dependent on technology and increasingly less personal with one another, it is reassuring that other people see this and are taking steps to ensure that our children are not the same way. One of my biggest fears is that this habit of not actually speaking to human beings passes on to all of our children, and that the world becomes an Apple-driven place filled with people who don't know anymore how to make conversation or appreciate art when it's in front of them. I think the establishment of interactive theatre is just so important to children's development as well as some form of parental wake up call by way of human interaction and connection, because the less we teach our children to be involved and connect with others, the less empathy the next generation is going to have for each other.
Art is oh so important, no matter what age. However, it's the most important when you're young. Experiencing art (in any form) in your formative years sets the stage (sometimes literally) for the rest of your life. Whether it's seeing children's theater, or listening to music, those experiences will stick with you, subconsciously or consciously, for the rest of your life. I'm sure that we all can name some artistic event from our childhood that made an impact on us. Beyond this though, art is a magnificent tool that can connect kids and adults. By getting all the generations interested in something, you create a society of people that appreciates art, even if the art is a performance of the Wiggles. It's important for kids to be able to create their own art as well. By having control over what they're creating, they start developing ideas about the art and about the world they're in.
This is an adorable idea, and I really applaud the creators for stretching the creative limits of children's theatre to bring something that isn't over stimulating or hyper-active. Rain and White seem like mature pieces of theatre that are as wonderful for the kids as they aren't mind melting for the adults. It must also be great for young mothers and fathers to have an entire half hour of silence and concentration with their children. There probably aren't many hours in the day where they can claim complete calm. And it's awesome for young parents to be able to go out to see theatre, even with their young children! I know parents who haven't seen a real movie in a real theatre for over five years because they couldn't afford a day away from their kids. Drop Bear Theatre should definitely try to find its way out of Australia and into other locations. I know that a lot of hippy mothers and fathers on both the East and West coast would die to have this experience with their babies.
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