STUDIES
Vol. 2 No. 4, 2022
Children Theatre and Inclusivity in Nigeria: A Case for Shadow Theatre
Lilian Okoro University of Calabar, Nigeria
*Correspondent Author: [email protected]
ABSTRACT
This paper, titled “Children Theatre and Inclusivity in Nigeria: A Case for Shadow Theatre,” highlights the need to ensure no one is left out in theatre activities intended for and with young people as the quest for digitalization deepens. Theater generally mirrors society; therefore, in children's theater, everyone should be reflected in the presentations. Digitalized, inclusive theatre activity for children is envisaged as a major key to change for revitalising theatre. Over the years, the children's theatre initiative in Nigeria has not sufficiently involved children in general, and particularly children with disabilities, in the performing arts. The flexibility of digitalization therefore provides more windows for inclusion. This paper therefore advocates for the absolute inclusion of all children in theatre activities. Various platforms come in handy for children's theatre and pedagogy; avenues like storytelling and shadow theatre could contribute immensely to children's theatre endeavours in a digital era. The theories of inclusivity highlighted in Vygotsky’s theory of social learning as well as Herbert Spencer and Robert Merlton’s structural functionalism theory lend credence to the analysis and framework of the study. The paper recommends the need for theatre organisations to create an enabling environment that can enhance platforms for the involvement of children, irrespective of their abilities and health status, ensuring that in the performing arts and entertainment industry, the entire composition of individual abilities is projected. In conclusion, this paper suggests that the combination of shadow theatre and the infusion of digital technology into storytelling formats will boost the involvement of all children in theatrical activities and could enhance and promote global competitiveness in the digital era.
Keywords: Environmental enforcement; Environmental Law; Nigeria; Environment.
1. INTRODUCTION
It is common knowledge that learning can occur in different ways, both formal and informal.
“Theatre is a form of knowledge; it should and can also be a means of transforming society.” “Theatre can help us build our future, rather than just waiting for it” (Augusto, 2000). One of the ways to give children the opportunity to understand their world is through the process of participatory learning, which can be very evident in children's theatre activities. Several participatory approaches exist, such as creative drama, drama in education, and theatrical presentations.
Theatre, regardless of its form, is based mainly on the acting and re-enactment of life experiences.
Children's theatre re-enactment centres mainly around the interests of children and sometimes adults. Children's theatre considers the interests of parents, who may censor the content of the arts and explain the contents of the video to their children (Eluyefa, 2017). Most often, real, practical children's theatre does not incorporate the younger ones, between ages 2 and 5, and this age group is critical for development as those are the formative years. The entertainment industry in most developing countries and Nigeria is not
projecting child-friendly policies sufficiently in the face of digitalization. As a result, the representation of young people's interest in theatre and media requires a boost, which can be accomplished through the use of various digital tools. In media and theatrical productions, children and adult audiences may have variations of interests; hence, there is always a need for proper considerations. Understanding children’s perspectives and perceptions is vital to producing programmes that engage audiences and enhance their understanding of their world.
The arts in general provide numerous benefits, and children's Theatre, as a performative art form, provides enormous benefits to both the audience and the actors. If the disabled are excluded from this rich art form, how can the country achieve national integration? The roles of theatre and media in society are multidimensional. Aside from their educational role, theatre and media transcend mere performance; they involve acting on stage and reeling out information to entertain and educate the public or audience. This edutainment role of theatre and media is a veritable tool capable of promoting national integration. Theatre creates a path that can lead to serenity, making people more humane. Lessons learned from theatrical productions span from morals to varieties of social virtues and changes in behavior. The prevalent status of every society is replicated in the activities of theatre and media. Subsequently, when we consider the role of theatre and media in society, especially the role of mirroring society, it is imperative to advocate for inclusivity in theatre productions involving children with different abilities.
2. OBSERVATIONS
There is a global shift in all spheres of human endeavour from analogue to digital, and theatre should not be left behind. There is an alarming and shocking lack of facilities that allow the disabled to gain access to theatrical events;
discuss their involvement in playwriting and their participation as audience members. There are several people in society who have physical or
mental conditions that limit their ability to participate in theatrical activities in Nigeria. Even if they have impairments in certain areas of their body or mind, they can still survive in the digital age by using other unimpaired parts of their body and mind. There is a need for an effective, systematic transformation style through the performing arts.
It has also been observed that the Nigerian children's theatre is yet to reflect new ideas of digitalization in its performances on stage in a significant way. Regardless of the limitations imposed on the disabled, they still have potential;
it is only the affected part of the body or mind that limits them. Computers and other digital technology can assist them. Several blind people sing very well, and several crippled people do exceptionally well using the other parts of their bodies to perform tasks. The media's representation of the disabled has the potential to, if harnessed like in the developed world, promote theatrical activities tremendously; inclusivity will bring high demands in all sectors of theatre organizations' economies.
Most theatre and media practitioners have consistently ignored children with disabilities in most of their productions, and this paper makes a passionate appeal for them. Exploring digital technologies will boost such anticipated theatrical activities. Various styles of presentations are available for children's theatre productions;
however, this paper focuses on shadow plays and digital storytelling. Shadow plays are the result of
“Shadow Theatre,” which involves the use of shadows as actors on stage, accompanied by sound and, occasionally, writings and narratives.
The major tools of shadow theatre are lighting, performers, and digital supports for sound and background visuals.
2.1 Shadow Theatre and Techniques 1. Objects, people (puppetry)
2. Projection and projector paper 3. Light
4. Special effects for optical illusions 5. Scenery and props
Digital storytelling is another viable conduit for children's Theatre. It is the use of digital technology for delivering stories to the audience;
various audio-visual devices can be used to support the action of the storyteller.
3. UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT OF CHILDREN’S THEATRE
According to Maguire and Schuitema (2013), there are many perspectives and approaches to the understanding of children's Theatre. “The predetermined performances are usually projected with the aim of fostering learning to make the lives of the children better from different angles.” Cirella-Urrutia (2001) asserts that children's theatre is a platform for children's drama presentations. The justification of children's theatre is to provide the best outcome of a theatrical experience, with the end result of these productions expected to add knowledge to the audience. Children's theatre is thus a type of performance that includes children as actors and/or as audience members. It is a form of theatre for society's youth in which issues affecting them are performed. As the name implies, children's theatre is ideally intended to be for and with children.
Dramatic conventions and forms appropriate for children's theatre Puppetry, Reader’s Theatre, Masked drama, poetry, rhyme, radio drama, role play, drama games, mime, improvisation Elements: The four elements of theatre are script, procedure, production, and audience. Narration, moral melodrama, slapstick comedy, musicals (songs and dances), fantasy costumes, and lighting theatre activities and end products like mime, musicals, comedies, tragedies, et cetera require active participation of both the actors and, most times, the audience. Children's theatre is created and performed for a young audience by child actors, professional adult actors, or a combination of the two (Okafor, 1989).
Children's theatre involves the use of approaches like “Theatre with children,” “Theatre by children,” and “Theatre for children.” In theatre with children, both children and adults are actors, working inclusively to create an exciting theatrical performance (Goldberg, 1974). While in theatre, the children manage the stage exclusively and design all the stage properties. Also, theatre for
children is designed with the needed theatrical properties, and the children only assume the stage for performance. In theatre for children, the children are the actors, but the designing and calligraphy are entrusted to the adult professional, who is vested with the knowledge and technicality of stage management.
Goldberg (1974) argued further that an adult child is the same as a child in a Theatre, except that the theatre for children is programmed as being child-oriented. This adaptation does not necessarily imply that some are children.
Providing life lessons to children from a perspective that encourages emulation of the good and rejection of the bad is an essential life skill capable of making young people better and more able to solve some problems in life. Generally, children's digital theatre will boost inspiration, and practitioners must gear their efforts towards inspiring children to be the best they can be through their creativity.
4. THEATRE AS A MIRROR OF THE SOCIETY.
Theater is very important in society because most of the time it is a re-enactment of a real-life situation. Hence, theatre is an art that reflects society. It explores the human condition through the process of theatrical stage presentation and performances. Theater is an important part of human history because performative art is associated with human history in the ancient and pre-industrial eras. Theater is seen as the most complex part of human history because it has the capability to show the best and worst sides of human nature, projecting them either as tragedy or comedy. People might easily connect with the history on stage and make an effective emotional connection to their roots, or even get updates about current trends. According to the American Musical Theatre Academy (2018), theatre as the mirror of society performs the following functions: self- discovery and expression, history, and education.
4.1 Self-discovery and Expression
The ability to understand oneself and relate personality traits is a variable feature of theatre exposure. Theater performs the role of self- discovery for both the stage players and the audience. In theatre, dancing presents a cultural
trait of a particular human society that passes a message of norms and values. Therefore, self- discovery through theatre has a nexus with inclusivity in life. Through the mirror of the stage, theatre helps society as a whole gain self- knowledge and understanding. Expression is one of the great tasks of adolescence in our society, and the theatre tends to bridge the gap. This is because both children and adults can learn skills of expression and oratory prowess from the performing arts on stage, especially during the periods of play and drama presentations that they are part of as active participants.
4.2 Every Nation's All-In-One Agenda: No One Should Be Left Out
The idea of inclusive development was sparked by the recognition of universal human rights. Be it as it may, many developing countries do not have sufficient implementable policies to integrate those living with one physical challenge or another. Even in education, children with special needs are not fully integrated into the system. Scholars like Jgingan from the development sector have argued that the concept of inclusivity is relatively new because before now, development was based on a sectorial approach and not on the idea of inclusivity. Most countries have, however, practised this for years.
Inclusive development is “a process of structural change that gives voice and power to the concerns and aspirations of otherwise excluded groups.”
The majority of the time, pressure groups are formed by excluded members of society who speak on their behalf. Albinos, for example, are frequently excluded from society in Nigeria. The albinism challenge is even worse with children.
Most theatre arts practitioners neglect them greatly. “We cannot give up on our children... and it is unthinkable to give them over to people who do not feel this immense, special love.” “We just want society to stop pretending they are inclusive when we are fighting for school places and are excluded from activities” (Ferenczi, 1988). “It redistributes the incomes generated in both the formal and informal sectors in favour of these groups, and it allows them to shape the future of society in an interaction with other stakeholder groups” (Amin, 1999). Inclusivity can also be seen as “a process that occurs when social and material
benefits are equitably distributed across divides within societies, across income groups, genders, ethnicities, religious groups, and others” (Anthias, 2001). Inclusivity is development that includes marginalised people, sectors, and countries in social, political, and economic processes for increased human well-being, social and environmental sustainability, and empowerment (Hendriks, et al., 2022). In some places, disabled children are excluded, undermining their inherent potential and fostering stereotypes and superstitious beliefs about them.
The United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (2018) provides a foundation for sustainable and transformative progress on disability inclusion through all four pillars of the United Nations’ work. “The policy establishes the highest levels of commitment and a vision for the United Nations system on disability inclusion, with the goal of establishing an institutional framework for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, among other international human rights.”
The inclusivity agenda of every nation emphasises ensuring that there is a universal achievement of inclusion of persons with disabilities and their human rights through enactment of the globally agreed commitments contained in the United Nations treaties, to which most of the African States are signatories.
Strategic planning for the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities will ensure that no one is excluded. According to the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy (2018), “disability inclusion” refers to the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all their diversity and the promotion and mainstreaming of their rights across the work of the organisation. The development of disability- specific programmes and consideration of disability-related perspectives in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is directed towards the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities.
5. DIGITALIZED CHILDREN'S THEATRE Incorporating digital technologies into children's theatre productions requires adequate
understanding of the various areas where this can be applicable. These areas include, but may not be limited to, lighting, soundscapes, and transitional cues and changes. Archiving digitalization involves the use of mobile devices, computers linked to social networking sites, and other tools available every day. Portable devices can be useful in content creation, information gathering, and connecting in different ways. “Digital technologies are pervasive in the contemporary world” (Jensen, 2011), and technology plays a huge role in our lives.
The impact of the new technology is huge and affects theatre in two ways: in content creation and production delivery. “The evolution of new technologies and media... has had a huge impact on the field of arts and culture.” In particular, two areas: “the way arts are created and the way arts are delivered to their audience” (Tajtakora, 2014, p. 1). It has been observed that children's preference for new technology in the digital world is increasing; they prefer online performances to stage plays or productions.
6. HOW CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS ARE HANDLED: THE GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
There is a need for more global standards for handling children and adults with special needs. In most developing countries, the media and theatrical activities go on as if these people do not exist. This is due to differences in geographical location, economic growth and development plans, and the government's social investment programme in some countries around the world, whereas in other developed countries, policies and programmes are inclusive and no one is left out.
The physically challenged citizens of these countries receive the disability-related services required but experience exclusion from everyday life activities that provide social significance and inclusion for all. Although scholars have argued that there is a mental disability, the paper's main focus is on physically challenged individuals.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “disability is part of the human condition.” The organisation has predicted that “almost everyone will be temporarily or permanently disabled at some point in life, and those who survive to old age will experience
increasing difficulties in functioning.” In every social grouping, most extended families have a disabled member, while the non-disabled members care for and support the disabled individuals (Lee, 2003). Beyond the family level, in most countries in the world, there is no supporting system or policy or programme of inclusivity for the disabled. Demographers predict that due to most countries' life expectancy ratios, there will be an increase in people of old age, leading to acute disability among the elderly, and that where there is no policy of inclusivity, there will be a high mortality ratio among the population of this group irrespective of these projections. Projecting the focus on children is the main focus of this paper.
7. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
7.1 Vygotsky Theory
The theory's basic premise is that there is a network of people who rely on and relate to one another for survival. Vygotsky noted that human conduct and relationships are products of their cultural background. The cultural background attached significance and value to the people and also determined how they relate to people of other cultures. (Crawford, 1996). The shortcoming of the theory is that it did not specify the measure of care for the children with special needs. But based on the theory, it has become relevant to this paper.
The contents of children's theatre play productions are mostly drawn from the socio-cultural milieu, and as such, they provide a platform capable of enriching the likes of the children involved in the production.
7.2 Structural-functionalism Theory
This theory was propounded by Robert K.
Merton, Herbert Spancer, August Comte, and Emile Durkheim. The basic postulation of the theory is that human society is a system that works collectively for the survival of the entire system.
Human lives are guided by social structures, which are relatively stable patterns of social behavior, and every individual in society is functional, relevant, and interdependent for the overall system's growth and stability. Every social structure has social functions and consequences that are active in society. Education, for example, has several important functions in a society, such
as socialisation and learning. On the other hand, half an education is extremely harmful. Theater activities will serve a purpose and have positive outcomes most of the time. Theatrical productions are also educational tools; children learn both subjectively and objectively via theatre. Thus, one of the key ideas in structural functionalism is that society is made up of groups or institutions that are cohesive, share common norms, and have a definitive culture (Hak, 2007). Based on the assumptions of the theory, it is relevant to this paper because everyone is important, including the disabled children. The children's theatre initiative is sufficiently endowed even as an edutainment platform for teaching children and entertaining them, and with the flexibility of digital technology, every child could partake in theatre activities either as actors or members of the audience.
8. CONCLUSION
This paper is intended to awaken the consciousness of children's theatre practitioners as well as the general public about proper consideration when involving special-needs children in theatrical activities. It is better for theatre practitioners to stand up for the less privileged in society before they stand for themselves. Theatre of the Oppressed: A Tool for Social Change is intended to use theatre as a radical community communication and educational tool. It’s an offshoot of the oppressed's neglect. Augusto (2000) projected this concept in order to displace the traditional opposition between actors and the audience. He intends for the oppressed to perform on stage alone, rather than through professionals who provide platforms for members of society to explore collective struggles.
“We all bring baggage to the theater.” The baggage of our daily lives, the baggage of our problems, the baggage of our tragedies, the baggage of being tired It does not matter what age you are. “But if our hearts get opened and released, well, that is what theatre can do and does sometimes, and everyone is thankful when that happens”
(Vanessa, 1989, p. 64).
There is no doubt that if a child is challenged for no fault of their own, society must ensure that the child's embedded feelings and opinions are not completely extracted from theatre and media presentations. The exclusion of these children from theatrical productions will continuously bridge communication with society. The verbal and non-verbal communication available in theatrical productions can go a long way in helping us understand why people behave the way they do.
Good interpersonal relationships could be projected via theatrical productions, which in turn would promote national integration to a reasonable extent.
Nigeria is deeply divided along religious, political, and ethnic lines. This division is accompanied by serious suspicion, distrust, and antagonism among its diverse people. These problems have had grave consequences for the orderly economic growth, development, stable democratic government, unity, and survival of the nation. The different measures and approaches designed and employed by successive Nigerian governments to unite, preserve, and generally keep the country afloat cannot be said to have been really effective. National integration in a globalised world may be hampered if the many young people with disabilities are not included. As a result, it is up to theatre and media practitioners to ensure a more balanced representation of society as a whole. Involving all children, irrespective of their physical or mental disposition, in a theatre production will ensure that their visibility is uncompromised. Most theatre productions will be more realistic and enriched with inclusivity.
9. RECOMMENDATIONS
Before the Creator, all human beings were equal; the digital era also gives room for all humans to participate in order to grant all access to the function and consequences of theater.
Therefore, this paper is an attempt to promote digitalization and the inclusivity of children in theatrical activities. This can be accomplished by recognising children with special needs, as is done in other countries around the world where adequate provision for disabled children exists.
The governments of developing countries, especially Nigeria, should develop modalities of
inclusivity to promote the rights of children with special needs and ensure that no one is left out. The spirit of oneness should be developed among the citizenry; this will in turn reflect in theatre performances for children.
Secondly, this paper recommends that existing theatre buildings be renovated to provide accessibility for all, especially those using wheel chairs, and that digital technology be used to support stage performances and delivery to a wider group of young people. Thirdly, families with disabled children should encourage their children to participate in theatrical activities. This will enrich both the children involved and their audience. Fourth, children's theatre practitioners should participate in productions that raise massive awareness for the disabled and promote those who are interested in theatre and media activities. Finally, script writers should incorporate digitalized windows, no matter how small, for the sake of the disabled in the content of their work so that directors of children's theatre can have sufficient ideas to work with, especially in children's theatre productions.
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