Four classic stories told in children’s language, in one hour.
Article edited by Bianca CampeanuMay 8, 2024, 4:06 p.m
One hundred and one stories are on a long journey, this year and next year, through the villages and small towns of Bihor county.
There are actually one hundred and one performances that include four classic stories, Little Red Riding Hood, The Goat with Three Kids, Cinderella and Snow White.
The shows are interactive and originalwith the scripts modified here and there, so that the four stories fit into one watch and give children the essential message.
The initiator of the project, the actor Şerban Bordaexplains:
Şerban Borda: It’s a children’s show, but that doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyed by adults as well. It would be ideal for us to come three in one – the public, i.e. the parent, the child and the teaching staff. It is an interactive, musical show in which we involve the audience, both children and adults.
A show like a fable and with a moral for everyone’s taste: in life it is good to be obedient, diligent and patient, to help anyone, because in this way you help yourself.
Reporter: But how do you cram four stories into an hour? Do you switch from one to another?
Şerban Borda: Yes, we go from one to another. In fact, the characters move from one story to another. I’ll give you an example: the wolf, which in our show, although everyone knows that the wolf changes its hair, but the character, well, our wolf really changes, and even if it starts in Little Red Riding Hood like the old, classic wolf, it changes in the Goat with three kids and helps the kids get back to the mother’s house.
Reporter: So, you went to the stories…
Şerban Borda: I’ve been walking the stories a bit and it seems to be a crowd pleaser.
Reporter: Anyway, the stories had happy endings, but you made them a little rosier.
Şerban Borda: They are also pinker because we used some fairly well-known soundtracks, which children know, but adults also know. We adapted some songs and each character has their own song that they perform with the audience.
Reporter: How were the show’s four stories selected?
Şerban Borda: I chose the stories following discussions with the teaching staff.
Reporter: And what were their arguments?
Şerban Borda: They were the most requested stories, always. In any discussion, these were the top stories.
Reporter: How has the public been so far, after the 17 performances out of the 101 scheduled?
Şerban Borda: We had a diverse audience, very motley. I had the best audience in an area in Bihor county where there is a population that has more than 10% Roma population. The children were extraordinary, the hall was not spacious, many were standing or on the tables.
Being an interactive show, we didn’t know at the beginning of the show how we were going to get through them, because we also engage them in the show, we take them on stage, we sing together with them.
Reporter: And there was a big crowd here!
Şerban Borda: It was very, very crowded. But during the performance, when the character came out of the stage into the hall, whatever the character was, suddenly there was room for him and the children were very, very eager to play with these characters. It was the best audience.
Reporter: Do you happen to know if it was the first show for that audience?
Şerban Borda: Certainly, for a great many of those out there, yes. Because the theater doesn’t really reach these areas, the kids who sometimes get to the city probably get to the mall or other places to eat more quickly, but they certainly aren’t taken to a theater show.
Reporter: The actor Şerban Borda tells us what is the driving force of this marathon with stories from door to door, in the countryside of Bihor county.
Şerban Borda: Theater does not only have an entertainment function, it must also have an educational function, especially this theater area for children. So I am very happy that this project has found funding in Bihor County and that we will be able to reach children from 100 and one rural localities in Bihor County with a theater show for children.
Reporter: Is that 1001 nights on a smaller scale?
Şerban Borda: It’s 100 and one stories that will hopefully ferment and grow to 1000 and one stories. What we want next is to develop a certain kind of audience. I mean, at least in Bihor county, we have an audience that we can win over, but they certainly won’t come to the theater, but in the first phase, we have to go to them.
Reporter: The story goes on through Bihor county, it has a long way and many children to reach, to light a sparkle in their eyes. I hope you liked the story of the actor Şerban Borda, the initiator of this project, and that you say to him now, in unison with me: bon voyage!
Anca Brașfalean
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