Paula Lindo – Our histories, stories, present, future.

The Page to Stage annual theatre production is the culmination of the activities of the NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest. NGC Children’s Bocas Lit Fest director Danielle Delon said the storytelling programme began 10 years ago, with Page to Stage taking place over the last four years.

Usually held in November, the production features performances by primary schools, inspired by tales drawn from the colouring books which are also a product of the Children’s Lit Fest. The latest production included performances by students from the Four Roads Government Primary School, Carenage Girls’ Government Primary School, Moulton Hall Methodist Primary School, San Fernando Girls’ Government Primary School, Carenage Boys’ Primary School Upper Carapichaima Presbyterian Primary School, and St Margaret’s Boys’ A.C. Primary School. The productions, which included pieces such as The Hammer That Makes Music, A Trouble Boy Comes to School, First Trini on Mars, The Vagrant’s Secret, What’s in your Backyard?, The Corbeau Who Wanted To Be Beautiful, and The Adventures of the Baby Turtle touched on topics such as the love of nature, troubled children, history, T&T’s culture, exploration, mental health, and compassion.

Delon said “we want to bring to children the power of reading, writing and train them in the exercise of focusing attention. We want to give them the gift of communication, to share with them the consciousness of compassion and gratitude shown in the Vagrant’s Secret, the value of our culture in The Hammer that Made Music, and the sensitivity towards our environment as seen in The Adventures of a Baby Turtle. The stories reflect the environment in which the child lives. There is no monotony, no stagnation when working in the arts where you stretch boundaries. This is the experience that we share with children in Page to Stage. We want children to ask, “What kind of a human being am I?” We want them to know that they are intelligent; to sense the present, the now, which is what acting demands of you. The actor becomes sensitive to issues as an interpreter of events and emotions,  and we provide the ambience for children to unfold and appreciate their leadership qualities.”

Developing the programme assists teachers at the participating schools to implement the Visual and Performing Arts Curriculum for their students. Curriculum Coordinator, Visual and Performing Arts, Marceline Peters, speaking at the last event, said seeing the stories presented on stage brought the education alive for students. “When you involve yourself in this way in the education system, writing down the stories and then dramatically presenting them for and from yourselves,  this is meaningful. You will remember everything you have presented in these stories and that is what brings education alive. The beauty of it is not only of mixing the arts of English Language Arts with the arts of drama and costuming, but also, you envelope concepts such as social issues, bullying, and what you might find in nature. This is the beauty of what you have done, you can bring any topic alive, and you will remember because it is placed within the arts field, whether it is singing, art, drama, or dance.”

Delon said some schools welcomed the programme because it fitted in with VAPA, which she said is very challenging for teachers, “because they have to make the decisions and fit it in, but this being a formatted program with a time schedule, and even though teachers may have challenges when doing it, if they make time to initiate the program in schools, VAPA is well thought out and it works. Page to Stage is a great vehicle for exercising the requirements of VAPA, but a lot of schools don’t really follow it or initiate it.”

Delon said the Caravan has gone all over Trinidad, including Toco, Grand Riviere, Mayaro, Sangre Grande, Cedros, San Fernando, Bridge of Hope, Chaguanas, and the Divali Nagar site, as well as Tobago. “We work on a Saturday morning with groups of about 25 children, and it’s a workshop. We always supply the needs, determine the name and the title of a story, and having said, Storyteller, tell a tale, we ask, what we do now, where do we start, who will we have in this, and they tell us, they have fertile, vivid imaginations. We’ve had a lot of support from the community to bring children to the events and they really enjoyed it. We use these stories to put together storybooks, and turn some of those stories into plays. We’ve helped children in so many various ways to develop and progress in their lives, those who’ve experienced dramatic, negative events and also to enhance those who’ve had positive experiences. It’s all about helping them to express themselves.”