Puppet theater in kindergartens
Montérégie, spring 2019. The Petits bonheurs festival coordinates the training of artists interested in early childhood creation as part of the J’inviterai l’enfance project. A major partner of the 15th edition of the Petits bonheurs festival, La marche du crabe was presented as a common thread and presented all its creations and cultural mediation workshops. In the Montérégie region, the company presented several shows and workshops, as well as hosting panel discussions on creation for young children.
Laurence likes to play, to run, to jump around and dance.
When asked about favorite colors, Laurence can never choose; orange, green, blue or pink maybe?
“I do love flowers, they smell pretty… I mean, they are pretty and they smell good.
I also love yellow tractors, they look like dragons… ( wrrraaaa ).
I love dancing in the park, when the old man plays the piano, or in the kitchen when mom turns on the radio.
I love playing at battle, as a ninja or a dinosaur.
I love climbing trees and skipping rope.
I love to wear ribbons and make my dress swirl.
I love knight’s costumes and laser swords.
I love unicorns and tyrannosaurus, princesses and astronauts, screw-drivers and magic wands, cats, dogs, I love…
I love…
But my friends, they…”
The theatrical short Cozy in My Slippers was born from a meeting between the codirectors of the La marche du crabe, the anthropologist Amélie Normandin and the musician Gabrielle Marquis.
Interested in work on gender stereotypes, the artists offered an array of workshops to nourish preschool children’s creative process around this subject. Looking for a collaborator to create a theatrical texte out of these workshops, they met with Simon Fournier, who wrote the texte for the play, and Sandy Bessette who staged it.
text | Simon Fournier
director | Sandy Bessette
composition – live music | Gabrielle Marquis
artists | Simon Fournier – Gabrielle Marquis – Amélie Normandin
castelet | Julie Langlois
puppets and accessories conception | Lena Guezennec