Interview by Rui Pastorin
“Sweet Dreams in the Woods” will return to the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) from August 7 to 11, set to present immersive theatre for babies that will allow them to explore, while also creating an environment that ignites their senses.
Following its successful debut last year, the show is part of the 1st Macao International Children’s Arts Festival (MICAF) and is for babies aged four to 15 months and their parents.
The Post spoke with Creative Producer Chan Si Kei and Choreographer Annette Ng (伍淑華) earlier this week at CCM to learn more about the show. The interview was conducted in Cantonese and English, with translation provided by the centre.
Chan is a producer involved in baby theatre, which is internationally known as “theatre for the very young”, targeting pre-walking babies. She also is a producer for immersive theatre for adults, along with festivals. Ng, meanwhile, is a choreographer and also an actor and producer for theatre shows. She was a performer in the first show, this time also taking on choreographer and producer roles.
The concept of Sweet Dreams in the Woods was born during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Macau Cultural Centre (CCM) was touting for ideas for theatre shows. Searching for what they could do, Chan was having discussions with choreographer Wendy Choi (徐穎婷), who had moved to Austria, a place where a lot of woodland can be found and enjoyed by families.
In a highly urbanised city like Macau, “natural experiences” like those are not something that can be experienced by parents and their babies, according to Chan, noting that they might have worries about hygiene or have certain perceptions related to Asian people’s concerns. “We were thinking, how can we encourage the families to enjoy nature and the natural environment?”, coming up with a performance with the forest as its theme.
Ng later joined the team to co-create the whole performance, finding the concept very interesting, but was “puzzled” as to how forests could attract babies and how they would react to that environment. After try-outs with babies that featured elements inspired by forests to stimulate them, the show came together, premiering at CCM in September last year after several pandemic-related postponements.
An immersive experience designed to stimulate all of a baby’s senses, Chan noted that the show features two dancers and uses four seasons in a forest as its focal point in lieu of a concrete storyline to help lead the performance, which is more about flow and its environment. Ng added that a great emphasis is placed on immersion and igniting the babies’ senses, using the four seasons to also encourage interaction between them and their parents.
The performance also features live music and is not held in a stage setting, with babies and their parents instead placed in a safe space that they can freely explore. The setting incorporates visual and sound elements with a forest theme, along with materials that babies can touch. Chan added: “There are several different things happening at the same time and the babies have their own choice of what they want to explore”.
Ng added that they have created a “free-enough” environment that babies can explore themselves and there is no restriction on what they can touch and feel during the entire performance, while dancers will also pay special attention to how each of the babies reacts to their environment and stimuli.
Also open for educators in kindergarten and nurseries to watch, the performance features three sessions per day, each lasting around 35 to 45 minutes. Time is also allocated for babies to explore, feel safe, and get familiar with their environment before the show starts, while the dancers will also come out to say hello. Ng added that this “warm-up period” or pre-show session also allows them to observe the babies in each session, of which there are up to 15 at a time. “Every show is different because of the different dynamic that the babies and the parents bring”, Chan added.
During the show, both Ng and Chan also hope that parents can be more “hands-off”. Chan explained that this does not mean that the parents will be doing nothing, but have the role of observing and supporting their children, giving them a feeling of security.
When the babies feel that their parents are there and can go back to them after exploring, Chan said that small interactions between them can be found, increasing and strengthening family bonding, “which is very good for their emotional development”. Interaction is also the most important part of the show, according to Ng.
On their expectations for the show, Chan said that she hopes to see parents encourage the children to join any kind of art events in the future. “If this gives them their first theatre experience, one that is a nice experience with art, maybe later, they will continue to participate in different art events”.
“We need to build up the whole industry by having all those audiences and participants to support and value the arts”, according to Chan.
Creative Producer Chan Si Kei (left) and Choreographer Annette Ng (伍淑華) pose with a mascot for the 1st Macao International Children’s Arts Festival (MICAF) at the Macau Cultural Centre after their Post interview earlier this week. – Photo: Rui Pastorin
These photos provided by the organisers show last year’s performances.
