Day 107 - 09:59am, 17 April 2019
We go to see a puppet show at the library, except it isn't a puppet show, it's two storytellers. They use a Kamishibai - a Japanese paper theatre - where the story is told with the help of a series of visual story boards, along with songs and musical accompaniments. It's a shame how few children there are, particularly when it is free, because the performance deserves a larger audience. I sit behind Little Master so that I can curtail his interruptions. He doesn't get rhetorical questions or intended silence, rather he feels he needs to answer them. And he also feels the need to bring anything and everything back to his Pokemon obsession, whether the topic deserves it or not.
So I have mixed emotions as I do this. It's great to see him engaged, but I don't want his over-engagement lead to under-engagement for others, particularly as in this instance he is probably the oldest child there. I don't want to feel like I am stifling him and not letting express himself, but I don't want him to become the centre of attention for the wrong reasons. Thankfully, the storytellers take it in their stride and even adapt their story as necessary to honour the views of all those who are present. And surely that is what storytelling is all about, giving a voice to the audience to express their greatest hopes and fears.
No comments:
Post a Comment