Richard Sweeny said... The birth of paper originates from a need to write, illustrate and document. It is the medium on which marks are made. But when creative attention is turned to the material itself the true personality of paper emerges and the creative potential of this humble material is unleashed.
We are four drama workers who one day decided it would be great fun to create a show from paper. So we got together and made one!
darts delivers lots of workshops to Early Years groups. They are a lot of fun and we are generally over subscribed for the sessions. So we decided to extend our arm out a little further.
Instead of delivering constant workshops – why don't we create a piece of theatre specifically for our Early Years audience? And the plan was hatched!
We then had to decide on the content of the show.
We have all worked in Early Years for quite some time and have seen the challenges teachers and practitioners face with time / resources / budget etc.
We were clear we wanted to create something that could be easily sourced, used, recreated and extended. Something that was both exciting and simple in the same breath.
We looked to the basics and began to explore their potential. Paper stood out as a clear contender – and we were surprised at its diversity. Over the rehearsal period we developed characters, a story line and most importantly ways of using paper.
We worked and played for four days to develop an interactive performance piece that aims to:
• invite young children to engage, participate and create.
• model ways of using simple resources (paper) to create 'imaginary worlds'.
• invite practitioners to extend the model and develop the work in the classroom. ensure a rich and dramatic experience for both children and practitioners alike.
• encourage our passion for play.
The 'Just a piece of Paper' performance will be touring settings from the autumn and a resource pack supports the performance. If you are interested in finding out more, please email: darts@thepoint.org.uk