Study of Pinocchio
We held a two-day multi-age class around the study of
Pinocchio. (We offered the session
during Mid Winter Break as we had to cancel two school days in January when our
boiler system was shut down for repairs.) Sixteen children attended. Quyhn Cao and I were impressed with how much learning and doing took place during
those twelve hours together: we
delved into the original tale and compared that to the aspects of the Disney
animated feature. The story ends with
Gepetto being stuck in the belly of a whale.
We made a literary comparison to the Biblical story of Jonah and the
Whale. After making simple marionettes
with strings and sticks, children began to learn how to manipulate them. We had time to do other activities as well:
beading and making lanyards, enjoying a
fast paced game with balls and ride toys that was created one day in the Trike
Room, We took the light rail to the
Seattle Children’s Theater to see their current production of the story. The older and younger children play and work
together so very well. The two-day
program typifies what Lake and Park means by a theme based curriculum. We want to involve the greater school
community in the experience.
About the Story and
Some Difficulties in Presenting It to Children
Written in Italian by
Carlo Collodi, the story was constructed as a serial—one installment after
another as a magazine format, rather like the modern comic book where the
reader is kept on the hook and made to pick up the next installment to find out
how the character gets out of the latest predicament. No wonder there are so many cliff
hangers! And what cliff -hangers! Collodi seems to spare nothing as he creates
one ordeal after another for his most lasting character to endure. In chapter after chapter, Pinocchio attempts
to do the right thing; he is beset again and again by those who would deceive
him. On top of that, he is frequently
dealing with straight forward difficulties such as having to wonder where his
next meal will come from, etc. At every
juncture, our collective heart goes out to him.
Because of what I find to be “darkness” in the story, I have
shied away from it at times. I have felt
sorry for Pinocchio as I have felt sorry for Curious George. Children are drawn to both protagonists as
they are enduringly appealing; the child audience identifies with the monkey
and the puppet equally. Both are put in moral predicaments and asked to “be
good” when they have no sense of what that means. Both try again and again to do that right
thing although each is tempted by attractions in the environment. (On top of that, Pinocchio is bullied and
deceived.) Both are held accountable
when they fail. How to present Pinocchio to a group of
children has always been for me, troubling.
The Seattle
Children’s Theater Ongoing Production of Pinocchio
But the lightness I
was looking for in redeeming the story is in abundance in the Seattle
Children’s Theater’s current production of Pinocchio. It will run through March 9th. The show’s conceit is that the audience
has arrived before the show is scheduled to be performed. There are no actors
in typical costume. There is nothing but
drop cloths and scaffolding and a handful of painters who are surprised to see
people in the audience. They look at us
and tell us that they are sorry--they are here only to paint—we must have come
on the wrong day. The children don’t
know what to think of this development.
Are they leading us on? We are
led on. Proceeding as if it were an
improvisation, the show takes us through Pinocchio’s tale without
darkness. Rather, there is humor
aplenty. The playwright, who is also the
director, references the Italian origins of the commedia del’arte form. He
makes reference to Punch and Judy. He
shows his sleight of hand by the way he has his actors seize the opportunities
that the painter’s craft supplies. A
shopping cart becomes the stagecoach. By
substituting everyday objects for what would typically be realistic props, the
moral tone of the story is kept light.
Seeing Pinocchio comically taped to a ladder tree rather than hung by a
rope from a branch that looks like a tree branch takes away the weight of the
tale and allows the audience to breathe.
The exploits that the puppet/child gets into are saved from pathos by
the camaraderie that the cast as a group of painters who double as creative
storytellers conveys.
If your child missed the opportunity to see the production, I would
recommend that you try to see it as a family.
Pacific Northwest Ballet’s
Upcoming Production of Pinocchio
I want to let you know that Pacific Northwest Ballet will be
presenting its own production of Pinocchio in March. Check their schedule. There are some weekend
matinees planned for early March. A
student matinee will be presented on March 21st, which is an In
Service Day for Lake and Park teachers.
Could be a perfect outing for parents and children to do on that
day.
Camille
