Theater Curtain

One might ask what five- and six-year-old children have in common with the theater.

Certainly there is the aspect of narration, which is often used by even very young children as a connective tissue for creating relationships between things; it is the desire and the ability, through play, to stage other worlds and impersonate other people.

Do five- and six-year-old children have the competence to design and produce a collective work like a large curtain for a theater?

Theater Curtain. The ring of transformations is a book that recounts an unusual and, in many ways, extraordinary story of how the children of the Diana municipal preschool were able to work together on a large group project, what tools they used and the different journeys they took.

What is the most suitable image for a theater curtain?

The rule that the children seem to follow in suggesting the image is that of representing things they consider to be beautiful, important and interesting.

While children are discussing, it happens that Giovanni draws a plant and puts some eyes on a leaf and says:

my plant is transforming

and after a while he adds

why don’t we do it so that the things we draw get transformed into other things?

In the course of a project there are certain generative moments, ideas, and comments that steer the work in a particular direction. Giovanni’s comment is certainly one of these.

The drawing created by the children for the curtain is a sort of cosmogony where each subject is in relation with the other, generated and generator of other entities: The ring of transformations.

The painting is completed, the children are truly proud of and almost surprised by the result.

Today we did such beautiful work… I mean really beautiful! – Leonardo

Theater Curtain. The ring of transformations is a book testifying to possible: the possible creative energy of children and schools, and the possible relations between city and childhood that can enrich an entire community, a commitment and a sense of ethics that inform the aesthetic of thinking and doing which cities today and tomorrow need so much. 

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THEATER CURTAIN

The ring of transformations

Order your copy now at your local distributor. Check this page and contact the distributor nearest to you. 

Reggio Children publications are also available in the Bookshop at the Loris Malaguzzi International Centre, Reggio Emilia