1500 words
For this task, you are required to attend a performance that has been designed for children. Examples include (but are not limited to) a concert or a children’s theatre performance.
To find appropriate performances, you could look in newspaper theatre directories, advertising from performance spaces, newspapers and other publications aimed at families and children, brochures in local libraries or community centres. For example, if you live in Sydney you might look at the Sydney Morning Herald Theatre Directory, The Sydney Opera House Kids at the House Program, Monkey Baa Theatre, Sydney’s Child magazine or your local paper. Art galleries and museums often have live performances for children throughout the year. Other suggestions for performances and venues will be made via the unit iLearn site once everyone is enrolled. Please note that attending an exhibition at an art gallery or museum is inappropriate for this assessment task.
During your attendance, you should make notes that will later help you write your critique. Remember that performances for children rarely focus on just one artform (e.g. drama, music, movement or visual arts by itself).
Your critique should:
• describe the performance (including its location and aim if this was made explicit);
• comment on its suitability for its intended audience,
• explain how the performance uses aspects of different artforms together and how effective this was, and
• comment on the audience’s reactions and/or responses to the performance.
While this assignment is based on your opinions, normal scholarly practice is expected, so these opinions must be located within the wider literature and supported with current references.
Readings prescribed by the lecturer for the unit, this would give you guidance to the scope of the essay:
o Crowther, I. 2011, Creating effective learning environments, 3rd ed., Toronto : Nelson Education, 2011, Chapter 9: Dramatic Play.
o Deans, J., Brown, R., & Young, S. (2007). The possum story: reflections of an early childhood drama teacher. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32(4), 1-6.
There is also a video if you want to search it up.
o Children, Meaning-making and the arts (2012), Chapter 5 Weddell, C. (2003). The child audience. In S. Wright (Ed.), Children, meaning-making and the arts, Frenchs Forest: Pearson.