 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
National Taiwan Library Children’s Shuo-Chang Party
While applying for the use of the concourse in front of National Taiwan Library (NTL) as the location for Yu-Tsai Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse’s Yonghe-Zhonghe street performance, Ms. Lee, the contact person at NTL, informed us about the parent-child party that they have every Wednesday afternoon. She welcomed us to show the art of Shuo-Chang to parents and children at the party. In the afternoon right after the graduation ceremony, we went to NTL to tell stories through techniques of Shuo-Chang and helped children and grown-ups to get to know the art of Shuo-Chang better. Each group was able to present various forms of Shuo-Chang. The crowd enjoyed our performances, and the venue was filled with laughter. After this performance, we finally realized the importance of mastering the essence of Shuo-Chang, which are speaking, imitating, teasing, and singing. Activity Profile
Event Organizing
Making Posters and Sign BoardsIn order to attract more children and parents to take part in the show, we made and put up posters all over the venue. We have also prepared posters with the transcript of ‘Rarity’ and ‘Shoulder Pole and Wooden Bench’ marked in zhuyin phonetic notations so everyone would be able to join us for the storytelling with clappers session. RehearsalAfter rounds of learning and sharing, everyone was quite familiar with the flow of the event, and the rehearsal went fairly smoothly. In order to add some fun into our performances, we have also prepared some props and pop quiz questions to increase the level of interaction with the audience!
Event LogGathering and Getting Ready
It was finally the day of our performance. We arrived at the NTL a bit earlier to set up for our show. However, everyone was in shock after seeing our audience because they were of such a young age. Some of them might have just learned how to walk, and some of them were still in a stroller. The oldest child might only be in first or second grade. Everyone was getting more anxious, and we were worried that the audience might not understand us at all, let alone take part in our interactive activities. Modifying Activities
In order to help this young group of audience and their parents to enjoy the event with us, we had a quick meeting with our teachers to fine-tune our performances in terms of our delivery and tempo. Everyone was asked to slow down when speaking and exaggerate when acting. When interacting with the audience, we were asked to give them more hints, more encouragement, and more presents with the pop quiz. Let the Shuo-Chang Party Begin
As soon as we got on stage, the audience stared at us with their quizzical little eyes, wondering when Barney the Dinosaur was going to appear. Ms. Peng started us off by taking the lead. The hostesses greeted the audience enthusiastically, and our show got underway right after an enormous ‘CLANK.’ First to go on stage was the group cross talks by the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse. The audience had been very supportive, and their heartfelt applause warmed us up, motivated us to put more effort into our performances. The hostesses chained up our performances into a cohesive flow, and they didn’t forget to explain the genre of performance that we had just given. The children started answering pop quiz questions, and they answered them with confidence. The hostesses did a tremendous job keeping the children focused and entertained throughout the event. Finally, it was time for the long-awaited storytelling with clappers. Our audience each held a transcript of our performance with zhuyin phonetic notations. Two big posters of our performances ‘Rarity’ and ‘Shoulder Pole and Wooden Bench’ were already in place so every one would be able to join in on the storytelling with clappers session. We took the lead, and then the audience followed. We completed the storytelling with clappers together, and that marked the end of our fun- and laughter-filled Shuo-Chang party.
Content: organized by Jessica of the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse │ Pictures: the Original Artsy Shuo-Chang Posse |
|||||||||||||||||||||||
 |