Andre’s 8th Birthday Party – 13th Jan 2014 (Source Material)

Our first task was to attend an 8^th Birthday party. At this party we were to dress up according to the theme of Disney versus Marvel/Superheroes and bring along a birthday present for Andre and snacks for the food table. Once we had entered the party we were to remain as children.

The idea of this party was to help us get into the mindset of young children who will be the target audience for our Children’s Theatre pieces.

During the party we played party games such as musical chairs and musical statues, pass the parcel and Simon Says.

I found the party a refreshing way to research the way in which our target audience act. However we all found that we played younger than intended. We all appeared to revert to small children whose speech is still rather childish, whereas eight-year-olds are verbally “more mature” than that. Prior to the party I found some videos on YouTube that looked at the reactions of children and these showed me that children are much more knowledgeable and “grown up” than I gave them credit for.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xre8zZ_B8Mk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TJxnYgP6D8

These videos showed that even young children have a knowledgeable grasp on more “adult” topics.

However once I went into the party I failed to use this research when playing an eight-year-old.

Once the party had ended and we had cleared up our paper plates and wrapping paper we were given party bags containing two feedback sheets to complete:

·         8YR OLD FEEDBACK

·         ADULT FEEDBACK

These feedback sheets allowed us to consider how the party was/was not helpful to our Children’s Theatre project.

I found the most difficult part of playing an 8-year-old was knowing how to play it without over acting it or playing a younger age. However I found the exercise useful in getting into the mindset of our target audience and showed me that interactive activities would be an effective tool to use within our piece as children are attentive when being interactive.

 

Using these feedback sheets we discussed within our groups what we found from this exercise and then did an "interview" to help document our findings. The "adult" interview allowed me to express my ideas on Theatre for Children having taken part in the party and the key thing I took from the party was how integral a child's imagination is to them playing games.

Below is my interview as an 8-year-old and the information we gathered from our interviews was reiterating that a child's imagination is important to think about when devising our piece, as it is a creative place allowing us to explore the line between reality and fantasy.

 

Boo (Me) and the Mad Hatter