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Theatre for Early Years

practices and play in early

childhood development

Liana Dobrica

Master Thesis

Theatre Studies

First reader: dhr. dr. C. Dieleman

Second reader: dhr. dr. Peter Eversmann

University of Amsterdam

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Contents

List of acronyms ... 3

1. Introduction 4

2. Early childhood development and TEY………..6

2.1 Cultural and historical influences in defining “child” and “childhood” . 6

2.2 Early childhood development ... 9

2.3 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development………...9

2.4. TEY and child development ... 11

2.5. A complex audience ... 12

2.6 The parents ... 14

3. TEY emergence, development and popularity 17

3.1 Justification ... 17

3.2 Over 40 years of TEY history ... 17

3.3 Theoretical framework in the making ... 19

3.4 Social and scientific drivers which foster the emergence of TEY ... 22

3.5 Food for thought ... 24

4.The richness of TEY practices 25

4.1 Common artistic expression transcending borders ... 25

4.2 The performers-facilitators ... 27

4.3 The performance ... 28

4.4 Quality in reference to TEY ... 29

4.5 Decoding the performance ... 30

4.5.1 Impact upon the infant audience ... 31

4.5.2 Impact upon the parent-child relationship ... 33

4.6 The future of TEY ... 33

4.6.1 The value of offline interaction in a digitalized world ... 33

4.6.2 A multidimensional caregiving relation parents children ... 35

5. TEY in practice: Three case studies from three countries 37

Case study 1. “Potjesman”/“Jarman” ... 40

Case study 2. “Pernuta Somnoroasă”/ “The Sleepy Pillow” ... 55

Case study 3. “Inside Out”/ ”Binnenstebuiten”/ “Dedans-dehors" ... 68

6. Conclusion 78

Bibliography 82

Image sources 87

Annex 1.1. Transcription Interview with Catalina Hetel (26.05.2017) ... 1

Annex 1.2. Transcription Interview with Catalina Hetel (5.06.2017) ... 1

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Annex 3. Transcription interview with Jasmin Haslar (26.05.2017) ... 1 Annex 4. Interview iota (21.02.2018) ... 1

List of acronyms

APP

American Academy of Pediatrics

ASSITEJ International Association of Theatre for Children and

Young People

ECEC/ECE

Early Childhood Education and Care/Early

Childhood Education

ECE Early

Childhood education

ITYARN International Theatre for Young Audiences Research

Network

TEY

Theatre for Early Years

TVY

Theatre for the Very Young

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TEY practices and play

in early childhood

development

1.Introduction

The purpose of this research is to examine the burgeoning field of Theatre for Early Years (theatre for babies and toddlers, up to 3 years old) or TEY in short, by taking a look at a variety of practices employed by professionals who are operating in the field and interrogating those practices and their objectives towards the notions of play advanced in developmental psychology.

The research question is whether TEY practices endorse the natural course of the child’s socio-emotional development as enabled by play given the fact that content and context interfere with the age of children. The first steps should clarify: what is Theatre for Early Years actually? Which are the audiences that it caters to? Why is TEY enjoying a high level of popularity at this point in time? Which are the drivers for its development?

Studying the whole process, it ensued that to look at play in TEY, means to look at play from the perspective of the content, the context and the performers.

The term performer refers to those who are on stage and deliver the performance. A lot of the time in TEY, the person/people, who act as director(s), by thinking out, creating, and developing the performance is/are also performer(s). Hence, the term practitioner will be used as an umbrella term when referring to anyone involved in the making of the performance, as either performer, maker or both.

The performers are looked at as developers and facilitators of the performance, and as such, as the initiators of the opportunity for play during the performance.

The activity of play is considered from the multiple ways in which it takes place: in the making/rehearsing period, the practitioners develop the performance through play (as opposed to rehearsing a script in the case of adult theatre). Then the performers ‘’perform’’, which means they essentially engage in play on stage in front of the spectators, and/or they play with the child spectators, or they just leave the stage for the spectators to play. All these modes of play interact and influence each other and can occur simultaneously.

Another important participant in the process are the parents, who partake in this convention alongside their children. This opens up another sub-question: what is the parents’ role in the experience and how does it impact them?

Due to its relatively novel character, TEY needs a more robust body of theoretical work. The results of the intensive bibliographical investigation

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resulted for a large part from two studies, which I will refer to throughout the research. Firstly, TEY researcher Ben Fletcher-Watson’s postgraduate thesis “More like a poem than a play: towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for early years”, and secondly, the book Theatre, Youth and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration by Theatre Studies academic Manon van de Water. The studies highlight the need to study TEY and its characteristics.

For this reason, as well as its interdisciplinary nature, my research on TEY will draw upon theories from other fields; this explains the present endeavor to study TEY practices by positioning them in relation to theories from developmental psychology. As a personal contribution to this research, I incorporated the findings resulted from my contact with the situation of TEY in Romania, Belgium and the Netherlands, looking at work developed by three different platforms in these countries. These examples will enable me to investigate how particular practices employed in the field of TEY champion, support, expand and challenge the insights gained from developmental psychology theories on play in early childhood. The case studies consist of the following companies and people: TYA theatre Ion Creanga from Romania, whereby I had interviews and talks with TEY practitioners Catalina Hetel, Voicu Hetel, and Carmen Palcu Adam; Iota theatre from Belgium, represented by the respondents Lieven Bayens and Diane Batens (TEY practitioners, founders of Iota theatre); interviewee Jasmin Hasler, TEY artist in residence at TEY platform 2turvenhoog in the Netherlands.

The structure of the thesis reflects the approach. As such, Chapter 2 is concerned with the notion of early childhood development and its connection to the field of TEY, using it as an entrance point towards TEY by looking at the cognitive capacities of TEY audiences. Chapter 3 traces the emergence and development of TEY as a field in its own right, by looking at the secondary literature on the topic, and drawing connections between TEY and the socio-cultural circumstances of its evolution. Chapter 4 dissects the means of expression and the characteristics of TEY performances, paying attention to its effects upon children and parents alike, as well as contextualizing TEY in the framework of other contemporary societal influences upon childrearing. Chapter 5 focuses on the case studies by analyzing three different examples of TEY practitices in Europe and by comparing them. Chapter 6 represents the conclusion, the reflection upon the findings and the limitations of the research, as well as suggestions for further research.

The methodology is comprised of various elements. Sources such as books and scientific articles from the field of psychology were employed for the parts of the research which dealt with early childhood development. Further on, the literature review was limited to the relatively few academic sources in the field and accompanied by TEY researchers’ reflections within the Small Size international TEY organization. For the case studies, the main techniques employed were participative observation, Skype and written interviews, as well as informal talks and email correspondence with the respondents and some of their colleagues.

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2. Early childhood development and TEY

In order to understand the connections between TEY practices and early childhood development, it is necessary to define the terms child” and “childhood.”

TEY specifically addresses the child (certain categories of children, in fact, which will be discussed later on). The field of developmental psychology offers insight into how the child acquires the vast amount of capabilities he possesses, and how these capabilities enable him to create his view of the world.

2.1 Cultural and historical influences in defining “child”

and “childhood”

Historian of theatre for young audiences Roger L. Bedard talks about childhood and its connection to culture and theatre in a compilation of TEY practitioners’ essays titled “An idea of Art and childhood. An open collection of thoughts.” He claims that the term “childhood” is generally recognized as a “socially constructed phenomenon.”1There is a tremendous history

regarding the study of the child, which goes back to the middle ages when “the concept of the child (…) first began to be shaped out of changing economic and familial structures.”2

There have been many transformations and theories since the philosophical inquiries of figures such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who viewed children as incomplete human beings, either as in a primordial state of innocence, or as ”blank slates”, waiting to be filled with knowledge and experience. Bedard observes, “every culture has young people—that is, human beings at the initial stages of biological development.“3 At the same time, each culture “reacts and responds” to

children in its own way and this “provides the context out of which a definition of childhood exists within that culture.”4 Bedard goes on to say

that “likewise, in the theatre, as we attend to the child audience, we, in turn, reify definitions of children and childhood. This includes not only parameters of age, but also perspectives of what is appropriate for young audiences as well as what is the role of theatre in the lives of young people.”5

Thus, we look at the child through the lens which corresponds to the stage of human development we are presently at, according to the knowledge that various disciplines contribute to present-day views of the child, within the cultural and historical context that we find ourselves in. As new discourses replace older ones, so is the understanding of the child 1 Sorin, R. (2005). Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice. Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, p. 13

2 Bedard, Roger L. "The Art Of Theatre For The Very Young". An Idea Of Art And Childhood. An Open Collection Of Thoughts, 2012, p. 7

3Ibid.

4Ibid.

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discussed in this research, a product of contemporary discourse. Being aware of this can offer insight into why the idea of theatre for children is so present at this point in time, and why there is increased interest in theatre for the very young child (below 3-years-old).

The Australian ECE specialist Reesa Sorin argues that the changing images of childhood can be categorized into ten different constructs: the innocent child, the evil child, the miniature adult, the noble/saviour child, the snowballing child, the out-of-control child, the adult-in-training, the child as commodity, the child as victim, and the agentic child.

Sorin explains that the innocent child is a view of the child which emerged in the Middle Ages; it views the child as pristine and pure, to be protected by the adults. The evil child construct (existing since pre-Christian times) considers the child to be the product of sin, and therefore beatings and punishments are held as necessary in this view, in order for the evil within him to be eliminated. The miniature adult construct views children as miniature adults, and therefore does not differentiate childhood as a separate period of life; this view was very present in highly militarized or industrialized societies, such as Ancient Greece, as well as the times of the Industrial Revolution.

The noble/savior child construct has its origins during the early Christian period and is based on the birth of Jesus with the aim of becoming a savior. This portrayal of the child carried on for centuries, viewing the child as someone invested with qualities that can serve the greater good and help others. In more recent times, it evolved into a portrayal of the superhero child, one able to redeem conflicts between generations, or as caretakers to younger siblings.

The snowballing child is a child that is slowly revolting against his parents’ control. Sorin describes this type of child as a result of contemporary social circumstances, “Considering the social conditions of the twenty-first century, where family structures have changed, single parent families are common, and most parents work (Kincheloe in Steinberg & Kincheloe, 2003), this image may have begun with the adult, tired and busy after a long day at work, giving in to the child’s demands, to “keep the child quiet” and maintain peace within the family.”6

The out-of-control-child is essentially the next step, whereby the child has moved on to violence in order to resist his parent’s control. It is a problem child, and for this reason, in most cases, caretakers and teachers give up on him, furthering his isolation. Such children are viewed as a danger to the ‘normal’ children and therefore end up institutionalized, or simply left out to the extent where they become social pariahs, potentially involved in criminal activity.

The adult-in-training construct views childhood as a preliminary step before adulthood, and therefore a time for training and acquiring skills and knowledge until “graduating into their roles in the workforce and the social order.”7 It is a well-intended view, but one which tends to overlook the

importance for emotional development and unstructured (play) activities. 6Sorin, R. (2005). Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice. Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, p. 15

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The child as commodity construct uses images of children for various purposes: child pornography, marketing and advertising, child beauty pageants etc. It posits children as objects “to be consumed by an adult audience.”8

The image of the child as victim is highly exploited by humanitarian campaigns which try to raise attention towards conditions of war and poverty, depicting children in desperate situations. On a smaller scale level, victim-children come from low-income households, and experience isolation at school as a result.

Finally, the image of the agentic child is a most popular one at the present moment, as “many early childhood educators are adopting [it] in their practice.”9 It considers children as active participators in their own

education and believes that childhood must be constructed by adults together with children. Sorin quotes sociologist W. Corsaro, who describes this process as based on the belief that “childhood [is] an important period of being – a time when children make sense of their world through active interaction with it.”10 Hereby, adults are viewed as co-learners who

negotiate, challenge and guide while sharing power with them.”11

This description befits the type of dialogue and process sustained by TEY practitioners. It challenges the view of children as recipients of knowledge, and instead encourages their active participation in activities meant to stimulate their propensity for sensorial and physical exploration. At the same time, TEY practitioners view their productions as occasions to meet children’s need for and right to play, whilst using play as a medium to introduce children to aesthetic catharsis and artistic experiences.

8 Sorin, R. Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice, p. 17

9 Sorin, R. Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice, p. 18

10 Ibid.

11 W. Corsaro, quoted in Reesa Sorin, Changing images of childhood: Reconceptualising early childhood practice, p. 18

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2.2 Early childhood development

Early childhood development, i.e., until the age of three, is highly complex: representations and mental activity begin to consolidate, as well as the use of language, and perhaps most importantly, self-consciousness.

From the perspective of this research, it is highly relevant that numerous capacities come about in the first three years regarding the sensorial area: visual (shapes and colors), auditory, tactile discovery, and coordination between them.

As social behavior progresses, the child is conscious of his own actions and is attentive to his social relations. Play constitutes the framework which facilitates the ability to communicate. Imitative role-play and familial relations are equally important in the development of this ability. Concerning early childhood development from this perspective, it must me mentioned that “in the case of children, the earliest signs of the capacity to deceive (pretense crying and laughter) appear at the age of six months already, and by the age of three, the capacity for deceitful behavior is well formed. Parents encourage this by teasing and tricking the children.

“Later on, this type of game evolves into hide-and-seek, gimmicks, magic tricks, reading novels, and… going to the theatre.”12 Mirodan quotes the

socio-biologist Robert Trivers who claims that practicing dishonesty “stimulates the imagination and the learning capacities of the child, preparing him to survive in a world in which employing and identifying dishonesty constitute important skills.”13

2.3 Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

14

Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist who investigated the process of learning in children in the 20th century. Based on empirical data, Piaget

formulated his theory of cognitive development, which remains one of the most influential theories in child psychology. The difference between Piaget and his predecessors consisted of the fact that Piaget was the first scientist who based his findings on empirical data, having closely documented the development of his own children.

The reason why Piaget’s model of development is most relevant with regard to the link between TEY and early childhood is based on Piaget’s connection between direct experience and development. Piaget looked at how learning opportunities shape the child in his process of learning about the world around him and thus established different developmental stages with corresponding abilities. By charting each age with its corresponding milestones, Piaget’s work lead to a view of children as active participants with their environment and the challenges that it provided them with. This had a major influence on how psychologists and educators came to regard 12Mirodan, V. (2016). Draga mincinosule. Actorie, amagire si spectatorul inteligent. In C. Partenie & A. Bulai, In Fiction We Trust. Bucharest: Polirom, p. 172

13 Ibid.

14 Piaget, J. (1998). The origins of intelligence in children. (M. Cook, Trans.). Madison, Conn.: International Universities Press.

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children’s needs, that is, by involving and engaging the child in accordance to his developmental stage and providing the right type of stimulation and opportunities.15 This is precisely the reason TEY practices came into place,

as artists realized that TYA productions were not suitable for small children and their abilities, and thus began to wonder how to solve this problem. Piaget’s theory divides the cognitive development of children into four categories.16

The first one is the sensori-motor stage and it covers the period from birth up to 24 months (two years).

In this stage, the child learns primarily through the senses and physical experience and starts to accumulate knowledge through a trial-and-error approach.17

Key skills include learning that concrete objects stay the same, and also imitation.

The second-stage is the pre-operational one, from two years up to seven years. In this stage, the child learns through increasing verbal and social interactions. Key skills include language development, symbolic concepts (such as number and letters), but the child cannot apply these ideas in a flexible way yet.

The third stage begins at age seven and lasts until age eleven. In this period, the child learns through structured educational experiences, and acquires mastery of categories, relations, numbers and logical reasoning. The fourth stage begins at age eleven and continues until adulthood. The child engages in more and more sophisticated and abstract reasoning and thought and acquires understanding of broad social constructions such as justice and equality.18

2.4. TEY and child development

Due to its highly sensorial character, TEY represents an expression of creativity through the use of the senses. From a psychological perspective, creativity is a complex phenomenon. Its main component is the imagination, together with motivation, the desire to make something valuable, and perseverance.19

In the case of children, specialists refer to expressive creativity, which comes about spontaneously; adults call it play but for children it is their ‘job.’ For the child creator, creativity is not about usefulness or originality, it is about self-regulation and social adaptation, both of which are indispensable in the child’s subsequent development. Through the use of analogies, metaphors, object substitution and its multisensory nature, TEY fuels the child’s reproductive imagination as well as his creative and

15 Cullen, K. (2011). Child psychology. London: Icon Books Ltd., p. 35

16 Cullen, K. (2011). Child psychology. London: Icon Books Ltd., pp.26-37.

17 The Cambridge dictionary describes trial-and-error as a way

of achieving an aim or solving a problem by trying a number of different methods and learning from the mistakes that you make. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/trial-and-error (11.02.2018)

18Cullen, K. Child psychology, pp.26-37.

19Motataianu, I. (2016). Influentele Relatiei de Atasament asupra Dezvoltarii Psihice in Primele Stadii ale Copilariei (1st ed.). Bucharest: Editura Universitatii din Bucuresti, p. 73

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aesthetic imagination; these are the mediums through which the child learns about the environment and adapts to it.20

TEY is not a form of therapy, therefore it does not claim that its foundation and methods belong to a scientific method of inquiry. Nonetheless, the roots of its philosophy are connected to the field of developmental psychology, which offers a scientific approach. According to one dictionary definition, developmental psychology is the branch of psychology that studies the psychological growth of individuals and it deals with the psychological responses and changes in behavior that characterize such stages of life as infancy, adolescence and old age.21

As new ideas of early childhood period emerge, the child is currently seen “as a human being-a sentient being with unique knowledge, understanding, and needs.”22 This paradigm is instrumental in interrogating the role that art

plays in the child’s life. Such a view dismantles previous associations of theatre for children with training and education, and instead “invoke[s] a theatre that uses the transformative power of art to transform the lives of young people.”23

2.5. A complex audience

The taxonomy of child spectators

To question theatre practices for babies in a sound manner means to understand this type of audience, and to verify to what extent there is a match between how TEY practitioners operate (what they create, their purposes and intentions, and the manner in which they deliver their artistic product) and the developmental conditions of the audience.

When speaking of this category, researchers as well as the present study use the terms “child”, “baby”, “infant” and “toddler” interchangeably. The term “baby” can be used for children from birth up to four-years-old; the Merriam-Webster dictionary describes “infant” as a child in the first period of life without specifying the length of the period; according to the same dictionary, “toddler” means young child, or someone who toddles.

In reference to age groups in TEY, some speak of the 0-6 audience. However, most researchers and practitioners normally attribute TEY to the 0-3 age range and categorize performances for older children as part of TYA.

In practice, the issue is further complicated by potential divisions within the 0-3 age group. Although the segment refers to performances destined for babies from birth up to three, in reality there are few performances made especially for newborns, and few parents who bring infants below nine months to the theatre.24

20 Ibid.

21 http://www.dictionary.com/browse/developmental-psychology (20.12.2017)

22 Artistic International Association Small Size. (2012). An Idea of Art and Childhood. An open collection of thoughts. Small size, big citizens-Widening of the European Network for the diffusion of the performing arts in Early Years, p. 8

23 Ibid.

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Within the general 0-3 category, we encounter shows designated for audiences between 1 and 3-years-old, 2+, 1.5-3 and so on. However, these divisions are rarely strict and they are often subject to change as TEY makers constantly adapt to different audiences and reception sites (for example, when performing in day care centers which work with different age groups, or because the target audience is accompanied by older siblings brought along by the parents).

Taking into account the responses of such audiences determines makers to continuously re-assess the target age group for a performance. As noted by the TEY makers whom I interviewed, parents commonly start to bring their children to the theatre when they are around the age of one. At the same time, it is not recommended that children see performances which are well above their age group (a two-year-old seeing a performance for 3+), but the opposite is most usually allowed.

The Romanian psychologist and TEY maker Catalina Hetel25 points out:

It is perfectly possible that older children come and see plays which belong to a lower age group. We are open to it, but the enjoyment of this experience in this case depends entirely on the child because performances for those below three years rely so much on the senses and do not contain a narrative. This can be boring for these older children, who can talk by now, and are more interested in stories. At the same time, some older children enjoy the sensuous aesthetic of such productions, because they are very interested in small details, colors and so on.26

For these reasons, the children within the 0-3 segment constitute a heterogeneous audience, since changes occur from one month to the next in all areas of development (physical, cognitive, emotional, and social) and they cannot be studied in separation from one another.

25 Catalina Hetel is a Romanian psychotherapist and pscychodramatist at the Center of Classic Psychodrama in Bucharest (Centrul de Psihodrama) as well as a TEY practitioner. 26 Hetel, C. (2017, May 26). Skype Interview, my translation

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Figure 1 Graphic representation of age divisions in the 0-3 period according to developmental milestones27

Medical dictionaries such as the A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia identify six age groups within the first three years of life, as shown above.28 TEY

researcher Ben Fletcher-Watson refers to the same age taxonomy in his studies, remarking that this categorization “reflects the prodigious physical and neurological changes which take place throughout early infancy when

compared with later childhood and adolescence.”29

Fletcher-Watson provides a table with the corresponding cognitive, physical, and social capabilities of each age group, based on a synthesis of recent developmental psychology studies:30

27 https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002456.htm (8.03.2017) 28 Ibid.

29 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years (Doctoral dissertation, The University of St Andrews), p. 36 30 Ibid, p. 39

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Table 1Audience Profiles for Children from Birth to Three (adapted from Fletcher-Watson et al;, 24

2.6 The parents

Since academic attention towards TEY is still in an incipient phase, the issue of audience reception has not yet been crystalized. TEY performances are typically conceived for a public of dyads, that is, child-caregiver pairs. For this reason, it is important to look at how the caregivers are involved in the experience, and particularly how their involvement impacts the children.

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The TEY performance addresses infants primarily, but their reactions offer a parallel performance for the parents, according to the TEY artists I have talked to. Fletcher-Watson argues that this phenomenon extends to the performers, as they watch the effects of the audience, which in turn influences their performance. Additionally, the researcher refers to a TEY artist who suggests that the children’s reactions elicit a “web of connectivity”: parents watch their own children as well as other children’s reactions, parents see other parents engage with their children, and the performers are witnessing all of these reactions.31

In most TEY performances, parent and child are invited in the performance area when the show is over. This offers them an opportunity for discovery and play under different circumstances than what happens at home. In my interviews, TEY artists explain that this play session enables parents and children to engage in a creative activity together, and to use their imagination in a special context, aided by the space, the objects and the presence of others (children, parents, performers). Fletcher-Watson calls this aspect of the audience’s experience “communality”:

“Communality [is] the distinction between TEY and the everyday. [Artists] asserted that the sharing of an artistic experience with a parent or carer marked TEY out, because in the theatre, the focus falls on mutual engagement as a collective, rather than the one-on-one intra-family engagement which might take place in a supermarket, café or park.”32

Communality, or “the feeling of togetherness” is highly significant for the parents’ experience. It activates in them the ability to “be totally connected and always stay curious.”33 Moreover, the TEY artists I have

interviewed stressed that the co-participation of parent and child places them on the same level of participation as spectators, which reverses the traditional dynamic in which children act according to parents’ instructions. In TEY play sessions, children are encouraged to be autonomous in their engagement; meanwhile, parents are made to understand that children are encouraged to create their own meaning out of the stimuli and the overall experience. As one TEY artist told me, parents tend to feel the need to explain things to the children, and thus to regulate or control their experience. TEY practitioners are typically against this type of behavior, arguing that the point of their performances is not the construction of rational meaning, but rather to enable an emotional and sensorial experience, to be playful, and to have the experience of witnessing an artistic act together with others.

TEY practitioners argue that TEY offers parents the opportunity to re-discover the world together with their children, and this can have a positive impact on how parents play with them. Artists told me that the simplicity that is characteristic of TEY performances reminds adults to pay attention

31 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 123

32 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 125

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to small details  the fall of a feather, a scent, a ray of light  and to be fascinated with them in the same way as children. One artist told me that what she wants parents to take from the performance is that “you don’t need a lot of toys, you don’t need a lot of stuff…Just be there and play.”34

Another artist told me that TEY is particularly accommodating for parents today, who often do not have the availability (time and energy-wise) to play with their children at home, and who are also confronted with the fact that there is not a wide scope of activities in the public space designated for babies. Writing on this topic, two German TEY makers confirm that “sometimes there was even a run of tickets for the shows because dads and mums were delighted to be able to do something else with their children other than going down to the playground.”35

In her analysis of a performance from TEY company Oily Cart, researcher Susan Young underlines the difficulties that can arise from the expectations regarding play on the part of the parents: their role as “go-between” following the performer’s instructions as well as assisting the child “could be demanding of parent energies and imagination.”36 Additionally, “some

[parents] were more comfortable with this role than others; drawing attention to the fact that it is not easy (…) for some adults to enter into children's play.37 However, Young’s conclusion was that parents enjoy the

TEY experience thanks to the “pleasure [which] arose vicariously through their enjoyment of the children's participation.”38

34 Haslar, J.(2017, May 26), Skype interview.

35 Florschütz, M., & Kölling, B. (2009). The discovery of the young child as spectator. In W. Schneider, Theatre for Early Years: Research in Performing Arts for Children from Birth to Three (1st. ed.), p. 157

36 Young, S. (2004). ‘It's a bit like flying’: developing participatory theatre with the under-twos: a case study of Oily Cart. Research in Drama Education, 9(1), p. 12

Ibid.

37Young, S. ‘It's a bit like flying’: developing participatory theatre with the under-twos: a case study of Oily Cart., p. 23

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3. TEY emergence, development and popularity

3.1 Justification

TEY is a popular middle-class phenomenon. The parents who take their children to these shows are those who can afford them, and whose socio-economic status enables them to think it is important to do so (we are therefore referring to middle and upper-class audiences). This is a conclusion that I came to based on my talks with various TEY pracitioners. For this reason, TEY makers view the phenomenon as rather elitist and restricted, opening up a desire to increase the spread of TEY to less privileged communities, as TEY practitioner Ingrid Wolf told me during an informal conversation on TEY.

With a history that stretches back a mere four decades, Theatre for Early Years has gained much popularity in recent times. There is an increasing number of companies catering to the youngest of audiences, a phenomenon which can be observed in Europe and beyond.

Entities such as international networks, organizations and festivals dedicated to TEY have been set in place over the past few years, and judging by their line-ups and turnouts, they are sought after by both practitioners and audiences (or rather, the parents and caregivers of those audiences.) Hence, what was once a number of curious and dispersed initiatives developed in a few places and regarded with much incredulity, is now gaining ground rapidly, at least in terms of artistic initiatives and interest from the public.

If this is the case, then scholarly literature on the topic of TEY—which has been rather scarce—must catch up to these developments and account for their activity and impact accordingly.

TEY is yet to be viewed as a form of theatre in its own right. Understanding the early childhood period is part of the endeavor. In this spirit, Manon van de Water, a Dutch-American theatre studies scholar focusing on young audiences points out that “in order to take the very young, and art for the very young, seriously, you have to be conscious of them as human beings.’’39

3.2 Over 40 years of TEY history

The first instance of TEY can be identified in 1978, when Chris Speyer, the founder of Theatre Kit company, and his wife Katherine Ukleja, came up with the idea to create theatre for under-fives. It “was prompted by an occasion when we took Katherine's niece Annie, then aged three, to see a performance of one of our shows for children. Finding that various aspects of the show frightened Annie, Katherine decided that we should develop a

39 Van de Water M. (2012). Theater, Youth, and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 124

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form of theatre tailored to the needs, interests and concentration spans of under-fives.”40

Commenting on the current popularity of TEY, van de Water remarks that “it was not until the first decade of the twenty-first century that it became more globally in vogue.”41 Looking back to the early years of the 1980s,

there were less than a handful of companies operating in the field. In fact, those who were making theatre for babies back then were not working exclusively for the youngest of audiences. These were children-theatre companies that were beginning to experiment with the idea of creating shows for ever-younger audiences, especially as parents brought along younger siblings to TYA performances which were not appropriate for them.42

The theatre scholar Fletcher-Watson notes that “until the late 1990s in the UK, it was relatively common for TiE companies to take their work into nurseries as well as schools, but it is debatable how carefully performances were calibrated to suit the capabilities and limitations of children of differing ages within the same educational setting.”43

There were some rather isolated instances of TEY practices, of which significant examples are three companies in Europe: Theatre Kit and Oily Cart in the UK, and the Baracca Testoni Ragazzi theatre in Italy. The latter distinguishes itself as perhaps the most prominent TEY company, presently at the helm of the Small Size initiative (European Network for the Diffusion of Performing Arts for Early Childhood.

Oily Cart made its first performance for under-fives in 1981, titled Exploding Punch and Judy. A few years later, in 1987, La Baracca presented their first TEY performance, Acqua (Water). At the same time, Joelle Rouland’s L’oiseau serein (The Serene Bird) was premiering in France. Thus, TEY came about as a markedly European phenomenon and continues to be a predominantly European phenomenon, although TEY practices in other places around the world have been recently developing.44

Fletcher-Watson distinguishes a crucial difference between these early TEY performances, noting that “Oily Cart and La Baracca’s pioneering early work catered for verbal, mobile children who could comprehend narratives and participate in song and dance; only Rouland’s work explored the practices required for babies and toddlers who had not yet fully developed

40Every child has a story to tell if we just listen (2013, June) Consulted

http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/every-child-story-tell-just-4657951

(03.01.2018)

41 Van de Water, M. (2012). Theater, Youth, and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration., p. 121

42Ibid.

43 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 25

44 Fletcher-Watson, B.,"More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 26

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these skills.”45Therefore, L’oiseau serein is arguably the precursor of pretty

much everything that qualifies as TEY performances today.

Today, there are numerous companies and practitioners developing TEY performances all over Europe as well as in the United States, Australia, Argentina, South Africa.46 These entities differ in size, approach, methods,

and targeted audience. Some have had a long-established tradition as theatres for children and young audiences before expanding towards the TEY field, some have a rich TEY history of collaboration with educational institutions such as kindergartens and nursery schools, others are currently developing as TEY practitioners thanks to platforms which offer residencies or co-production opportunities.

Reflections of TEY makers upon the current expansion of the phenomenon demonstrate a highly optimistic rhetoric which invests TEY with the responsibility for keeping theatre alive: “If new generations represent the future of humankind, then theatre for babies, which builds bridges between countries and cultural heritages, is an obligation for the theatre of the future.”47

Regardless of the skepticism that TEY has faced since its inception, there is evidently a growing interest in this art form. The fact that has stood up to criticism and reticence, and that TEY performances are becoming increasingly diverse, expanding towards increasingly many genres (opera, ballet, musical theatre) is an indication that its marginalized status is changing steadily.

3.3 Theoretical framework in the making

The proliferation of theatre48 practices dedicated to the youngest audiences

demands a proportional response on an academic level, which can reflect critically on existing methods employed by practitioners as well as examine how these practices support theories from developmental psychology concerning the early childhood period.

Establishing a connection between what happens in practice (the principles identified in TEY practices) and the tenets of developmental psychology can contribute to the articulation of a solid theory of TEY. This can serve performance studies scholars, practitioners and parents alike.

45 Fletcher-Watson, B.,"More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years,

p. 27

46 Fletcher-Watson, B.,"More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 305

47 Artistic International Association Small Size. An Idea of Art and Childhood. An open collection of thoughts, p.19

48 Departing from the term ‘Theatre for Early Years’, when speaking in broader terms, I will use the term theatre to refer to a variety of practices and forms of artistic expression conceived for young audiences such

as physical theatre, object theatre, dance, music theatre etc. When dealing with particular cases I will use more specific terms in order to detail the type of performance at hand.

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TEY is considered to be a branch of TYA (Theatre for Young Audiences). Researcher Oona Hatton remarks that “there is little rigorous scholarship on professional theatre for young audiences.”49 Of that small amount of

research, the smallest segment is focused on TEY and its very young audiences. Manon Van de Water highlights that the field of TYA has been “virtually ignored by theatre scholars” and that scholarly articles can almost exclusively be found in the specialized journals of Taylor and Francis: “The Youth Theatre Journal” and “RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance.”50

In her book Theatre, Youth, and Culture: A Critical and Historical Exploration, van de Water investigates the factors which have contributed to the marginalization of TYA as an object of study, and those which maintain its peripheral status today. In doing so, she devotes one chapter to the TEY phenomenon. She notes that “General theatre histories hardly discuss the emergence of the field in a historiographical sense, if it is noted at all.”51

Theatre which addresses children has always been regarded as somewhat of a lesser artistic form, not serious, and something inferior to theatre for adults. From TYA, TEY is the segment to receive the least of attention.

The author explains that the marginalization of this field within Theatre Studies research is accompanied by a failure to recognize the complexity as well as the large spread of TYA practices within Europe and beyond. There are many practices going on in different areas to write about, so she sets out to investigate TYA practices in three different countries: The United States, The Netherlands and Russia. Hatton notes in her review of van de Water's book that “Although Van de Water encourages further research in other geographical areas, these diverse cultural landscapes triangulate nicely, providing ample contrast and correlation across multiple topics.”52

Van de Water explains that her choice is based on the languages she speaks and her background: she is a Dutch scholar who holds degrees in Slavic Languages and Literature as well as Theatre for Youth, and she has been active in the field of theatre studies in the United States since 1992 (University of Wisconsin-Madison, College of Letters and Science). Thus, she explains that the selection she made is “primarily pragmatic” saying: “I lived, worked, and researched TYA in each of these countries and speak the language. I hope that similar research to study the framing of TYA through historical narratives would be taken up in other countries.”53

Additionally, Shifra Shonmann's Key Concepts in theatre/Drama Education contains one chapter on TEY by theatre scholar and practitioner Eveylin Goldfinger titled “Theatre for Babies: A New Kind of Theatre?” Goldfinger 49Hatton, O. (2014). Book Review: Theatre, Youth, and Culture: A Critical and Historical Exploration. Theatre Research International, 39(3), p. 252

50 Van de Water, M. (2012). Theater, Youth, and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration., p. 2

51 Van de Water, M. (2012). Theater, Youth, and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration., p. 7

52Hatton, O. (2014). Book Review: Theatre, Youth, and Culture: A Critical and Historical Exploration. Theatre Research International, 39(3), p. 253

53 Van de Water, M. (2012). Theater, Youth, and Culture. A Critical and Historical Exploration., p. 4

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asks whether TEY is really theatre or something else: “artistic installation (...) or some other kind of live entertainment?”54 This is an interesting

question, one which opens up the discussion on the criteria by which a TEY performance should be judged. I will come back to this later in the research. Both van de Water and Fletcher-Watson have a personal and direct connection to the field, as practitioners for over a decade, and as active members of ASSITEJ (Association Internationale du Théâtre pour l’Enfance et la Jeunesse—International Association of Theatre for Children and Youth).55 Given their prominence and the general lack of academic sources,

the publications of van de Water and Fletcher-Watson have been used extensively in this research. As much as I relied on their findings, I acknowledged their respective positionalities and tried to maintain a distance and engage critically with these sources. Nonetheless, the manner in which they focused on TEY practices is the same as my present attempt: focusing on the geographical areas that are most familiar to the researcher, the languages spoken by the researcher, and the practices that were accessible.

As a response to the need for research in the field of TYA (and by extension, TEY) a series of initiatives were put in place by the most prominent organizations which focus on theatre for young audiences: ASSITEJ International and Small Size (The European Network for the Diffusion of Performing Arts for Early Childhood).

ASSITEJ established the International Theatre for Young Audiences Research Network (ITYARN), which amongst various activities is responsible for the proliferation of scholarly research in universities worldwide.56

Focusing on initiatives within European Union member states, the range of activities associated with Small Size includes the production of Annual Books which report the projects accomplished by the organization as well as booklets containing essays that espouse the associates’ ideas about art and childhood.

These materials contained within reflect the great variety which characterizes TEY: “the texts are very different among them, just as different as the companies, the institutions and the artists that are members of the Association.”57 A portion of the Small Size materials were

accessible to me thanks to the collaboration with Ion Creanga theatre in Romania, which is one of the 17 members of Small Size, as well as one of the study cases in this research.

2turvenhoog is another important European platform dedicated to TEY.58

2turvenhoog is an arts organization responsible for TEY diffusion and support within the Netherlands. They have organized annual TEY festivals in the country since 1999, and their activities are focused on residency and training programs for TEY artists. They do not publish any print material,

54 http://www.assitej-international.org/en/ (12.03.2018) 55 Ibid.

56 Ibid.

57 http://www.smallsize.org/activities_project/annual-books/ (18.03.2018) 58 http://2turvenhoog.nl/ (24.05.2017)

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but their festivals offer the opportunity to practitioners and parents for exchanging ideas on TEY.59

A great deal of information on the subject can be found in newspaper articles, websites, blogs, brochures and essays authored by TEY makers or ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) experts and practitioners. These sources have manifold uses, as they are meant to inform the wide public of the existence of TEY, to advertise performances to parents and educators, to document the history of the company or that of a particular production, to reflect critically on the work made and its place within the arena of TEY, to reflect upon TEY practices in the context of ECEC. Although these are not always scientific articles, they can be very helpful in placing TEY makers and their practices in a wider context and understanding the material and cultural circumstances in which their work is produced and received.

3.4 Social and scientific drivers which foster the

emergence of TEY

Whilst theatre as a cultural practice goes back to the dawn of human civilization, theatre practices addressing the youngest audiences represent, as discussed before, a phenomenon which dates back to merely forty years ago. I have identified two factors which can explain the present-day emergence and success of TEY.

First, the ubiquity of technology has a dramatic impact on all aspects of everyday life, and implicitly, on child-rearing practices. Second, the advent of the field of cognitive psychology has contributed to the new understanding of early childhood development. This scientific paradigm shift has encouraged new parental attitudes in the modern and postmodern societies of the 21st century, promoting the emergence of parenting as a

field in its own right.60

The above can be summed up through a formula of interdependency between technology, parenting and TEY.The increasingly digitalized world that we live in has an indisputable impact on children, parents, and the relationships between them. Children born in this day and age are digital natives, “a new target of cultural and media consumption” accustomed to screens and multi-media technology since infancy.61 On the other hand,

59 Artistic director Ingrid Wolff provided me with information on the activities of 2turvenhoog on two occasions, during informal talks.

60 Robert Cooper makes a tripartite classification of contemporary societies as follows: the premodern zone,

often ex-colonies “where the state has failed and a Hobbesian war of all against all is underway”; the traditional

modern states which “follow Machiavellian principles and raison d'ètat” (countries such as India, Pakistan and

China); the postmodern states “defined by a moral consciousness that applies to international relations as well

as to domestic affairs” (countries of the European Union, for example) Consulted https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/07/1 (17.03.2018)

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previous generations are digital immigrants62 constantly trying to adjust

and to keep up with the relentless development of technology. The generational gap is deepened by children and parents’ different rapports to technology; at the same time, adults seem to encourage the use of technology whilst being largely unaware of the effects of its rampant use upon children’s development.

Studies show that “recent years [have] seen an explosion in electronic media marketed directly at the very youngest children in our society.”63

These media encompass DVDs, television networks, mobile apps and videogames aimed at infants that are only a few months old64. Despite the

wide-spread targeting of infants as media consumers, “at this point, there are more ‘unknowns’ than ‘knowns’ in terms of the impact of exposure to screen and electronic media on very young children’s development.”65

It is largely agreed that the acquirement of digital skills is indispensable in the society of the 21st century. Therefore, children’s access to technology is

unavoidably part of their cognitive development. In this context, there is a need for a balance between mediated and non-mediated interactions: “self-regulation, empathy, social skills, and problem-solving are primarily learned through children exploring the natural environment, interacting with peers and caregivers, and playing in unstructured, creative ways.”66 With an

agenda which addresses babies exclusively, TEY makers uphold the targeting of the 0-3 age group as a specific consumer category, whilst satisfying the necessity for non-mediated real-life interactions.

Scholars date the trend of parenting centered on the cognitive development of children back to the second half of the twentieth century, noting that since the turn of the 21st century it has continued to grow

substantially, becoming “normative behavior.”67 Drawing upon findings in

cognitive psychology, an ever-increasing supply of popular science literature emphasizes the “decisive impact of early experiences on the architecture of the brain.”68 Parenting has thus become a kind of philosophy

which offers guidance to parents on appropriate child-rearing or parenting practices which focus on the importance of early childhood education. This increased awareness amongst parents, caregivers and educators brought about an expansion in activities created specifically for infants and babies. Hence, the popularity of TEY can be encompassed in the context of a new 61 Goldfinger, E. (2011). Theatre for Babies. A new kind of theatre?. In S. Schonmann, Key Concepts in Theatre/ Drama Education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, p. 298

62 Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On The Horizon (MCB University Press), 9(5), pp. 1-6

63 Vandewater, et al. (2007). Digital childhood: electronic media and technology use among infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Pediatrics, 119(5), p. e1007

64 Ibid. 65 Ibid. 66 Ibid.

67 Schaub, M. (2010). Parenting for cognitive development from 1950 to 2000: The

institutionalization of mass education and the social construction of parenting in the United States. Sociology of Education, 83(1), p. 57

68 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 131

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demandsupply dynamic on a market which targets infants as apt consumers.

3.5 Food for thought

All these different considerations and the socio-cultural issues they are connected to highlight the fact that there are various ways of approaching the topic of TEY. Each of them implies a theoretical framework and a methodology that can enable an investigation of TEY from a particular angle such as aesthetics, spectatorship, cognitive development, politics of representation.

The choice of a particular lens must be accompanied by the acknowledgment of the complex and interdisciplinary nature of TEY, bearing in mind that this is a relatively new phenomenon which has received little attention in academic contexts. Given its status, TEY does not possess an established set of methods, theories and tools. As Ben Fletcher-Watson notes, “the [existing] theoretical underpinnings have not been codified into a generalizable, comprehensive dramaturgy; theory is currently derived from child psychology, pedagogy, philosophy, or other nontheatrical sources.”69

Hence, research initiatives such as the present one, are probing the topic, trying to acknowledge its presence and relevance, and to propose and indeed experiment with approaches towards a critical examination of its practices.

69 Fletcher-Watson, B.(2016) “More like a poem than a play”: towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for

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4.The richness of TEY practices

4.1 Common artistic expression transcending borders

Creators of theatre for the smallest ones (…) formulate thoughts beyond borders and cultures and therefore might have a greater understanding for each other’s work than those working with grown-up theatre using real speech.70

TEY encapsulates a wide range of practices and approaches, which differ from one maker to another, across companies and countries. The diversity of this type of theatre is the result of multiple factors, which the present study will attempt to shed some light on, by dealing with several case studies in such a way so as to identify the common ground between them, whilst being sensitive to their distinct qualities.

As the creation of networks like Small Size testifies, there is a common philosophy that is shared by the TEY practitioners who are activating in different parts of Europe. As mentioned before, TEY was born in Europe not long ago, and since then it has been flourishing in increasingly many countries. It makes sense, then, to create possibilities on European scale for the creation of bridges across countries. This enables TEY practitioners to support one another and to further the growth of the field, to maintain a dialogue between these different entities which are all devoted to the same cause, but which are nonetheless unique in their own right. Goldfinger identifies two vital points when it comes to European TEY practices: the first one is that of the similarity of performances being developed across the continent:

“In Europe (…) one can see abstract productions with non-linear plotlines, audience members received onstage, and performers play[ing] with objects such as water, shoes or musical instruments.”71

The second vital point she comments on is how diversely TEY manifests itself: “as the variety of theatre for babies productions illustrate, there is no single way to design theatre for babies.”72

Looking at more than only one country means to start sketching the similarities and differences in TEY practices, to see how a common philosophy is being developed by practitioners working in different places, and to identify the different valences, manifestations, and approaches that TEY takes in each instance.

Non-linear plotlines, active participation of spectators and the recurrence of a number of elements are specific to TEY performances. Goldfinger defines TEY in the following way: “professional theatre led by adults performing for an audience of babies from months old to toddlers approximately one and a

70 Artistic International Association Small Size. An Idea of Art and Childhood. An open collection of thoughts, p.20

71Goldfinger, E. Theatre for Babies. A new kind of theatre?. In S. Schonmann, Key Concepts in Theatre/ Drama Education, pp. 294-295

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half to two years old accompanied by a parent or adult companion. Babies usually sit on their caregiver's lap or in a stroller, and watch a play - usually between 30 to 45 minutes long - designed especially for them.”73

According to Fletcher-Watson, this is a limitative formula for a number of reasons. First, it refers to a narrower age-group than is the case, and it uses the term “play” which excludes other artistic manifestations offered by TEY practitioners, such as installations, dance-based performances, musical theatre, and workshops; it also neglects the participative aspect of many TEY performances, where babies do more than simply watching. Therefore, Fletcher-Watson proposes a more encompassing definition: “a professionally-created theatrical experience for an audience of children aged from birth to around three-years-old, accompanied by carers.”74

The characteristics offered by these definitions were reflected by my findings, based on personal empirical observation and the interviews I did with TEY makers. This resulted in a list of key-characteristics of TEY performances; these characteristics pertain to the performance (including the performance and space), the performer(s) and the expectations from the audience (both children and caregivers).

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a database of scripts for TEY performances, so it is impossible to use this as a basis for the general characteristics of TEY performances.

A TEY performance typically lasts about 35 minutes of actual performance time; in the case of participative performances, there is usually an additional period of approximately 30 minutes reserved for a play session at the end.

Most TEY performances do not use language, or use it to a minimal extent, containing just a few words or song lyrics. The action is almost always non-linear and non-plot-based. The multisensorial aspect is perhaps the most definitive feature of TEY: input for the senses is at the heart of these performances: sight, sound, touch, smell, are all part of the experience. In TEY, the fourth wall is missing, meaning that the audience is not kept at a distance from the performers. This is achieved in several ways and in accordance with the needs of the infants and of the caregivers. Firstly, the typical arrangement in a TEY performance is focused on intimacy, and designed for small-scale shows (a maximum of 30 babies, plus their chaperons).75 This is in line with pediatricians’ position that babies should

not be exposed to large groups of people, because it can be traumatizing, or can constitute a risk to their health.76 Therefore, their spectatorial

experience must be different than that of older children and of adults:

73 Ibid.

74 Fletcher-Watson, B. (2016). " More like a poem than a play": towards a dramaturgy of performing arts for Early Years, p. 2

75Young, S. (2004). ‘It's a bit like flying’: developing participatory theatre with the under-twos: a case study of Oily Cart. Research in Drama Education, 9(1), p. 20

76 https://www.babycentre.co.uk/a6576/developmental-milestones-socialisation-in-babies (20.03.2018)

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smaller-scale, safer, more intimate, tailored to their physical and emotional needs.

Considering babies’ tendency to discover everything through the senses and physical experience during the sensori-motor stage, TEY makers do not expect babies to be seated on chairs like older children and adult spectators. Babies have to be able to move and discover what is around them. For this reason, TEY makers seat them on pillows and cushions, in the parents’ lap, or in their nearest proximity for toddlers who can move more independently.

Thus, TEY performances cannot be held in the absence of the caregivers, as babies are entirely dependent on them for their basic needs. This includes emotional needs too, since separation anxiety77 can appear as early as six

months and last up to 24 months of age.78 During TEY performances,

caregivers can exit whenever necessary and re-enter when and if the child is ready to be back. TEY practitioners keep this in mind and design the space so that caregivers can assist babies in their need for food, sleep and rest, or to be changed.

The child-spectators are placed on the same level with the performers, that is, they are not regarded as passive recipients placed in an area that separates them from the stage. On the contrary, they are expected to participate actively, they are seated very close to the performers, and they are encouraged to interact with the performers and the props, either at the end of the performance through a play session, or, in some cases, throughout the performance. Parents are expected to chaperon the children, as well as to participate.

4.2 The performers-facilitators

TEY performers do not portray particular characters, as in more traditional forms of theatre for older children and adults. The performers are agents of a “dramaturgy of play”79 and as such their activity is based on

improvisation and interaction among one another, as well as with the audience, both children and parents.

Susan Young draws attention to the fact that performers in TEY are also facilitators. She views this facilitation as “the role of the actors as initiators of creative play.”80

This extends to facilitation towards the parents: “when carers found it less easy to participate playfully, were hesitant or even resistant, the actors' role as play-prompters came more to the fore, and they drew on their stock of strategies for suggestion, persuasion and even gentle chivvying.81

77Separation anxiety is „The intense fear experienced by the young child when separated from the key person to whom they are emotionally connected” in Cullen, K. (2011). Child psychology. London: Icon Books Ltd., p. 69

78 https://www.babycenter.com/0_separation-anxiety_145.bc, (20.03.18)

79Young, S. (2004). ‘It's a bit like flying’: developing participatory theatre with the under-twos: a case study of Oily Cart. Research in Drama Education, 9(1), 13-28.

80Young, S. (2004). ‘It's a bit like flying’: developing participatory theatre with the under-twos: a case study of Oily Cart. Research in Drama Education, 9(1), p. 17

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