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Bruno Munari

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Materials

The magic of materials in children’s theatre design

Materials in children's theatre

This post looks at the magic of materials in children’s theatre design. I interview scenographer and researcher Roma Patel whose theatre installation, The Enchanted Forest was recently presented as part of the Techtopia festival at Polka Theatre (London, UK) and at the Theatre Hullaballoo (Darlington, UK). The installation embedded a myriad of interactive digital technologies into its set design. In this interview, Roma discusses some of the key ideas behind The Enchanted Forest, including the importance of children’s sensory-rich experiences in the performing arts. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke Louisa Penfold: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about your work. What are some of the key ideas that influenced the design of The Enchanted Forest? Roma Patel: There were a few key things I was thinking about when designing The Enchanted Forest installation. I wanted to create something that would encourage a…

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Learning

The Nature of Play book review

In our busy and digital-driven world, many children have little opportunity to engage in everyday play in nature. Recent research has also illustrated that technology is significantly affecting how children think and focus their attention, with some screen-based games significantly restricting the use of imagination and creativity. The Nature of Play: A Handbook of Nature-Based Activities for all Seasons offers a remedy to this dilemma. The book features 44 play activities for children and adults in gardens, forests and city parks throughout the four seasons. For example, the Spring section of the book features activities such as ‘Get to know a tree’ and ‘plan a picnic.’ The Winter section then offers more indoor play prompts such as ‘build your own marble run’ and ‘rainy day games.’ Other activities include: Make your own pinhole camera using a recycled Pringles tubeCreative a beautiful seasonal mobile using objects collected from nature Construct a sand volcano…

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