Theatre as a learning medium

One of the best learning medium is the visual one. Whether it is books, TV or video games children love characters like Barbie Doll, Chhota Bheem and other cartoons that spark their imagination and helps them learn and remember better.

Theatre, too, can be a beautiful learning medium for children. At the recently concluded ‘Hyderabad Children’s Theatre Festival 2015’ at Shilpakala Vedika in Madhapur, the focus was on rising and showcasing Indian content, improving significance of presenting arts; all creatively designed towards improving learning efficacy for children.

Theatre can be a medium to improve children’s mental and physical skills. The age-old proverb, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy” is a testament to the significance of creative and visual means towards learning.

Speaking to CityTAB, Prabha Naresh a private school teacher agrees, “A combination of both reading and visuals has to be included in the syllabus. Children find it easy to learn things better when it is done practically rather than in theory.”

In addition to conducting theatre shows for children, schools must involve them on stage as well. Not only would this be an exciting acting opportunity for kids, it presents as a good mnemonic exercise; learning dialogues and script instead of a lesson is just good fun.

Shaili Sathyu, director for the play ‘Kyun Kyun Ladki’ at the festival, has been conducting theatre-based learning workshops for children since 2006.

‘Kyun Kyun Ladki’ staged on November 5 was an amazing performance for the enjoyment of kids. It was a Hindi play presented through different short stories through dialogues and also in mute. This was an unforgettable way for children to learn lessons and grasp things quickly.

The show presented teacher-student relation in a story where the teacher asks the students to act with dialogues and without dialogues. The second story was about a girl, who was scared to learn riding a bicycle.

The third item was about a little girl, who tries to catch a Cobra but she was stopped by an elderly woman, who made her understand how harmful it could be. The children watched with rapt attention throughout the evening.

Overall, the show presented a medium to make children understand their subjects in a creative and attentive manner. Such shows need to happen often to improve the learning ability of the young generation.

By Chitra Saikumar