Schoking !

Schoking !

While I was leading a puppet workshop at a school, I had the opportunity to have dinner with the teachers.
One of them had just returned from a show with her class. “So?” the others asked her.
She let out a sigh, but upon seeing me, she hesitated. I encouraged her, and she opened up:
“I was shocked, and I don’t know how I’m going to talk about this performance to my class (of kindergarteners) this afternoon, but I have a lot on my plate...”
The other four were concerned and questioned her about the apparent scandal that necessitated the urgent organization of a discussion group to address the collective trauma suffered by the unfortunate little victims.
“He was completely naked!” “What do you mean, completely naked?” the others exclaimed. “Completely naked, he had a penis that was hanging and moving!” Seeing her mimic the gesture with the amplitude of an elephant's trunk, I realized that the gesture was primarily a reflection of her shock. “But reassure me, it was the puppet that was naked?” “Yes, thankfully! And on top of that, he dresses as a woman!” “No?! As a woman?!” the assembly, composed exclusively of women, replied.
But still, the question arises: what does it all mean? “He has a dream,” the teacher responds, “he dreams of giving birth to a child.” “What? A man giving birth?” “Yes! Well,... it’s an egg, but the worst part is that the children don’t understand that it’s a dream since the performance is non-verbal, and we don’t tell them...”
It’s not great... Well, actually, it is great...
When I lead the workshops, the number of children who declare they don’t like theater at school makes my head spin! But how will this class be able to express themselves in front of such a biased teacher? “I thought it was funny that he was completely naked...” “But tell me, Arthur, can we show our private parts to everyone?” “No, ma’am...”
Pressure on the teacher: what will the parents say?
Pressure on the mayor: will this scandalous cardboard penis make me lose my erections?
Pressure on the programmer: will he take the risk of exposing a paper penis, an ice breast, an actress in shorts, or a political statement?
Wouldn’t it be time, before we start burning witches again, to demand specific budgets to retrain teachers on how to frame performances with children, considering that the purpose of art is not to be consensual, but to express and evoke emotions in order to spark debate and potentially change perspectives? At the same time, a 10-year-old in one of the workshops I lead presents us with a show where the king is caught with his maid's hand in her pants. In front of the protests from the queen and her children, he kills his whole family and massacres the entire palace. I later learn that his parents’ divorce is happening in extreme violence. Should I censor him too?
For some street theater "festivals," it is sometimes, unfortunately, already too late.
In the meantime, where we are supposed to make progress, we are regressing, and due to a lack of resources, we are accelerating the construction of walls.

Didier Balsaux