'Awesome' action kids venture into opera<\/p>\n
By Parvathi Nayar Narayan<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): What happens to relationships when you move to a
\nnew country? When you and the friends you leave behind,
\ninevitably grow in different ways and make new friends? Is there
\na common bond that will unite you? How do you cope with jealousy,
\ndislocation and feeling out of place?<\/p>\n
These are some of the surprising questions explored by the
\nopera Choosing Between Two. Surprising because this original
\nopera was written, composed and staged entirely by children from
\nthe third grade of South Jakarta's Pattimura School, which is
\npart of the Jakarta International School. It is not that strange,
\nreally, that the questions tackled by these children have such
\nadult resonances. After all, most problems are so universal; it
\nis only the context and perspective that vary.<\/p>\n
The story is simple, and starts in Canada where Lisa (Anna
\nOgawa) and Chrystal (Chelsea Theridault), inseparable best
\nfriends, are celebrating the Christmas spirit along with
\nChrystal's brother Daniel (Eric Segreti). Lisa has to leave
\nbecause her parents move to Indonesia. Soon, her two friends come
\nto visit her there.<\/p>\n
To Chrystal's dismay, Lisa now has a new \"best friend\" Jill
\n(Stephanie Saundh). Jill in turn feels threatened by this
\ninvasion from Lisa's past. Lisa is pulled in two directions and
\nlevel headed Daniel is uncertain how to cope. There is
\nunhappiness all around until the girls' natural friendliness
\nasserts itself. With some help from Roald Dahl -- a shared love
\nfor his books -- everyone is reunited in friendship.<\/p>\n
The opera, staged on Thursday evening, was created within The
\nCreating Original Opera Program, by the Metropolitan Opera
\nEducation Guild from New York. The teachers training was
\nsponsored by the Office of Overseas Schools. It is a specially
\ndevised process whereby the trained teachers act as facilitators
\nfor the 40 children involved in the program.<\/p>\n
Through an extensive process of brainstorming, group
\ndiscussion and group consensus, the essential plot is derived.
\nWith the third graders this year at Pattimura, the theme actually
\nevolved from personal experiences, and the problem of dislocation
\nthat many had experienced.<\/p>\n
The children decided to call themselves the Awesome Action
\nKids Opera Company. Then came the division of labor. Everything
\nwas produced from scratch, including wiring and building stage
\nlights, hammering together two flats and a drop that constituted
\nthe backdrops, and painting these. Apart from all this physical
\nactivity, others were busy hammering away at a script, composing
\nmusic and assembling props.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, there was even a Public Relations Department,
\nthat created specially designed T-shirts for the opera company,
\nand sent out invitations. Practice for the half hour long
\nproduction started in January.<\/p>\n
\"It was so rewarding because it combined all their classroom
\nskills and the arts,\" said Wrensen, one of the facilitators.<\/p>\n
The result was a thoroughly charming and entertaining
\nperformance. It had obviously been carefully thought out, with
\ngreat care paid to detail in all aspects -- from character
\ndelineation to painting backdrops. The Indonesian backdrop for
\ninstance, was a window with a little gecko crouched on it,
\nframing an exterior view of a bajay (three-wheeled motorized
\nvehicle) and coconut trees. This love and attention to detail is
\nuniquely the vision of a child.<\/p>\n
In today's world of cutthroat competition, it is reassuring
\nthat idealism has some place, for the production was a result of
\nteam effort rather than competitive activity. Not to say, though,
\nthat along the way they did not learn useful lessons about
\nprofessionalism and survival. The children learned to accept
\ndeadlines and keep to them, solve problems using their own
\ninitiative, and deal with the unexpected.<\/p>\n
For example, in the performance I noticed that the forks
\nneeded to eat noodles in a scene were misplaced. But the
\nperformers, after the briefest of hiccups, took it in their
\nstride and scooped the food with their hands instead.<\/p>\n
No matter at what level, education should be more than a
\nprocess of memorizing dates and totting up numbers. There are
\nincredible opportunities available today, such as those offered
\nby The Creating Original Opera Program, and it would be short
\nsighted not to exploit these to their full potential. Educators
\nare uniquely positioned to combine theoretical and formal studies
\nwith creative, non-linear and experimental forms of learning to
\nequip today's children with a larger understanding of life and
\nthe world we all live in.<\/p>",
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