ARTISTIC EXPERIENCES IN THE FIRST YEARS OF LIFE
(Support material for the stage productions created within the Glitterbird program)
I have seen a great variety of productions meant for children, both as a mother and as a teacher dealing with small children, especially the age-group that are taken to infant nurseries. Within the productions there were ones which were real experiences and other less memorable ones.
In a conversation after one of the rehearsals János Novák has said that a production meant for children had to suit a double requirement:
a./ it has to be a work of art,
b./ it has to be decodable by children (it’s not necessary for the whole to be decodable, if some levels or moments are decodable that may be enough for the children to perceive what they’ve seen and heard as a good experience for them.).
It is also clear from the context of the conversation that this double requirement must be in balance and harmony since the overemphasizing of either one means that the other one is inevitably damaged. Thus it is easy to create productions of high artistic quality which are not comprehensible for children, or performances professionally adjusted to the supposed development of the children, which interestingly enough underrate it in some respect, resulting in didactic or babbling, less-valuable works.
The above mentioned double requirement also supplies the two approaches and main standpoints for the possible analysis of the productions.
Of these aspects, due to my profession, I would like to speak on the subject of decoding. Analysis from an artistic point of view is beyond my competence.
My aim is a short summary of early development, experience elaboration and learning, together with the methodology connected to these topics used in day nurseries, to give the artists working in productions some reinforcement and some basis for their further work.
In any case, I regard creating productions for children under-three a very positive initiative, and appreciate the fact that the artists know and deal with the fact that in many respects this age group has to be presented with different material and in a different way than kindergarten or school-going children.
The three Hungarian groups of artists taking part in the Glitterbird program could meet the double requirement in the development of the productions.
Why is the Glitterbird program important?
- We have known for long that - based on research – artistic experiences already determine the development of our lives within the womb, so caring about this cannot be commenced too early.
- Artistic productions for the smallest are basically lacking from the offers.
Traditional children’s theatre can be recommended to subsequent age-groups, as they are normative in ways more than one: on the one hand a certain level of behavioral culture is expected of the children in the theatre (to sit quietly during the performance, to pay attention, etc.). On the other hand, the events on stage follow a certain dramaturgy according to the imagination of the playwright and not to the needs of the audience; the child is expected to understand the play. In certain cases adults also formulate expectations detailing what kind of plays should be understood by children in certain age-groups and how. A lot of parents use children’s theatre as a direct opportunity of helping development.
Interactive children’s productions give something more and different in many respects, even though creating norms is present here as well: it is fairly accurately regulated when and in what way children can join in the performance, and in this respect extroverted children have an advantage compared to their more reserved, more difficultly opening peers (the latter also having to experience the failure of being considered weaker in the desired communication by their environment than those dancing-singing-reciting on stage or their peers replying to the artists from the auditorium.) A lot of times adults don’t really think about how a part of those children who cannot or don’t want to join in would love to take part in the interaction; they would only need some more encouragement and stimulation.
- A series of researches show that in most families artistic education is fulfilled by watching television (videos, dvds), putting storytelling, flipping through picture books, rhymes and singing on the back counter.
- It is just as often observed that the quality time children and parents spend together, which would really offer the experience of mutuality vitally needed for the establishment and permanence of a safe bond, is too little.
- Based on the results of research in cognitive psychology of the last approx. two decades, we know more (and something different compared to our earlier knowledge) about the development processes that take place in the first years of life, thus it is obvious that an adult environment has to provide small children with a different possibility of observation and experience.
In the course of day-nursery education and nursing the providing of artistic experiences had always played an important role. Looking at it from our aspect, the important elements of this are rhymes, singing, poems, fairy tales, the situations of looking at picture books, the significance of which it thus defined in the
National Curriculum Framework for Day-nursery Education (draft,NIFCP,2006):
”5.2.2. Rhymes and singing. The observation of the sounds of the environment, the child careworker’s pleasant voice when speaking and singing, her spontaneous humming, rhythmic storytelling, listening to and using instruments of melody and rhythm and singing together make the encounter of a varied musical experience in the day-nursery possible. The playful rhymes, children’s songs, folk songs, and other valuable pieces of music chosen responsibly and used in accordance with the child’s personal development, age requirements, and emotional state and disposition arouse the small child’s interest, form his aesthetic awareness and taste in music, help the understanding and survival of tradition. The rhymes, singing and listening to music that were done in a personal relation, in a game situation induce positive emotions and give the small child an experience of joy and emotional safety. Repetitions and playful movements enforce the musical experience and musical memory. They help the acquiring of the mother tongue and the mother tongue of music on an emotional basis, just as the development of character. They contribute to the mental health of the child while also creating a good-humored, friendly atmosphere in the group. Effective musical education in day-nursery makes the child’s further progress in music possible.
5.2.3. Poems, fairy tales. Poems and fairy tales have a great effect on the emotional, social and intellectual (e.g. speaking, thinking, memory, imagination) development of children. The personality is emotionally affected: in the case of poems primarily by their rhythm, in the case of fairy tales by their content. Reciting poems, storytelling or looking at picture books are all intimate communicational situations, thus emotional safety becomes both the condition and the result for the child. The child can gain such knowledge and experience which he has no possibility to gain in other situations. His knowledge of mankind improves, by identifying himself with the protagonist his empathy in developed, his vocabulary expanded. Fairy tales help the development of an optimistic philosophy of life and of independent opinion formation. Both folk and high-literature pieces have a place in day-nursery. The shaping of the situations is primarily influenced by the child’s momentary emotional state and the demands arising from this state.”
Artistic impression is primarily emotional: only what touches your emotions will make up an experience, and will to some extent be decoded.
Childhood has two fairy worlds: playing and fairy tales. Both have the same function: satisfying the psychic needs of ego by transforming reality. That is, during both playing and listening to stories the child incorporates just as much of the world into his personality and in such a way that is needed to create spiritual harmony.
Besides playing and fairy tales we have to mention rhymes, singing and music – not meaning solely instrumental music - in a similar approach.
Here is a much quoted thought of Zoltán Kodály from the 1940s: “To the question when should the musical education of children start I happened to answer: nine months before their birth. … The mother does not only give her body to the child but its soul is also made up of herself.” This thought does not only say it should start early but also that the mother’s relationship to music has a strong effect on the child’s development in this respect.
The cognitive revolution of the 1990s justify Kodály’s views: the tabula rasa theory has clearly failed as it seems to be proven that the child is born with some prior knowledge which is partly genetically programmed and partly made up of experiences gathered during the development within the uterus. This prior knowledge works as a basis while gathering experiences: their later knowledge is built on this, creating a more and more complicated and complex structure connected to certain elements. This also determines what we are able to incorporate from the world into our network of experiences: only that which has something to be connected to. This means that during the pregnancy the mother’s artistic experiences are also incorporated in the child as experiences, they found and determine his later relations. The mother’s emotional approach to certain works of art is vital in this process. Therefore, direct taste formation is absolutely ineffective.
Based on the above I really think that you cannot start soon enough, that is, such experiences have a significant role in and effect the creation and development of the child’s physical and mental harmony also in the first years of life.
Katalin Forrai, who developed the concept of musical education in day-nurseries, writes the following: “The aim of musical education – from birth until three years of age –is evoking the child’s interest in music, making him/her sensitive to the sounds of the environment, enriching his/her emotions by singing and playing and by the joy of singing together.”(Katalin Forrai: Songs in the nursery. Zeneműkiadó, Bp. 1986. p9).
We can read about the role of adults in the same place: “Education means a conscious creation of a situation for the aim of getting the child to a more developed level, to help development. The nurse has to roughly plan the song material, the games, the situations and methods for the particular age. Thus singing in the day-nursery becomes a consciously used form of education effecting emotions, which, however, is always based on spontaneity and the voluntary interest and involvement of the child.”. (Idem. p.10)
Bruno Bettelheim writes the following in connection with fairy tales: “A child’s attention is best engaged by a story that entertains and arouses curiosity. But it enriches the child’s life only if it can set the imagination in motion, if it develops intellect, if it shows hte way within emotions, if it reconciles one with one’s fears and desires, if s/he can recognize its difficulties and then suggest solutions to the tormenting problems. To put it short: if it reacts to every expression of his/her personality all once.”. (Bettelheim, Bruno: The use of enchantment. The meaning and importance of fairy tales. Gondolat, Bp. 1985. p. 11)
The same idea was thus worded by Ede Tarbay: “Literature for adults and for children instinctively means happiness and pleasure, and answers to ideas never uttered. A reply to what is on their mind but cannot talk about. It shows you the way in the world, the order and disorder of it.” (Ede Tarbay: A Guide to Children’s Literature. Szent István Társulat, Bp. p. 12)
I feel the above thoughts can be generalized for all kinds of works of art meant for children.
According to Jerome Bruner, one of the greatest psychologists in researching learning in the last decades, there are two possible forms of functioning of the human mind: argumentation or storytelling. Argumentation convinces you of the truth of something, it is supported by evidence, it is formal, logical or seeking logic. Whereas the story – or narration – lays the foundation for life-likeness and realism, leading to believable, or at least for us believable but not necessarily true stories.
Every nation has its own narrative repertoire, and getting to know it and following its contents is an important element of the progress of socialization, a significant determining factor in the development of our identity (here we can include history, folk tales, folk songs, etc.).
Each and every episode (or moment) of our lives can be captured in the form of a narrative. We dream, daydream and remember in narratives, our premonitions, hopes and faith take the form of narratives. We see narrative pictures before our inner eye during listening to music or watching different pieces of artistic movement. We always interpret and shape new stories in the light of the old ones.
Especially in the first years it is very important that the narratives in the works of artists should to some extent be connected to the possible narratives of the child. I believe that the extent of this connection determines the possible connection, and that a certain extent of connection is the basic condition for decoding. Naturally the artists don’t have to aim at a fully decodable production, which is actually impossible; the child should understand enough so that what he sees and hears becomes an experience for him. The presence of observations, experiences and events also present in the child’s life (especially those in which he actually takes part in) in the works of artists carries the joy of recognition and the charm of novelty: recognition makes the linking to prior knowledge possible, while novelty helps the differentiation of the already existing network of experiences, creating new shades in it. The simultaneous presence of the two is one of the determining bases for the experience and for joy. E.g. in Yvett Bozsik’s production entitled Four seasons this is represented by the watering of the flower, the crocodile shaped beach mattress, the presence of raincoats and snowballs - and the string of actions connected to them. All children have similar experiences and memories, but usually in a different way: he watered a different kind of plant with his granny, she has a different watering-can she really likes to play with in the tub in the evening, he also has a life belt, but it’s fish-shaped… etc; while the new manner, the new situation which s/he sees and listens to keep interest and curiosity awake (what is the crocodile-shaped beach mattress like? Can you jump up and down on it just like on the dolphin?). Of course not only good memories and nice experiences are recalled but bad ones too. The child who had e.g. fallen off the mattress into the water before and had been frightened would start crying or at least would watch with some suspicion when seeing a similar situation. It is good if the situation allows him some extent of changing or refining. It is important that the creators of the production should not take this as personal failure or the weakness of the production.
(Here I would like to mention that the other two productions also have elements I could quote here in abundance but the restriction of length does not make this possible. I apologize to the artists in question).
The production I’ve seen are dominantly non-verbal and this has many positive aspects in the case of the day-nursery age-group.
It has been said before that adjusting to the momentary decoding ability of the child is very important in terms of enabling access to the experience. Among the elements of decoding ability I include e.g. the momentary emotional state, mood, physical condition, general state of health, the ability of mobilizing previous experience, comprehension, etc.
Adjusting to the decoding ability is significantly easier in the case of non-verbal productions: on the one hand, one can change the speed and content to a certain extent by observing the behavior and reactions of the children, it is possible to repeat an element or to go into further detail and complexity of one characteristic (this is dominantly improbable in the case of verbal productions, such as fairy plays), on the other hand – and maybe we should have started with this – there is more chance that a certain element can evoke some memory or set the imagination in motion (verbal approach is more limiting in this respect).
Naturally verbalism has a huge role in children’s lives, but in interpersonal relations, with people they love and who are important for them. We believe, for example, that in the first years of life only the fairy tales told by an adult who knows the child well can really become a real personal experience for the small child, basically because the intimacy and emotional richness of the situation is wonderful in itself, and what’s more, the child can choose the fairy tale. The one that is the most interesting compared to his momentary emotional state, and can help creating his inner harmony the most. The adult telling the story can shape the fairy tale as best suits the child (which naturally doesn’t mean leaving out the devouring of the grandmother by the wolf when telling the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but this fairy tale is not the tale of this age-group anyway). Or he can suggest another story. This is why we don’t consider listening to or watching the tales on tape or video good, as there is a very slim chance that the children will be able to decode what they’ve seen and heard on an appropriate level due to either the complicated nature of the plot, its linguistic complexity or its speed even. Animation, although mostly considered as being children’s genre by the public, is especially problematic from this point of view. In animated films the events speed along at a tempo incredibly faster than what we’re used to in real life, the jokes are often significantly more abstract than what can be “picked up” by even an older child. Thus the child, who does not understand the plot, often being unable to follow it because of its speed, can only admire the colors and the look of the characters. Interestingly enough, these pieces - or maybe their music or the portrayed cavalcade of colors - still nails the child in front of the TV set, and the adults often do not even consider that in terms of experience this does not even come near to what a rhyme, a fairy tale, a song or a poem can offer.
Another problem may be that in some instances adults forget that the smaller the child, the bigger the discrepancy between his understanding and production of speech. That is to say, a child understands lot more complicated structures than what he is able to produce. This is why in wording the story for the child they adjust to his verbal production. This linguistically simple wording can damage the enjoyment a lot.
A small child has an increased demand of intimacy: physical closeness, physical contact (or the possibility of its accomplishment) and an increased demand of eye-contact are all part of this. This is significantly influenced by the size and form of the auditorium, and the possible number of spectators.
Another reason for limiting the number of children is the need of adjusting to individuals. The smaller the children, the more differences there may be between them in terms of family background, relations, the content of prior experiences and the level and pace of development. In the day-nursery going age-group we cannot assume a so-called general level we can use as basis, as nursery education does not aim at leveling as education in schools, for example. Over a certain number limit it is impossible to pay attention to, react and adjust to individual signs, reactions.
Comfort (for adults as well!) is another important aspect of creating the auditorium space, together with ensuring the possibility of free movement. The children enchanted by the production often venture closer to the players, then after they are saturated with the experience, run back to the adults.
The atmosphere created by the lighting influences the mood of small children to a great extent. Darkness (even for a moment) can prove terrifying or create uncertainty in them: they may be frightened, or may anxiously think about how something bad might happen or something, that is important to them might disappear before there is light again. This bad feeling can be especially strong in an unknown place.
The attention span of a small child is only a couple of minutes, but definitely stays within a quarter of an hour. He turns away from uninteresting things, not waiting for or anticipating more interesting things. But what does get his attention he wants to touch, try and play with. Thus it is very good if after a production there is also a chance to play.
I have mentioned it before, that playing and fairy tales as well as becoming acquainted with works of art have the same function: the satisfaction of the psychological needs of the ego. These two activities can in many respects complement and strengthen one another, as the differences between their basic characteristics allow for the acquiring of different experiences /observation.
Playing is an activity for its own sake, having an inner source and its aim is experiencing happiness. Children play because playing is good. The adults’ role in this is providing the conditions for undisturbed playing (place, time, means) as well as participation in the activity in accordance with the children’s needs.
I have seen very beautiful solutions for this after certain productions. At the end of the performance the artists lured the children closer and closer in a mysterious way, respecting that there were braver and shyer ones among them, ones who react slower or faster. The adults and the toys were offered, the children could make their choices on different levels: they either went closer or not, they could choose the toy to try, and who to get in contact with among the artists, etc.
This possibility helps the children in re-living the important experiences and moments in a different way, which also helps in the elaboration of what they’ve seen. Operating as the extended part of the production, it gives children a chance to finish the performance for themselves, that is, it allows them to step out of the situation when they feel the time has come, not having to get up and go home too early, still waiting for new experiences.
I liked it very much that in the conversations following the performances the creation of after-show play-time was just as important of a question for the artists as the production itself.
In these conversations it was said – and I completely agree - that the costumes and props of the performance cannot always be the actual toys/objects to be given to the children, as one set of object has to meet different requirements than the other.
The toy-object has to be safe, the right size and weight for a child to hold, and of course it has to be resistant to wear and tear. This became evident in connection with the antennas of a butterfly: they are extremely exciting for the children, however, they would probably not survive close inspection.
Clear colors, clear forms that are understandable for children, softness, attractive workmanship alluring them to playing - these are all important aspects.
It is good if the toys cannot be taken apart. The criteria for the pieces of toys that can be taken apart are the same as regards the whole toy, but their handling is rather difficult (it is especially important that there be no small parts of the toy that children could swallow, or put in their nose and ears). Taking the toy apart and putting it back together should cause joy not annoyance, which means children should manage both series of actions alone and should not have the feeling that the toy which was taken apart is now broken.
I believe that in the situations following the production the role of playing is completely different than in everyday situations (it is primarily enriching and lengthening the experience), thus the essential thing is that the objects given to them as toys should be connected to major moments or characteristic content elements and should not be possible to take them into smaller pieces. (Not to mention that collecting the occasional little pieces and replacing the missing bits would also mean enough complications).
Costumes help the imagination of situation, they depict content not expressed in any other way and they enhance the experience. In the first years of life the development of imagination does not reach the development level in every child so they see the boundaries of reality and imagination or that they can decide to which a particular element belongs to. That’s why it is good if the face of the actors wearing costumes can be seen, thus children can clearly see that they are humans. The sight becomes more docile, but the experience is not lessened.
Summary:
I have followed the development of three different productions, all very good in their own way. During the past months I followed them personally and through watching and re-watching and analyzing footage of complete rehearsals and after-rehearsal conversations.
The commitment of the artists towards small children is really appealing to me, and also the way they make their productions taking the peculiarities of early childhood into account, shaping them more and more deeply, more complexly and with more understanding.
I believe theatrical experiences have an important role and place in the lives of the smallest and I hope this is clearly apparent from the above.
I believe this series of programs is suppletory and unique, and I hope the offer will expand and gain ground in the forthcoming years.
During the conversations János Novák emphasized his stand point many times, that their primary aim is creating works of art through which to communicate with babies. They required methodology control primarily because this age-group was new to them and they felt that it would be useful to employ the particular knowledge of the professionals of day-nurseries for better understanding artistic effect. But at the same time he felt it would be dangerous if anyone took these performances for a methodology experiment for day-nurseries or a new means of theatre education. Rest assured, it’s not about that. Day-nursery education cannot and in this sense does not want to undertake, as it would be very difficult to arrange it within the framework of institutional education (e.g. what would happen to the children who instead of the performance prefer playing with something else? Especially if there is only one child careworker with the group?). The day-nursery system has no specialists in this field, the prices of tickets for the productions premiered by the artists is not revertible on the families but the institution cannot take it upon itself …
I feel this form of culture has to be left for the families. The results of different research - as well as the observations of everyday life - prove that it is badly needed. Families bringing up small children are facing more and more difficulties: both in terms of finance and way of living. They have too few parents-children experiences in common. The weekends are usually spent at home in front of the TV or at a nearby playground. According to the data of a Hungarian research done a couple of years ago children between 3 and 5 spend an average 9,5 hours in front of the TV per week and although we don’t have data for the smallest ones, the situation is probably not a lot better in that age-group either. If we consider that it’s an average, that is, the result also includes the data for those children who spend 0 minutes in front of the screen, and if we subtract the time spent with sleeping, nursing, using transportation and in the kindergarten, then with a little exaggeration we can say there are children who essentially spend all their free time I front of the screen. The possibility of a program out of doors, the excitement of getting ready for it has a positive effect both on people’s lives and their attitude towards life. The common experience strengthens and deepens the parent-child relationship. Children’s theatres can also have a community-forming, relationship building effect concerning both adults and children.
Developing productions for the very small is a very exciting and very difficult task. It is exciting because of the beauty and diversity of the age-group and because of the novelty of the task. At the same time I feel it is not easy, partly due to these same reasons, partly because of the need for convincing the opinion of both professionals and that of the public. I wish a lot of perseverance and a lot of success to the artists undertaking this approach!
