The Theatre Times: Laouni Bellil (Mascara, Algeria) is an emerging talented – theatre actor, storyteller and director specializing in children’s theatre, puppetry and storytelling. He holds a B.A. and M.A. from the Drama Academy at the University of Oran, where his artistic and academic work focused on the development and direction of puppet theatre for young audiences. Over the past decade, he has led and facilitated numerous theatre workshops for children across Algeria, including in Oran, Algiers, Mascara and Adrar.
7 comments:
In reading this article, I was struck by how much thought goes into storytelling for children. It makes a lot of sense – children are sponges and are going to pick up the things that they hear in the content they consume.
In particular, the bit about making sure the humor lies in the action and not characters making fun of one another. This must teach children what is funny as their sense of humor develops. I still think about how the books and movies I read as a kid shaped my sense of humor as an adult.
I did find some of the questions in this article a little pointed. I would have liked the artist to be the one leading the conversation, and it seemed like the interviewer was asking questions they already knew the answers to. Instead of “Should the child simply listen to the story, or should they become part of it?” maybe they could have asked something like “How do the children usually interact and react to the story?” This would give the artist a chance to be the one to talk about the children being immersed in the story.
I really enjoyed reading this interview about the experience of children’s theater and performance in different countries and cultures. Becoming a specialist in studying the adaption of theater into different culture sounds like an incredibly interesting subject. I think it is pretty well understood that just language translation is already a very challenging art to do, so adapting cultural contexts in theater sounds even more difficult. I thought the interview laid out many interesting points about making theater for children, and how they are pretty different from a “standard” theater audience. It is definitely difficult to put together children’s theater, whether that is adults performing for children or children performing, since kids obviously just don’t have fully developed brains and understanding of weird concepts like “suspension of disbelief.” However, it is definitely worth it to put the effort into organizing children’s theater. Like the article mentions, it is incredibly valuable to use stories and theater to teach children emotional concepts, but in a more interesting way than just sounding like a boring lesson.
Story telling, more so than anything else, really is what makes us humans, and I think in an age where AI is becoming more and more of a thing, it's important to step back and take a look at what makes an important, impactful story. I really like that this interview focuses on the importance of approachability for the story. If something is hard to engage with, it's going to engage less people. Which isn't to say that things shouldn't be challenging ever, but there needs to be some point of entry so that people can absorb the ideas the story is hoping to convey. The idea that a story should be in the local language or dialect is especially interesting. It makes sense that children find it easier to learn from stories that feel meant for them, with characters that they can relate to. It feels like we should attempt this more often in western theatre instead of trying to get kids interested in theatre by forcing Shakespeare down their throats and then wondering why everyone thinks they hate plays so much.
Making theatre for children is a completely different practice than making theatre for adults. Special care needs to be taken when dealing with children that wouldn't be necessary when making theatre for adults. For example, tying theatre the rhythm, folklore, and humor are crucial for children to resonate with a piece.
I wonder why this can't be the case for more "adult" theatre productions? I question if we take theatre too seriously, and what would happen if we heavily incorporate the motifs Laouni provides in his practice. This practice works well in literature, as evident in George Orwell's "Animal Farm." However, I'm not familiar with any well known theatre works that implement a similar tactic. Maybe I just need to be familiar with more plays.
I personally resonated with the idea and desire for a story to be seen, felt and experienced. Growing up I used theatre as an outlet to express myself. I hope this blissful ideation won't go away as I enter into this industry as an adult.
I found the discussion of children’s storytelling really interesting because it shows how theatre can aid and fabricate entire worlds of imagination for children without needing elaborate scenery or technology. I especially liked Bellil’s point that a storyteller can use their voice, movement, body, and pauses to become multiple characters, while encouraging the audience to imagine everything else. His emphasis on making children active participants also stood out to me. It is a reminder of the relationship between audience and actor. It opened my eyes to the ability of children's theatre and emphasises some cool tactics that help keep children involved. I also think his discussion about adapting stories to local culture is important - it is vital that we remember not to focus solely on Western stories. This interview made me think about how effective theatre can be when it connects directly to an audience’s own experience - how it questions and shapes their own imagination, experiences, and culture.
I think it is incredibly important to bring theater to everyone, especially kids. Theater can have an incredible impact on young children. It can show them what is possible and encourage them to dream big. I like how Laouni Bellil connects with the kids by using their local dialect and characters that they can relate to. Being able to see yourself in a piece of media inspires you to dive deeper into that world. Giving these kids a sense of community in theater will grow their confidence and make them feel seen. They are the next generation of theater makers, so it is pivotal that they are given a place where they feel safe and at home. I also appreciate that the humor used in the stories is not made to put others down. Children imitate what they see, so pushing kindness and empathy in these stories will make better humans.
I think exposing kids to story telling is a really important experience and to turn it into theatrical story telling makes the experience even more vivid to children. Those costumes, scenery, and the characters they create make these stories come alive and be more memorable in the kids' memories. When it comes to children’s theatre it really is important to over exaggerates the characters as those types of characters ignite imagination. But ultimately I agree with the author that it is most important that the story is spoken in the local language of the kids. There is usually a hidden lesson and culture hidden throughout childhood stories. To input those cultures and lessons you have to know the language and what the children are currently being taught. One of the most prominent things children remember years later are the stories they are told as children. To entwine those stories with theatrics hopefully encourages the newest generation to appreciate the arts.
Post a Comment