Children express pain and sadness through play<\/p>\n
By Santi W.E. Soekanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Come one, come all to Taman Ismail Marzuki this
\nSunday afternoon to witness children from conflict-ravaged
\nPontianak in West Kalimantan express their pain and sadness over
\nthe ethnic violence that has claimed many lives.<\/p>\n
The nine children, together with 24 Jakarta street children,
\nwho are also no strangers to violence, will stage a free
\nperformance titled Voices of the Next Generation at 2 p.m. The
\nchildren created the play, but they are being directed by British
\ndirector David Glass.<\/p>\n
Glass involves the children in workshops where they are taught
\nbasic drama techniques and storytelling to allow them to express
\ntheir feelings about their lives. His techniques include
\nencouraging the children to plan, rehearse and stage a
\nperformance based on their experiences.<\/p>\n
The play had originally been planned to be performed in
\nPontianak, home to more than 30,000 refugees who escaped the
\nviolence in Sambas two years ago.<\/p>\n
The recent explosion of fresh unrest, however, forced the
\ngroup to move to Jakarta, and cancel the involvement of most of
\nthe children from Pontianak except for nine who were flown to
\nJakarta last Friday.<\/p>\n
Glass said he hoped the play would help the children explore
\ntheir feelings, express their pain and overcome their fears. "The
\nidea (behind the performance) is (encouraging) children to be
\ncreative, (exploring) the functions of life, encouraging the
\nchildren to discover more of themselves and the world.<\/p>\n
"In the process, it is hoped the children will grow less
\nfearful of the world," Glass said. "It's a bit like therapy."<\/p>\n
The performance will be Glass' second in Indonesia. He visited
\nIndonesia in March 1999 to assess the feasibility and details of
\nperforming with street children for his "Lost Child Project".<\/p>\n
He worked with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), street
\nchildren and artists with a potential interest in collaborating
\nin his group's project. He returned with his team, the David
\nGlass Ensemble, six months later and worked in Indonesia for
\nthree weeks in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
This was followed by one week in both Bandung and Yogyakarta,
\nwith half the group working with street children in each city.<\/p>\n
"It was beautiful to see the children stand up and tell (the
\naudience) why they lived on the streets, what it's like to live
\non the streets," Glass said. He added that the experience helped
\nempower the children, so much so that one child involved in the
\nplay last year has established his own NGO.<\/p>\n
Sponsored by the British Council, the performance is the focus
\nof a series of events and activities under the same title, Voices
\nof the Next Generation.<\/p>\n
This year's program has several main aims, namely to build the
\ncapacity of NGO workers dealing with displaced children from
\nareas in conflict, to work with a group of displaced children to
\ncreate a drama about their lives and to gain national and
\ninternational publicity about the situation of displaced children
\nfrom restive areas in Indonesia, and to advocate action to
\nprotect their rights and respond to their needs as children
\naffected by violent conflict.<\/p>\n
Glass, a mime artist, has performed solo work for eighteen
\nyears in over 40 countries. He originally studied at the London
\nContemporary Dance School and then went to Paris where he studied
\nand worked with French performers.<\/p>\n
Glass, 42, has created and performed in over 13 solo pieces,
\nincluding Glassworks and The Shrinking Man, before establishing
\nthe David Glass Ensemble in 1989 to produce pieces for mid-scale
\ntheaters. The ensemble includes Jane Arnfield, Valerie Berdaa, Al
\nNedjari and Tara Herbert, according to Antara.<\/p>\n
In 1997, the ensemble created The Lost Child Trilogy, an
\ninternational coproduction which tells the stories of lost
\nchildren. In the past three years they have worked in more than
\n15 countries, including Vietnam, China, Columbia, the Philippines
\nand Indonesia in 1999.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia is a beautiful country. It has all this wonderful
\nenergy, new ideas, new ways of doing things, but combined with
\nunhappiness over the past," Glass said of the reason why he chose
\nIndonesia for the ensemble's current performance.<\/p>\n
British Council spokesman Jim Hollington said the other
\nactivities include workshops for NGO staff from West Kalimantan,
\nMaluku and beyond on using drama techniques when working with
\ndisplaced children.<\/p>\n
Another activity is A Child's Eye Photography Project, in
\nwhich Jonathan Perugia from the Indonesian charity, A Child's
\nEye, will conduct week-long workshops in West Kalimantan next
\nweek. The workshops will involve disenfranchised young people to
\nuse cameras to express their feelings and find their voice.<\/p>\n
"Children who are often marginalized and ignored are then
\nencouraged to explore their creativity and individuality in an
\nenvironment where they are respected, where their opinions are
\nvalued," Hollington said of the photography workshop.<\/p>\n
Some of the photographs collected will be displayed during the
\nperformance on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Perugia will also build a library and exhibition of
\nphotographs depicting the children's lives in Pontianak, Sambas,
\nSingkawang and Jakarta starting Nov. 20, Hollington said.<\/p>\n
Another activity planned as part of the Voices of the Next
\nGeneration series is a publication of storytelling posters. Agus
\nMulyono, an Indonesian children's author, will work with children
\nin Kalimantan to help them produce artwork.<\/p>\n
The artwork will form the basis of a series of posters to be
\ndistributed to schools throughout Indonesia to increase awareness
\nof the meaning and importance of children's rights.<\/p>\n
Some 60 percent of up to one million displaced people
\nscattered in various refugee centers in Indonesia are children,
\nmany of whom have not only witnessed armed conflict but have also
\nbeen victims of violence.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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