Chalk About acts out children’s wishes

May 28, 2015

As the audience enters the Space Theatre, a soundscape featuring modern electronic music and children’s voices is playing.

Two performers in white tops and black pants explore the space through movement while chalking outlines of their bodies on the floor.

Choreographers and performers Christine Devaney and Leandro Kees, researched their production by talking to many children from different countries about what they wanted to see in theatre and thus Chalk About came into being.

While we hear some of the children’s recordings, audience members are invited on stage to chalk more outlines: it is a simple but engaging start to the show.

Devaney and Kees dance for a bit and then talk with the audience about what children want to see and not see in theatre performances. They proceed to rapidly act out all the children’s theatrical desires. After this preamble, the show begins: Devaney talks about her life story and all the while the two use movement to illustrate aspects of the story.

Chalk About introduces young children to dance and movement while topics such as love and death are discussed.

In a brilliantly simple device, Kees stands and asks the audience what kind of person they think he is. Children call out but their choices are mixed. They think about their perceptions and why they made the choices they did: what seemed straightforward actor-audience interaction becomes a thought-provoking and quite profound moment.

In German, Kees explains his family’s story while he draws images on the floor to clarify his words. Helium balloons with paper figures attached travel across the stage and into the audience, creating fascination and wonder. White material creates a tent cloud softly lit up above while children’s voices speak of desperation and loss. The dancers erase the chalk images, rest, engage in a dance wrestle and finish with some disco dancing.

Chalk About is one of many productions introducing fortunate young audiences to the world of the arts during the Come Out festival. As I left the theatre, I was taken by the hundreds of children playing and laughing in Elder Park, enjoying a beautiful sunny day.

Congratulations must be extended to the dedicated teachers who spend countless hours organising school excursions, visits to the theatre and in-school arts events during Come Out in order that the next generation will benefit from the rich experiences the arts offer.

Chalk About, a Curious Seed Production, is being presented at the Space Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre, again on May 30 (11.30am and 2pm). Recommended for ages eight and up, it is part of the Come Out Children’s Festival, which continues until May 30.