'Finding Leaves for Soup' developed from a project in which nurserychildren were invited to go on a magical journey in Hensol Forest inSouth Glamorgan, where they met characters played by actors from theTheatr Iolo company.
The project was inspired by the writings of American early educatorVivian Gussin Paley, who studied the relationship between children'sstorytelling and their development.
The script uses exact phrases spoken by the three- to five-year-oldsfrom four nurseries in primary schools. Sarah Argent, director of TheatrIolo said, 'It wasn't our intention to use the children's words forplays, but once we acted out some of the children's stories we saw howpositively the children reacted to hearing their peers' voices.'
In their forest journey the children found ribbons tied to trees andgiant pencils hung from branches. They were encouraged to go on a cluehunt and find out who had put them there.
En route they met a fairy and a boy called Jack, played by actors HannahMcPake and Jak Poore, who taught the children bird songs and how to makemagic soup using leaves and pine cones.
Back at nursery the children were asked to recall their experiences anddevelop stories, which the actors performed in front of the class.
Marie Shalom, nursery teacher at St Andrews Major Primary School inDinas Powys, said, 'The project was absolutely awe-inspiring andmagical. The children who are normally very quiet just came out ofthemselves; it was like unlocking a key.'
The project, a collaboration between Theatr Iolo, the Wales ForestryCommission and the Vale of Glamorgan Forest Education Initiative ClusterGroup, evolved from a previous Theatr Iolo production called 'Under theCarpet', in which children acted out stories inspired by objects in asuitcase.
'Finding Leaves for Soup' will tour UK theatres next year. Forinformation visit www.theatiolo.com.
