Let's go to Gangwon Riverside Theater! projects
Hyokkori Theater

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Schedule/Program

‍2023/10/7 (Sat) 14:00-15:30
“Let's experience theater! Trial Workshop” (1st)

venues‍

Gangwon Riverside Theater
65-10 Hioki, Hidaka-cho, Toyooka-shi, Hyogo 669-5311

What is the summaryHere

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This is the first drama workshop involving children with disabilities, etc. held with the cooperation of Toyooka City and local support schools. There will also be a 2nd trial workshop on 10/14 the following week, then interested participants will be recruited again, and a work will be created through a total of 8 exercises, and a presentation is also scheduled for the last day, 12/17.
While support school staff and city hall staff also watch over the surrounding area as support members, participants and all staff members form a circle and start by introducing themselves.

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At first, I was free to sit anywhere I wanted and formed a circle, but after introducing myself, I decided to change the order of names. Naturally, “communication” is necessary in order to sort, and the names of people next to each other are checked. If the sorting in order of names goes well, the next step is to have them sort in order of birthdays. But now the rule “don't speak out” will be added. Everyone devises ways such as creating numbers with their fingers, and rearranges them over time. This is also a work for thinking about and putting into practice various means of “communication.”
Next, it's a game where you “clap each other” while in a circle. One person turns to the person they want to send (consciously) and claps. It's repeated that the person who received it will now send it to the next person again. The kids, who were shy at first, gradually began to spin quickly, and you can see that everyone is enjoying it.
As these simple tasks are repeated, the tension of the participants is gradually relieved, and the characteristics of each are also understood by the staff.

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The last one is a gesture game. It's a game where you set a subject, add movement to express it, and guess what the subject was. First, I'll show you a gesture with the theme “bus” as a sample by the staff. Even when it comes to gestures, they can also make a voice. The rule is that you don't even have to mention the word “bus.” The structure shows a short short play, so to speak. Participants who understand the content are divided into 3 teams, with staff, and each starts by first thinking about the subject, and even discusses how to structure the gesture (play).

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After a meeting for about 20 minutes and practice time, each team performs a “gesture (play)” with questions in front of everyone in the form of a presentation. The 3 teams performed the theme (“Haunted House,” “Demon Extermination,” and “Disneyland”) for 3 people, and it was a very interesting work in itself. Also, the viewers will do their best to guess the subject while having fun.
While it was a very easy game to enjoy, it also looked like a very minimal structure of a “play,” and it was a very well thought out and meaningful workshop for children to experience it in a short time.

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After finishing everything, we all joined the circle one last time, and the staff explained that today's session was a trial, that if they were interested, that they would like them to participate in the next one, and that if they seemed interested in making a “play” like today, they would definitely like them to participate in the 8 rehearsals for the recital.
All of the participants had a very fulfilled expression, and I felt that they were full of desire to participate in the event.

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Gangwon Riverside Theater has been doing workshops using theater together with support schools for a long time, and since they also have that know-how, they have succeeded in reliably conveying the appeal of theater to participants and their parents while creating a very smooth and enjoyable atmosphere.
The support staff also looked at the scene with great pleasure, and they happily tweeted, “It's been a while since I laughed.”
I felt it would be nice if these activities could be applied to other regions as well.
I definitely want to go see the December recital as well.

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Report: Fukunaga Mitsuhiro