An immersive and interactive theatrical world for children with autism spectrum disorder will have its inaugural performances in Nanaimo.
Théâtre Motus, a theatre company from Quebec that creates original plays for young audiences using puppets and live music, will perform as part of the Port Theatre’s Spotlight series Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4-5.
The director and creator of Tree: A World in Itself, Hélène Ducharme, said her inspiration and research into specialized theatre started just before the pandemic. Through workshops with children, she discovered they would be receptive to almost anything she’d like to do, so long as she followed their lead. The idea for this specific show, she said, came from multi-sensory environments known as Snoezelen rooms.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to really develop sensory theatre. It’s a very close-up show, very one-on-one,” Ducharme said. “The idea is not to say no, just to invite them to collaborate … they can see from far if they need, or from very, very near.”
Since the goal of the show is to provide an intimate, immersive and interactive experience for the audience, there is typically only five to eight children invited to each hour-long performance.
Ducharme described the stage as centred around a large fantasy-like tree with the children seated around it in a type of nest. From out of the tree comes all the characters of the show, all the animals and insects one might find living in a tree. The characters are portrayed by puppets of all sizes and the show can involve all five senses.
“There are kids that are invisible in our society … And if we can just open the theatre to those kids and also all the arts, all the imagination … If we could inspire any artists to become a part of this world, that would be a wonderful thing for me. I think every artist should try to meet them, they would discover a wonderful world,” Ducharme said.
More information on Théâtre Motus can be found at www.theatremotus. com. For more on the Port Theatre performances June 4-5, visit www.porttheatre.com.
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