ActingLikeChildrenwasathree‐dayevent,whichexaminedthenotionofplayingchildrenandyoungpeopleinworkmadeforchildrenandyoungpeople.Eachdaywasledbyadifferenttheatrecompany:

• PolkaTheatre–JonathanLloyd,ArtisticDirectorofLondon’sPolkaTheatreledthefirstsessionheldon16thApril2011from10am–4pmatRoseBrufordCollege

• TravellingLight–JudeMerrill,artisticproducerofthisBristolbasedtheatrecompanyledthesecondsessionon12thMay2011from10.30am–5pm,whichwasheldatTheEgginBath

• ActionTransportTheatre–KevinDyerAssociateWriterforthiscompanybasedinEllesmerePort,ledthefinalsessionwithArtisticDirectorNinaHajiyiannion21stJune2011from10am–5pmatTheBirminghamRep

Itwasintendedfor:

• individualsandcompanieswithinthesectorwhowanttoexploreandconsolidatetheirpractice

• Actinggraduatesinterestedindevelopingtheircraft• Studentsoncourseswithchildren’stheatremodules• Lecturersandteacherswhodeliverchildren’stheatremodules

TheeventwassupportedbyRoseBrufordCollege,TYA‐UK,ArtsCouncilEngland,CheshireWestandCheshireBoroughCouncilandBristolCityCouncil.Participantswerecharged£40withconcessionsavailablefor£25TheeventwasdocumentedaspartoftheworkoftheTYACentrebyJeremyHarrisonandwasattendedbystudentsfromourMATYAandtheprogramme’smanagerRichardSadler.Whatfollowsisanaccountofeachofthethreedaysillustratedbyfilmclips.ThecompletefootagefromthethreedaysisavailabletoviewattheTYACentreArchivebyappointmentonly.

PolkaTheatre:JonathanLloyd(ArtisticDirector)LamorbeyHouse,RoseBrufordCollege16thApril2011ThesessionwasattendedbyamixofdelegatesincludingfirstandsecondyearstudentsfromRoseBruford’sActingandActorMusicianshipcoursesandleadingpractitionersfromthesectorsuchasVickyIreland,JudeMerrill,JoBellolliandKevinDyer.TheguestspeakerwasDavidHarradineofFeveredSleepandJackPenfold,directorofPolka’sproductionofTheMachineGunners1andcastmemberMichaelImerson.Theeventbeganwithadiscussionexploringthetheme.TherewasthenakeynotespeechfromDavidHarradine,followedbyquestions.AfterashortbreaktherewasapresentationfocussingonTheMachineGunners,ledbythedirectorandamemberofthecast.Afterlunchtheparticipantsweredividedintofourgroupsandaskedtoexploreextractsfromplaysthatincludedtherepresentationofchildrenoryoungpeople.Thetextschosenwere:

1. ChildoftheDividebySudhaBhuchar22. CloudPicturesbyMikeKenny33. TheMonsterUndertheBedbyKevinDyer44. ShoppingforShoesbyTimCrouch5

Thedayendedwithashowingoftheseextractsandaplenary.AccountThesessionisintroducedbyJonathanLloydwhobeginsbyinvitingKevinDyer(AssociateWriter,ActionTransportTheatre)andJudeMerrill(TravellingLight)toexplainwhathadmotivatedtheevent:

1TheMachineGunnerswasadaptedforthestagebyAliTaylorfromthenovelbyRobertWestall.ItwasproducedatPolkafrom11thFebto9thApril2011beforegoingonashorttour.DirectedbyAdamPenfold,thecastincludedMatthewBrown,MichaelImerson,ClaireSundin,ChrisCoxon,DavidKirkbrideandScottTurnbull.ItwasdesignedbySimonKenny,withsounddesignbyTomGibbonsandlightingbyEmmaChapman.TheshowfollowedthestoryofaFirstWorldWarGermanpilotheldprisonerbyagangofkidsaftercrashingonBritishsoil.Theproductionwasaimedat9–13yearolds.2ChildoftheDivide(Bhuchar.S:A&CBlacks,2006)wasproducedbyTamashaTheatreCompanyandPolkaandpremieredinMay2006atPolkaTheatre.IttellsthestoryofanIndianboyaccidentallyabandonedataboardercrossingandbroughtupbyaMuslimfamily,beforebeingreconnectedtohisHindurootssevenyearslater.3CloudPicturesbyMikeKennywasfirstperformedatThePolkaTheatreon20thJune2007.TheplayexploresfriendshipthroughthestoryofTheowho’sfriendBeenyhastomoveaway.Itisaimedatchildrenages5to8.4TheMonsterUndertheBed(Dyer.K&Home.S:HarperCollins,2010)producedbyPolkaTheatretellsthestoryofBenwhoavoidsgoingtoschoolbypersuadingamonster,frombeneathhisbed,totakehisplacefortheday.5ShoppingForShoes(Crouch.T:FaberandFaber,2003)hasbeenproducedbyanumberofcompaniesincludingPolkaandVisibleFictions.Itis‘ananti‐globilisationlovestory’,toldbyoneperformerand30pairsofshoes.Itisaimedatyoungteenagers.

KW:‘Alotofprotagonistsinyoungpeople’stheatreareyoungprotagonists,oftenplayedbypeoplewhoarenotyoung.Andwejustkeptcomingoutofshowssaying,‘Jesustheywerecrapweren’tthey!’.Whyisitthatrightattheveryheartofourcraftarebadperformancesandisn’tittimewesorteditout?Nowthat’sobviouslyanoverstatement,becausealotofperformancesarefantastic,butwejustthoughtitwasworthlookingatgiventhatthisissueisatthecentreofwhatwedo.’JM:‘Whycan’ttheyallbefantasticandhowdothegoodonesgetthere?’Jonathanthenintroducesthefirstexercise:

• Participantshadbeenaskedtobringaphotographofthemselvesaschildren.Theyareinstructedtofindapartnerwhotheyhavenotmet.Theyaretotalkaboutthephotowiththeirpartner.Thepartnerthenshareswhattheyhavelearntwiththegroup

Astheysharethephotoswiththegroupthereisalotoflaughterandsome‘ahhs’.Thereissomethingaboutthejuxtapositionofadultandchildthatdelightsthegroup.TheylaughgentlyatstoriesaboutvisitstoFatherChristmas,ill‐fittingearwarmers,DIYhairdosanddeadhedgehogs.Allarefocussed,fascinated,sympathetic.Thereisanairofwhimsyintheroom.Filmclip:PolkaChildExerciseWethenmoveontothekeynotespeechdeliveredbyDavidHarradine,ArtisticDirectorofFeveredSleep.WhatfollowsisthespeechasitappearsinablogpostedonTheFutureplaygroundon16thApril2011at1pm:‘In literary theory and film studies, the concept of “identification”, drawn from psychoanalysis, describes a psychological relationship between the reader of a novel and a character in the book, or between a spectator in the audience and a character on screen. In both cases, readers and spectators see themselves in the fictional character.!! This idea of identification can also be applied to live performance. We accept that in watching theatre, or indeed in engaging with any kind of art, we search for ourselves in the mirror that it holds up to us. This may not be a conscious process – theories of identification suggest that it’s largely unconscious – but in watching others perform, whilst seeing outside ourselves, we are also able to see ourselves, and see ourselves better.!! This of course is a very adult way of thinking about theatre watching, and I suspect that for children, especially for children of different ages, the experience is a very different one. For an older child, who is fully self-conscious of him or herself as an individual moving through the world, perhaps this process of identification and self-seeking comes into play. For

a young child, though, say for a child under five, I suspect that the experience of theatre is much more of an extraordinary slipperiness where the real world as you understand it transforms into a new kind of real world, the absolutely real pretend world of performance.!! As adult theatre goers, we also choose to watch things which show us radically different ways of living and being, theatre is also valuable because it allows us to access experiences and identities that are profoundly different from our own. At the risk of being provocative, I wonder then why it is that so much theatre for children focuses on children: on child characters. !! Is it a legacy of the influence of children’s literature on the children’s theatre landscape: the dozens and dozens and dozens of adaptations of children’s books in which children take on a central role? Or is it because we think that children can only identify with or understand the experiences of other children, that they cannot show interest in or engagement with an adult’s experiences? And if this is the case, do we project this assumption onto children because too many adults fail to show interest in or engagement with the experiences of a child? !!I suppose, at the risk of being provocative, I wonder why it is that whereas as adult theatre watchers we seek out and value theatre that shows us people and lives and situations that are beyond our own experience, as adult theatre makers we feel that children want or need to watch theatre which shows them representations of children on stage. !!I know from experience that in making theatre for children, there is a great concern to create work that will engage its audience, that will invite and enable people to focus and to listen and to watch. Perhaps it is through a fear of disengagement that so much theatre for children grows from adaptations of stories that children will know, showing them characters – child characters – with whom they can identify. !! Whatever the reason for their presence, children are frequently represented on stage by adult performers, and actors and directors are faced with the difficult challenge of making these representations ring true. !! Theatre for children is a strange place where people of one generation create work to which people of another generation are compelled to come. I feel strongly that this compulsion – the taking of a child to the theatre – brings a great responsibility to theatre makers and presenters, a responsibility to do what we do as brilliantly as we possibly can. Not to do things well, but to do things brilliantly, or at least to try. For this reason I think this project – Acting Like Children – is important, and long overdue. !!I should declare now that I feel like the imposter in the room. Although I do direct performances, I also design, and my work encompasses dance, installation and visual art as well as theatre. I have never found myself working with actors on the development of character, nor ever have I found myself consciously trying to create the character of a child on stage. So in

thinking about this presentation, I did rather wonder what to focus on that might provide useful food for thought for the workshops today and for the future incarnations of the project.!! I’d like to show some extracts from, and talk about, two projects which I’ve made with Fevered Sleep. Brilliant, a theatre piece for 3 to 5 year old children, performed by adults; and On Ageing, a theatre piece for adults, performed by children. !!You Tube clip of : BRILLIANT http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n5Pl5vSPfN0 Brilliant was the final part in a trilogy of projects that grew from thinking about the daily rituals of a child’s life. Following a show about mealtime, Feast Your Eyes, and an exploration of water and the play that comes at bath time, And the Rain Falls Down, Brilliant explores the deep emotions, wild imaginings and strange events that happen as we go to bed and drift to sleep.!! Brilliant grew out of a long process of research and development in which we did a lot of close work with children, exploring light and darkness; talking about the moon; hearing children’s ideas about where light comes from; playing with various light sources and objects; and testing the limits of the subject matter with children of different ages – through which we quickly learned, for example, that where a 3 year old might be thrilled by the dark, a 2 year old was usually just scared. !! Through this process it was possible for us to simply observe children’s reactions and behaviours, and to be specific about the different ideas of different children of different ages in different places. This specificity felt important: rather than generalising our thinking about what light and darkness means to a non-existent “universal child” we observed and recorded the details of actual thoughts and reactions from particular children, and these details accumulated into the starting points of our devising process.!! In the devising of Brilliant, as with all our work, we brought a load of stuff together and simply played. We played with light, we played with music, we played with elements of design and with fragments of narrative, we played with space, we played with movement. !! Laura Cubitt, the performer who created Brilliant with us, is a genius at play. Fearless, foolish, expressive, sensitive, and above all playful – all in all the perfect performer - Laura is a tall woman in her early thirties. Throughout the devising process, we never, once, talked about her playing a child. I spoke to Laura as an adult, and she played and improvised as an adult. The

emotions she expressed were an adult’s, the body she moves is clearly an adult’s. So we were surprised when we started to read reviews of the show: !! ‘Brilliant follows a child preparing for bed and sinking into the dark, mysterious world of night and the imagination. "I can see the universe and the universe can see me," says Laura Cubitt's child in a show that becomes a series of mirrored reflections bouncing back off each other.’! Lyn Gardner’s review for The Guardian!! ‘As a young girl settles down for the night, the curtains open behind her into her imagination’! Nuala Calvi’s review for The Stage .!! ‘The main character…captures a child's spirit with delicacy and delight.’ !Online review!! This final quote, I think, starts to move us towards the heart of things: she “captures a child’s spirit”. This is not about acting like a child; nor about becoming a child, as though through some regressive kind of method acting: the heart of things is something to do with being like a child. Not acting childish, but being childlike; not pretending to be a child, but remaining an adult who discovers a child’s spirit of openness and play.!! The process of becoming adult is a process of repetition and sedimentation: our childhood play is a way for us to navigate our existence through a baffling and frequently threatening world. Through it we learn, and we repeat and test and repeat and learn, and we form habits and we develop our way of being adult. Creativity, in adults, is just an ongoing relationship with this process of exploratory play that is the basis for children’s being. Play is not a form of entertainment, it’s a form of survival, it’s a rehearsal for existing in the world, it’s experimental, and it’s vital. This is why all animals play, why birds play, why children play.!! When I was a student at Middlesex University, studying under John Wright, we learned the archetypes. The hero, the mother, the trickster, the child. The archetype of the child encountered the world here – through the chest – and to find this quality we were encouraged to open our breath and our bodies and our hearts, making ourselves vulnerable, opening ourselves up, letting the world in.!! When we toured Brilliant in 2008 and 2009, after every show, Laura would tell me what the children on the front row had whispered to her. Often she would be the only person able to hear, and she told stories of their instructions: telling her what to do and where to go; stories of their comforting, telling her not to be afraid of the dark; stories of how they spoke to each other, describing to each other what she was doing and what she was feeling. !!

This returns us to that idea of identification with which I started: I think those children, whispering to Laura in the dark, were identifying with her not because she was acting like a child, but because, in her playfulness and with her heart wide open to the world we’d made in that theatre, she was being like a child, and the children in the audience recognised her as one of their own.!!! ON AGEING! By way of a coda, I’d like to talk about On Ageing, a show we made last year with the Young Vic. As its name suggests, On Ageing explored ageing as a lifelong process of change, and it was especially interesting for us as it was performed by 7 children, aged between 7 and 13. !!On Ageing combined verbatim texts about ageing from people aged between 4 and 86 with a choreography of hundreds of objects that represented the accumulation of a life lived. Its structure was a visual rather than a narrative one – we started with an empty space and finished when it was full of stuff.!! The children who performed the show didn’t have any experience of professional performance; we’d deliberately avoided children with stage school training or other professional experience in our casting workshops. They were very skilled at being children – it kind of came naturally to them – but we did have to spend some time in the initial rehearsals making it clear that we didn’t want them to pretend to be old people, or to take on the character of the people whose words they spoke. !! We always, simply, wanted them to try to be themselves, to be a 7 year old or an 11 year old or a 13 year old. The success of the piece rested in the strange relationship between the matter of factness of their presence as children, the material they spoke, and the objects with which they played.!! What became very clear through this process seems so obvious that it probably goes without saying: that each of these children was as profoundly individual and peculiar and different from each of the others as I am as different from each of you. !! Vaughn, a 13 year old boy, was possessed of an extraordinary stillness and calm, and a very dry sense of humour. Joe, an 11 year old boy found it hard not to grin, to smile, to laugh, and at the same time he was fairly fiercely clever, and was a brilliant improviser because he had brilliant ideas. Tsipora, an 11 year old girl, never smiled, never changed expression, was superb at text, and incredibly shy. Madeleine, a 10 year old girl, was a clown, somehow old and wise at the same time as being silly and daft. Theo, 7, cried when he didn’t win the warm up games and stunned us all with extraordinarily passionate piano playing during a break in rehearsals. !!

“Just be yourselves” we said to these children, and they did. They were all children before an audience in a theatre, and they were all totally different from each other, profoundly, radically, individual and different, each of them themselves. A seven year old boy is more different from a 13 year old boy than a 37 year old man is from a 43 year old man, although the difference in years is the same. And this is before we even start to think about individuality: which 7 year old do I mean, in what cultural context, at what time, from which family, moving through what landscapes, in which place? !!Acting like children is acknowledging this plurality, the difference and distinctiveness at the centre of every person, a distinctiveness and difference which is even more acute in children than in adults. Acting like children means you can never generalise.!! Acting like children is remembering to play, and opening your heart so wide that you cry if you lose a simple ball game. !! Acting like children is the process of an adult identifying with, and becoming like, a child. !!For actors and for directors this process is difficult and it is dangerous, and it is joyful and emotional, because it’s difficult and dangerous and joyful and emotional to be a child.’ !!© David Harradine 2011 JonathanLloydthengoesontotalkaboutchildrenasperformersJohnathantalksabouttheexperienceofwatchingSuzanneOsten’sproductionofherplayTheGirl,theMotherandtheRubbish6,duringwhichareal8yearoldissubstitutedfortheadultactorplayingTi,thegirlatthecentreofthestory.Itisatapointinthenarrativewhenaninterventionfromasocialworkerhasresultedinherbeingremovedfromhermother’scare.Theaudiencewerestilledbythissuddeninclusionofarealchild,herecalls;‘Itwastrulyshocking’.Forhimtheaudiencewere,atthatmoment,facedwiththerealityofthisexperiencefromachild’sperspective.Hereflectsonthenotionofdistanceand‘safety’offeredbyadultsplayingchildren,a‘usefulbarrier’thatmayattimesfacilitatestheportrayalofthemesthatmayotherwisebeproblematic.HethendiscussesWhoseAfraidoftheBogeyman7byMikeKenny.Hereschoolchildren,underthedirectionoftheirteachers,playadultsconfrontedbythe

6TheGirl,theMotherandtheRubbishisaplayfor‘everyoneaged7+’byrenownedSwedishtheatrepractitionerandacademicProfessorSuzanneOsten.TheplaywasproducedbyhercompanyUngaClaraandseenintheUKatTheUnicornTheatre,LondoninOctober2006aspartofSmallFeetGoFar,aculturaleventforchildrenfeaturingworkfromSweden.AswithmuchofOsten’sworkitchallengeswhatissuitablecontentforchildren,tellingthestoryofTi,an8yearold,trappedinaworlddominatedbyrubbishandhermother,whoistormentedbymentalillness,characterisedasdemonsMessrsPolterandGeist.7WhoseAfraidoftheBogeymanwaswrittenbyMikeKennyin2007aspartofthePlayhouseproject,whichisacollaborationbetweenPolkaTheatre,DundeeRepertoryTheatre,PlymouthTheatreRoyalandYorkTheatreRoyal.Theprojectencourageschildrenandteacherstoengageintheatre,throughthegenerationofnewworkbyanestablishedwriter.Theplayconcernsamotherwhobeginstosuspectamaleneighbour,whenherdaughterislatereturningfromschool.ItwasperformedbyErnesettleCommunityPrimarySchool,Plymouthon11thJuly2007

horrorofamissingchild.Againthedistanceofferedbythisconventionenablestheaudiencetoseethecharacter’sactionsfromanewperspective:Filmclip:Polka5Jack,amemberoffrontofhousestafffromPolka,suggeststhatitisimportantforadultstoplaythechildreninplayssuchasTheMachineGunners,astheexperiencesofthecharactersaresoharrowingthatitwouldbemoreupsettingfortheyoungaudienceiftheywereplayedbychildactors.MichaelImersonsuggeststhatitmaybeeasiertoacceptchildrenactinginfilmbecauseofthedistanceofferedbythemedium.Intheatre,ontheotherhand,thelivenessofthecontextmaymakethismoredifficultorlessacceptable.Thegroupthendiscussthepracticallimitationsofworkingwithchildactors:lackoftechnicalacumen,restrictionsrelatingtoworkinghoursetc.CaseStudy:Polka’sproductionofTheMachineGunnersThissectionofthedaybeganbytheviewingoffootageshowingchildrendiscussingtheirexperiencesofwatchingtheshow.Thepoorqualityoftheaudioandproblemsrelatingtoclearanceforpublicdomainviewing,meansthatthishasnotbeenincludedinthisaccount.Whatfollows,however,isfilmofdirectorJackPenfoldandactorMichaelImersondiscussingtheprocessofadultactorsrealisingchildreninthisproduction.Itendswithadiscussionofworkfortheunder5swithcontributionsfromJoBelloliandanactorfromanItalianchildren’stheatrecompany,whotalksaboutworkingwithchildrenaspartofthedevelopmentprocess.Heremarksontheimportanceofbuildinganhonestrelationshipwiththeaudiencethatincludesbeinghonestaboutthefactthatyouareanadult.FilmclipALCPolka6stilltobeuploadedFinalExerciseInthefinalphaseoftheday,delegatesweresplitintogroupsandsentintootherroomsinordertoworkonextractsfromplaysthatportraychildren.Whatfollowsarefilmedclipsoftheseextractsandsomeofthediscussionthatfollowedthem.ChildoftheDivideThefirstgroupwereledbyJoBelloliandlookedatChildoftheDividebySudhaBhuchar.Thematerialiscomplexanddealswithissuesrelatingtoculturalidentity.Theysuggestthatthisisperhapseasiertoapproachusingadultactors.Theyspeakaboutthecluessuggestedinthetext,whichfreetheactorfromhavingtodefinetheageofthecharacterinotherways.Thedialoguereflectsthecomplexityofthechild’sinnerfeelings,evenifachildofthatagewouldnotinrealitybeabletogivevoicetothosefeelingssofullyorwiththatclarity.

Filmclip:ChildoftheDivideCloudPicturesThisgrouplookedatMikeKenny’splayfor5to8yearolds.Theytriedmovingbetweencrassoverblownchoicesandmoresubtleadult‐centredapproaches(‘justbeyourself’).Theapproachthatcrystallisedintheshowingwasinformedbybothperspectives.Theydiscussthedifficultiesofshiftingbetweennarrationandcharacterdialogue–dobothrepresentthechild’svoice?Thechildcharactersalsoliveinthemomentinsuchawaythatsub‐textualmeaningsarenotplayedinthesamewayonemightwithadultcharacters.Filmclip:cloudpicturesTheMonsterUndertheBedThisgroupledbyJudeMerrillexploredanextractfromKevinDyer’splayTheMonsterUndertheBed.Discussionsfocusonthedeeperresonancesoftheplay.ForthemtheMonsterisalsoachildcharacter,throughwhomweseesomeofthemorecomplexfeelingschildrenexperiencetodowithfittinginandforgingrelationships.Filmclip:MonsterUndertheBedShoppingforShoes8KevinDyerleadsthisgroupinanexplorationofthisextractfromTimCrouch’splay.Theclipoffersacomparisonbetweentheplayingofthecentralteenagegirlbyayoungactressandanolderman.Inbothcasesitisthetextthatidentifiestheactorasayoungpersonintheaudience’simaginationandthis,thegroupsuggests,isthemainvehicleoftransformation.Thereisalsoadiscussionoftheneedtoshowbothnegativeandpositiveaspectsofchildbehaiviour,whichmaysometimesfeellikeadifficultchoicetomakewhenoneisperformingforayoungeraudience.Filmclip:shoppingforshoesstilltobeuploadedThedaywindsupfollowingthiscommentfromJoBelloli:JB:‘There’salwaysroomforalightnessoftouchandwewantthatvarietyofexperienceforthechildaudience,asweseekitforadults.ButIdothinkthatchildrengenerallyareveryserious.Theycanbereallyfunnyandhaveagoodsenseofhumor,butthereisgenerallyasenseofseriousness.There’saseriousattentionpaidtodoingthingsrightandfollowingthelaworsteppingawayfromthoserules.It’saseriousbusiness.’Insummary

8followthislinktoseeanextractfromVisibleFictionsproductionofShoppingforShoes

Themesfromthatemergefromthedayinclude:• Theimpactofchoosingadultactorsoverchildactorswhenrepresenting

childrenonstage• Theroleofplayinbothprocessandperformance• Theadult’sownrelationshiptotheirownmemoryofchildhoodandtothe

notionofbeingchildlike• Thecomplexityandseriousnessofthechildhoodexperienceandhowthis

isexpressedinplaysaboutchildren• Theroleoftextualinformationversusvisual,inthereceptionofchild

roles;whatthetexttellsusthattheactormaynotneedto

TravellingLight:JudeMerrill(ArtisticProducer)TheEgg,Bath12thMay2011ThiseventwasorganizedandchairedbyJudeMerrill.Therewereapproximately23peopleinattendance.ParticipantsincludeddirectorSallyCookson,actorCraigEdwards,VickyIreland,KevinLewisofTeatrLoloandstudentsfromRoseBruford’sMATYA.Theeventcomprisedof:

• Anintroductorysession• ApresentationbydirectorSallyCookson9andperformerCraigEdwards• AperformanceofTravellingLight’sproductionLostandFound• WorkshopsbySallyCooksonandCraigEdwards• Plenary

AccountThedaybeginswiththefollowingexercise:• Inpairsthegroupareaskedtofindoutwhatsortofchildtheirpartnerswere.

Theyarethentofeedbackbysharingthreewordsthattheyfeelsummarisewhattheyhavediscovered.

Listedbelowofthedescriptionssharedinthefeedbacksession:• Free‐ranging,animal‐friendly,happy• Imaginative,shy,deceitful• Energetic,lovesdancing• Sly,philosophical,dreaming• Hyper,restless,dancing• Loud,bossy,adancer• Shy,bolshy• Bullied,short‐sighted,wingy• Fussy,raw‐potato,bullied• Mischievous,rebellious,talkative• Sneaky,timid,bookworm

9BristolbasedSallyCooksonisoneofthecountry’sleadingdirectorsofworkforchildrenandyoungpeople.HeradaptationofMichaelRosen’sWe’reGoingonaBearHuntcontinuestotournumber‐onevenuesaroundtheUKandsheregularlycreatesworkforTravellingLightandregionaltheatres,includingBristolOldVic’srecentproductionofTreasureIsland(July‐August2011)

• Dramatic,loud,repressed• Shy,observant,administrator• Shy,strange• Energetic,busy,fearful• Expressive,caring,over‐excited• Orderly,know‐it‐all• Sickly,wet,joker• Aleader,frisky,escapeartist• Precocious,shy,insular• Lively,energetic,loud• Story‐loving,shy,imaginary• Imaginative,loud,out‐going• Tomboy,outdoorsy,energetic

SallyCooksonisthenintroducedtodelivera‘Not­Masterclass’Sallytalksaboutherownmethodologyandapproachtoworkthatusesadultactorsinchildroles.Hercentraltenetinthesecircumstancesis‘lessismore’andthiswasinformedbyanexperienceshehadasayoungactress:SC:‘IwasreallykeentomaketheaudiencebelievethatIwas12yearsold…afteropeningnightIwaspickedoutinsomescathingreviews…andtheonethathasstayedwithmeandisbrandedinmyheadwasonebyNicholasdeJonghthatread‘SallyCooksonhopsaroundthestagelikeabunnyrabbitandhassurelybeengivenelocutionlessonsfromBonnyLangford’…onreflectionIrealisedthathewasright.Hehadseenanactorworkingincrediblyhardatshowingachild.IwassobusydemonstratingthatIdidnottrustthatmyaudiencehadanimagination.’Asadirector,sheexplains,herjobisfrequentlyaboutstrippingaway,encouragingtheactortobeclosertothemselves.Shepreferstoseesomethingoftheactor’sownpersonalityonthestage,requiringtheactorstobeveryopen,andheraudiencetobeanactivecollaboratorintheconstructionofthechildcharacter.ShethenintroducesanextractfromLENNY:TheBoyWhoWantedToBeATrain10featuringCraigEdwards:Filmclip:Lenny1Sallythenleadsadiscussionaboutwhattheyhaveseen,fromwhichthefollowingobservationsaremade:

• Theylearnheisachildfromwhathehassaid• Heworkswiththeenergyofachild

10Lenny:theboywhowantedtobeatrainwasa2007TravellingLightproductiontranslatedbyPaulHarmanfromtheplaybyFrancisMonty,forages10–18.ItwentontotourtoTheUnicorninOctober2008.

Sallysuggeststhatthemostimportantthingforheristomakesurethattheactorknowsthegivencircumstancesofthecharacterinordertoinvestfullyinthemoment.Itisthecontextprovidedbythetextanddesignelementssuchascostumethattelltheaudienceheisachild,releasingtheactortosimplyplaythemoment.Craigobservesthathesimplyplayswhatthecharacterwants.Itisthenatureofthewantthattellsusheisachild.Thereisthenadiscussionaboutthepresenceofanadultvoiceinthetext;asenseofagrown‐upLennylookingbackonhisownchildhood.Anotherlayerofcomplexityisadded,Craigremarks,duringthepassagesofnarration.HereLennyexpressesasenseofself‐knowledgethathedoesnotpossesswhen‘inthemoment’asachild.ThismaysuggestapositionofadultretrospectionormaybethemorearticulateinnervoiceofthechildLenny.SallythenintroducesasecondextractfromtheplayinwhichLennyencountersothercharacterssuchashismotherandolderbrother:Filmclip:Lenny2Theybothtalkaboutthedesiretomakethetransformationsassubtleaspossible.Physicalchoicessuchaslookingupattheoldercharacters,theforwardmotionoftheassertiveolderbrotherversusthedrivingbackoftheyoungerLennyalladdedclarityandtexture.Craigchoseastrongerandlowervocalchoicetodescribethedifferenceinageandconfidenceoftheolderbrother.KevinLewis,whohadalsoplayedLenny,talksaboutthelackofcertaintysurroundingthecharacter’sage.Forhimitwasfortheaudiencetodecide.Sallythenintroducesthefollowingexercise:

• Craigisaskedtoentertheroomasathreeoldchild,splashinginpuddles.Theonlythingheistoconsideristhisobjective:‘youwanttosplashasdeeplyinthepuddlesaspossible’,whichshesuggestsisonethatmightbelongtoachildofthatage.

• Heisthenaskedtorepeattheexercise,butthistimeheistotryto‘show’thechild

Filmclip:ThreeyearoldexerciseThegroupthendiscusstheirownexperiencesofplayingchildren.Atendencytooverphysicaliseseemstobeacommonfirstinstinctandmaybeausefulwayin.Oneparticipantasks:dochildrenactuallyrecognisetheadultactorasachild?ForSallyCooksontheanswerisinformedbytheageoftheaudience.Ifveryyoungtheymaynot,buttheymaystillrecogniseandenjoyplayfulnessdepictedonstage.

KevinLewistalksaboutthesignalsgivenbycostumeanddesignthatevenyoungaudiencemembersmayacceptassignifiersofachildcharacter.Thisineffectformsthecontractbetweenaudienceandactor,whichpresumablymustthenbehonored.TheydiscussDennisPotter’sBlueRememberedHills,aplayforadultsinwhichchildrenweredepictedbyadultactors.SallyCooksonremarksonMichaelElphick’sperformanceinthetelevisionversion,whichshecitesasagoodexampleofsomeonedoingverylittleandyetachievingtransformation:FollowthislinkforaclipofColinWellandandMichaelElphickinBlueRememberedHills(ElphickisPeterwiththeshorterhairandwithoutatanktop)AnotherparticipantrecountsherexperienceofbeinginDavidGlass’sproductionoftheplay.Therehearsalprocessinvolvedtheactorsbeingaskedtoplayaschildren.Theywereaskedtoinvestigatepropssuchasanoldmattress,theplaywasthenanalysedbyGlassforwhatitrevealedaboutthecharacter.Theactorschosetheirownclothesfromcharityshops.Thegroupnowdividetoattendtheworkshopsbeforelunch,followedbytheperformanceofLostandFound.SallyCookson’sworkshopSally’sworkshopfocusesondevelopingthreequalities:

1. Openness–bothtootheractorsandtoaudience2. Playfulness–asenseofjoyandpleasure3. Complicite–togethernesscreatedthroughplay

Afteraplayfulphysicalwarm‐up,thegroupareaskedtoperformasimplephysicaltask:theyaretocomeintothespaceoneatatimeandareeachgivenasinglelineoftext:“IamOne”,“IamTwo”etc.Oncetheyhavealldonethistheyallsay:‘TogetherweareEight”Participantsareencouragedtofindpleasureintheexercises:‘don’tperformthepleasure,internaliseit’.Astheexercisedevelopstheyaregivenascenariotoexplore:thefirstdayatschool;eachisgivenasecretobjective.Thegroupmustguesseachobjectiveafterwards.Thisisthenrepeatedbutthistimethescenarioischangedtoanadultcontext:thefirstdayattheoffice.Finallytheyaskedtoreturntothechildscenariobutmaintainthephysicalityoftheadult.CraigEdward’sworkshop

Craig’sworkshopagainfocusesonplayandagainprioritisesphysicality.Itsaimistogetthegrouptoexperienceplayasachildmight.Exercise1:

Chairsarearrangedinthespace.Everyonesitsdownexceptforoneperson;leavinganemptychair.Thegrouphavetoworktogethertopreventthepersonfrombeingabletositdown,bysittingintheemptychairs.

Craigtalksaboutchildren’sattitudetogamesandwhattheycanrevealaboutthechild.Hegivesanexampleofastreetperformanceheoncesaw,whentwochildvolunteerswereaskedtoracefromAtoBinfrontofanaudience.Eachtimetheperformerwouldrewardtheloserwithapound,beforerepeatingtherace.Thechildwhowonfirsttimecontinuedtowanttowineventhoughheknewhewasnotreceivingthereward.‘WhenIplayachild’hesays,‘Ineedtoknowwhatachildmightbethinking’Exercise2:

Inpairsthegrouphavetoimproviseusingthefollowingrules:AsaystoB‘Ihaveagiftforyou’.Bthenasksquestions,thefirstofwhichbeing‘CanIopenit?’.Ahastoanswer‘Yes’toallquestions.Thepairareaskedtophysicalisetheexchange.TheexerciseisthenrepeatedbutthistimeeachtimeAhastoreply‘Yesand…’extendingthescenariobeforeB’snextquestion.

Craigsuggeststhatthegameillustrateshowasadultsweareusedtoself‐censoring,whichiscircumnavigatedbythespontaneityinsistedoninthetask.Children,ontheotherhand,arecensoredfrequentlybyadults(parents,teachersetc),infantasyplay,however,theyarelesslikelytoself‐censorthanadults.ThesessionendswithExercise3:

Craigleadsastorytellingexercise.Hebeginsastorybutstopsfrequentlytoillicithelpfromtheaudience.“Onceuponatimetherewasa…?”andsoon.Theresultingstoryisacollectiveimprovisation.

PlenaryTheplenarysessionbeginswithaconversationaboutthethemesexploredinLenny:theboywhowantedtobeatrain.Thereisthenadiscussionabouthowcompanieschosematerialthatisrelevanttoayoungaudience,exploringtherelationshipbetweenchoicesdrivenbyartistsandthosethatcomedirectlyfromchildrenandyoungpeople.