The children in the Purple Preschool Room have been learning all about the theatrical arts (stage plays) through their project work as a way of expressing emotions and feelings. Through their project work, the children have learnt about what a stage looks like, storytelling that takes place and how the characters express themselves through drama. To extend on their learning, the children went on an excursion to watch a stage play called “Horrible Harriet” which was showing at the Sydney Opera House.
On the day of the excursion, the children were very excited and enjoyed the fun bus ride into the city pointing out familiar landmarks as they went along. When we arrived at the theatre, the children took their seats and inspected the stage, props, lighting, music and costumes. The children clapped fiercely as the stage play began!
As the stage play continued, the children interacted with the main character ‘Harriet’ by cheering, clapping and pointing out another character ‘Mr Chicken’ on the stage. Each child had a booming smile on their face as they watched the story unfold before their eyes. The children listened well and closely watched the entire stage play and as it came to the end, the children applauded loudly!
As we began to leave the theatre, we were lucky enough to be able to speak with a Music Producer of the show. The children asked him questions about the music, lights and camera that are needed to produce a play. The music producer brainstormed with the children about their own play and gave them many ideas to follow on with.
After we left the theatre, we went for a leisurely stroll through the Botanical Gardens and discovered many unique plants, flowers and trees we hadn’t seen before. We found shade under a beautiful big tree and had our picnic lunch. The children and educators sat together, eating, laughing and sharing favourite moments of the stage play before heading back to the bus to go back to the centre.
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