A unique original project was prepared for preschool children by the BOK-MCC theatre instructor. Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz began theatre-club classes at CIK Orzeł in October 2014. Her idea for a special programme for preschoolers arose from the need to involve as many people as possible in theatre activities at Orzeł. The project aimed to prepare young audiences to experience culture and make it easier for them to absorb information related to the stage and self-presentation. Contact with art encourages young people to create for themselves. During two-hour classes, the children played theatre with the instructor: they practised and carried out acting tasks and developed skills in accordance with the assumptions of the Core Curriculum for Preschool Education.
The project was a major challenge because small children are an extremely demanding group and difficult to familiarise with such activities. To play theatre with youngsters, a special method has to be created. Urszula tested successive exercises in practice, observing how the children reacted to individual tasks, how well they could perform them, whether they felt comfortable doing them, what they preferred and what they disliked. Today, after almost half a year of practice, the instructor is considering creating a guide to organising theatre classes for young children, because specialist literature on the subject is lacking on the market.
“After the first semester, we held a meeting with headteachers and teachers from the preschools to find out how they had received the classes,” says the BOK-MCC instructor. “The most important thing was that the children left here very happy. They came thinking that they would watch something, but it turned out that they were the ones learning how to perform on stage. The exercises were adapted to the children’s age groups and developmental levels. We have different groups, including children with disabilities, ADHD and hyperactivity. We offered everyone the same classes, but their responses were different. There was a warm-up, as at drama school, calming exercises, acting out scenes and going on stage—everything in the form of play. The children are very open, but I discovered that they had speech impediments and could not breathe with their diaphragms. They learned quickly, however, responded to instructions and took part in the games confidently,” the instructor adds.
The classes are also praised by the female teachers and educators who take part in them.
“The children like the classes very much. They talk about them after returning to preschool, become more self-assured and can act out imagined characters, people or animals. It is completely different from what we do with them at preschool. With Urszula, they develop and learn what acting is,” says Beata Jaśkiewicz from MPP No. 3 branch.
Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz emphasises how much work is required to involve children in theatre.
“The preschoolers were a challenge for me. Fifteen years ago, I tried classes like these and I was not ready,” admits the project’s author. “Now that I am a mother myself, I am more mature and can do more. In the next school year, we will become even more involved in cooperation with preschools and schools. This May, we will organise a review of small theatrical forms. What is attractive is that the children come to the Centre, get used to its interior and get to know it. At Orzeł, they immediately feel at home; it is wonderful,” the instructor adds.
The first part of the project ended with a performance prepared by young actors from the Wrocław Theatre School, “The Silver Egg,” which they presented to the children. After the performance, the children answered the actors’ questions and demonstrated extensive knowledge of and familiarity with theatre and acting.
The adaptation of the former Orzeł cinema for the needs of the Cultural Integration Centre began in 2009. CIK Orzeł has been operating since 2014. The project was co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund under the Regional Operational Programme for the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The total value of the project was PLN 5,416,048.32, with funding of PLN 2,664,626.09.
Workshops at CIK Orzeł
The Centre has a photography workshop run by Urszula Frąszczak-Matyjewicz and Michał Piaskowski. The theatre workshop, run by Urszula Fraszczak-Matyjewicz, has three groups. The Song Studio is run by Agata Pińczuk-Burdzy. The Song Studio offers classes for people who like music or dream of a stage career. The instructor provides students with every opportunity to learn professional singing. The vocalist also runs themed workshops, such as the summer vocal workshop “Popular Singing and Classical Singing—The Differences.” One of Agata Pinczuk-Burdzy’s most important and largest projects was the exceptional musical performance The Lion King, in which participants of all BOK-MCC dance and music workshops appeared. More than 150 dancers and vocalists took to the stage.
Michał Szwed runs the Film Education Workshop at CIK Orzeł. The workshop cooperates with the Bolesławiec Film School and can boast several interesting productions: the etude “35 mm of Life” by Szymon Wasylow (produced by the BOK-MCC Film Education Workshop), “Horror through CH” by Bartłomiej Muszyński (Film Education Workshop and Bolesławiec Film School) and “Critical Mass” by Paweł Klimek (Film Education Workshop and Bolesławiec Film School). The Bolesławiec Municipal Choir of Aleksander Samostrokow also operates at Orzeł.
Registration and information: CIK Orzeł, 17 Chopina Street, (075) 645 35 98; open on weekdays: 08:00–21:00.