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The story of The boy who cried wolf was a story that frightened me when I was young.  I remember feeling that it was very unjust that the sheep suffered because of the boy’s stupidity.

In the version I tell and have recorded below I tried to tell it in a way that the children would recognise and relate to the boy and ultimately his mistaken actions.

Although I would love to include the traditional ending (a pretty gruesome end for the sheep and a whole other discussion that is worth having), I have chosen to clearly state the message for the under five age group it is intended for.  See what you think…

Ziggy cries wolf by AJ by Tavelling Tales

Ideas for teachers and parents.

I go through the actions of eating, brushing, putting on jacket, and walking with the children.  You could sing to the song (Mary had a little lamb) and join in the “Wolf, wolf” call.

I’ve been hanging out with 4 to 5 year olds this last few weeks.   I love it.  I’m not sure if you all realise it, but kids are very cool.  Adults are cool too… just some of them have forgotten how to be cool.

Children say what they mean.  We some times don’t like it but we know exactly what they are saying… no bones about it.

If they say “I hate hate you”; when you giving them a consequence for saying “It’s not ok to stick your finger that far up Luke (a friend)’s nose”…. they’re saying that because they know, that you know, that they kinda know that it’s not exactly the right thing to do.  Adults should (and I don’t use the word ’should’ that often) know how to be more diplomatic and still get the idea across.

Children are honest if we give them the chance to be.   They are inquisitive if we encourage it.  They will excel beyond our wildest dreams if we give them the time to be children; to explore the relationships around them and experience  the natural world they have been born to.  Many adults forget this.  Ah too busy and caught up in the adult world.

Kids rock!  I see them get so engrossed in new stuff  that happens.  Take a group of children watching a cater pillar turn into a chrysalis…I’ve observed it (many times) and  trust me it looks like it’s lots of  pain… but the children are  in wonder, next thing they know they  have a chrysalis not a caterpillar and we all  go … wow!

I have to add here I just watched a grown woman with 6 children see this happen for her fist time and her reaction was wondrous (big smile)…. she took the time.

Adults are often cynical;  pretentious;  caught up in the identity of themselves; what they can do, where they’re going or what they stand for…( I can go on)  …that they forget the ’stuff’.

We need to stop what were doing and spend time with our worlds babes.  We need to learn from them, not mold them.  Don’t get me wrong there are consequences for actions, but do we want clones?  Do we want to reproduce replicas? Is our best intention to create someone who did or didn’t do what we did, wanted to do?  To create someone that does what we were expected to do?  Or can we offer a clean sheet of paper for them to doodle on?

Children vs adults?  I like both, I just think we need to be firm with our children (to be corny… our future) but let them be kids.

On the flip side I think we as adults need to be honest and true to the kid in us (corny again) and remember how much fun and painful it can be… to be a child.

I think I like kids better, little or big. -x-

I think the worst tag for 2010 I’ve heard so far was ‘Two thousand and zen’?  It sounds far to laid back for me.  Last year was a ripper and my plans for a sedate year this year seem to be fading fast as my brain shuffles through the multitude of options and projects possible.

I intend to relive around Kindergartens this year… one needs dosh… and after spending my first week relieving I must admit I love it.  I’m even looking forward to going to work tomorrow.  The staff are great and the kids are fabulous.  I had forgotten how much fun it is exploring the world with the children.  They come out with some awesome concepts… hard not to laugh out loud sometimes and I find them creatively inspiring.

As always storytelling is something I adore, reading them and telling them.  I recon it’s time to add to my mental collection and spend time time in front of the mirror practicing new characters… Note:  I don’t spend to much time gazing at these characters or I would freak myself out, get self conscious and never do it in public.  I do however need to make sure they work… Note 2:  One of my big sisters does like to tell the story about me practicing crying in front of the mirror as a child, ha ha very funny… Last laughs on her cause my other big sister told me recently that she used to catch her practicing smiling sweetly!

Working on a performance piece with Felix at the moment but will let you know more about that when it gets on further.

There is a lot of inquiries about the Raglan Community Theatre, if it’s happening this year and when.  I intend to get this going again late February.  Those of you that are keen, let me know what nights are good and we will work from there.

There’s also the fact that I have a Masters to finish.

Well I think that’s enough to keep me relatively busy, but I haven’t mastered the word ‘No’ yet so there may be more yet.

Oh and the other thing is to try and post regular posts on this blog.  See I am already coming up with more stuff to do…

Ah my pretties…well actually my wonderful actors for The Lover by Gregorio  Martinez Sierra.  I directed this piece for my final assessment piece for the Uni paper, Directing for Theatre.  We performed it at The Raglan Community Theatre showcase Over the Fence and at the Newplace Theatre for Get it on! My cast included Liz Hoskings, Chrissy Hodkinson and Donald Tweedie.  They were an awesome trio to work with and the final result was a very satisfying A+.

About the play

From afar The Lover has admired his beloved Queen. He has sold his business to free up time and money so he may remain close to her. For twenty years the Queen has seen his face; at church, at the theatre, at the park, everywhere she goes. She has been acutely aware of his presence, feeding her curiosity.

A chance accident throws her into his arms, saving her from injury. To her Lady in Waiting’s horror the Queen seizes the opportunity to discover who this man is, by thanking him in person… and alone.

Sierra’s story illustrates a turning point in a story that has spanned twenty years. A peek through a window, at the human condition of devotion and its place, or lack of in society.

About the Author

Gregorio Martinez Sierra (1881-1947) was a Spanish playwright, director, theatre manager and author. He and his wife Maria collaborated to write many original plays and to transcribe others from English, French and Catalan into Spanish.

Sierra was an important figure in Spanish theatre. He managed the Eslava Theatre in Madrid and set up the company ‘Teatro de Arte’. He was influenced by the works of Reinhardt, Stanislavsky and Meyerhold. Sierra was well known for introducing new set design into the Spanish theatre and collaborated with a range of artists to create spectacular productions.

Sierra believed that “social progress is individual progress and individual progress is spiritual progress whose conquests are first recorded in the heart” (Underhill, 1929). This philosophy lead him to write about human or social axioms, probing universal passions or emotions. We see this in The Lover where he addresses and illustrates the idea of devotion.

Some times things come into our life that we just can’t resist.

Meet Boo.  Boo is a doll in the same fashion as those garden gnomes that get photographed around the world.

I ended up with Boo because a friend who had her is technologically retarded and has difficulty uploading a photo onto her computer.  The result was a barage of cries asking “Where is Boo” from her facebook friends.  Yes Boo has her own facebook page.

Enter AJ, who obviously has too much time on her hands OR enjoys a distraction which allows for procrastination.  Since getting her Boo has joined Uni in Theatre Studies (of course), got herself various part time jobs… and lost them, been a radio DJ, got into gardening and done tasteful artistic photo shoots for a local photographer.  Some of these are still to be posted to her face book page as I have been so busy snapping shots there is no way she could have done all that in such a small amount of time.

Now is it just me or do others enjoy silly little missions where you can be creative and have an artistic excuse for not getting on with other ‘important’ stuff or do we all need a little bit of silly in our lives to keep us balanced.

Daffodils that resembled some of the Raglan Community Theatre crew were seen running amuck at the Spring Fling held in Raglan on Saturday.

The sign read “A donation makes the Daffodils move”.  (Maybe not that creative but it was painted by two daffs after a few wines the night before).  The passer bys were generous and we managed to raise a fair amount for the Cancer Society.

It was a first time a street performance for quite a few members of the bunch, not that you would have known it.  Along the way we picked up a spider and a baby bulb who got right into the spirit of things.

Little do they know that it was the fun before the grind of rehearsal for this years show case…. Bahaha.

Tash, Linda, Roz, AJ and Kate

Wow, it’s over and I feel a little lost now.

We had a lot of fantastic feedback.  The older audience members came up with “Oh, I remember that”, while younger members remember their Grandparents telling them about that.  One woman had lost both her grandparents and thanked us for stories she may not have otherwise got.

The cast were brilliant and I can’t thank them enough for the time they put into rehearsals.  A big thanks to Kate for her stunning voice, to Sam for the radical hair do’s and to Felix for the sound.

I have had a call from one of the community radios inquiring about RB & SS so our next step will be recording it because it will work on radio as a form of storytelling.

What next?  Oh that’s right casting for The Lover by Martinez Sierra for my Directing for Theatre paper… no rest for the beautiful!

Tash, Rozz and Linda

As part of my studies I had to create a piece of Reminiscence Theatre.  I decided on the topic about ‘Managing the rations during WW2′.  I coax 3 wonderful women to tell me some stories and Bob’s your uncle I was underway.   It was challenging but the results were worth it.  We performed the piece last month and have 3 shows coming up:

Friday 17th July 7.30pm and Saturday 18th July 3pm and 7.30pm.  Contact me if you are interested in tickets as bookings are essential.

I have a fabulous cast, a great singer and a genius sound designer.  My lecturer was very supportive, convincing me to try ‘in the round’.  So the first time I ever saw anything performed in the round was when I directed it.  Perfect for this play as it created an intimate setting where the audience found that they really felt part of what was happening.

What is Reminiscence Theatre?

Reminiscence theatre is a form of documentary theatre that uses authentic sources such as reports, speeches, interview, statements by well know personalities, press-,radio-, photo-, or film reports from which to draw its material.
Reminiscence theatre deals primarily with the remembrances of our older members of society.  So often we do not take the time to stop and listen to their stories of how things used to be and the wisdom that comes from a life time of experience.  How can we move forward and appreciate what we have if we do not know where we have been?  Reminiscence theatre places these stories in an accessible realm.

Rancid butter and Silk stockings is the result of interviewing 3 remarkable women, who from different perspectives shared with me their stories about the rationing during WW2.  All the words in the play were their words.  I transcribed their interview and took the liberty of editing their stories to form a dramatic structure.

I thought I’d include the tasty tale of Chomper and Muncher for you to listen to.  This is an example of the amazing imagination that children have.  A young chap, all of 3 years old had a fasination with dinosaurs… nay, an obsession with dinosaurs and the fact that the feirce tyrannosaurus rex ‘chomped’ and ‘munched’ on other less fortunate dinosaurs.  This is the story that he and I created one afternoon hanging out and playing with the plastic dinosaurs.

It is important to take the time to listen to the stories that children tell.  I loved this story so much i included it on my CD and now tell it with puppets.  Enjoy!

An oldie but a goody. The classic tale of a dough boy who runs as fast as he can, but can’t beat his destiny.