Théâtre À l’Envers offers introductory shadow puppet theater workshops, available in a short format (a single session lasting between 1.5 and 2.5 hours) or a long format (several sessions spread over 2 to 3 days), designed to introduce elementary school students to the steps involved in creating a performance that uses shadows as a medium of theatrical expression. The activities allow participants to develop their imagination and manual skills in the visual arts, while also fostering teamwork and oral and written expression.

Short version : A session includes an introduction to shadow theater on a large screen through exploratory games using an overhead projector. Then, divided into small teams, the students designate a narrator, puppeteers, and someone to operate the transparencies on the overhead projector. Everyone is then invited to create a performance behind a small screen by inventing a story based on the silhouettes provided by the artists and by drawing the sets on transparencies. The result of their work is then presented to the entire class.

Long version : During the first session, the artists demystify shadow play through exploratory activities, then guide the students to become familiar with and participate in the various stages of creating a performance. During a brainstorming session based on a theme suggested by the facilitators, the participants first create a bank of characters, physical characteristics, locations, and actions. Then, based on the responses written on the board, the students work in teams to complete a script using an incomplete, fragmented story suggested by the artists.

During the second session, the students work in teams to draw a storyboard of the scenes to be performed (working draft). They will learn to identify the different components of a narrative and incorporate them into the creation of their final script: initial situation, protagonist or hero, triggering event or mission, sidekick(s), antagonist(s), plot twists, denouement, conclusion… They will then begin making cardboard cutouts and drawing backdrops on transparencies.

The third session allows participants to finish making the cardboard silhouettes and the backdrops drawn on transparencies. They then begin rehearsing their script in front of a small screen and using the overhead projector. Finally, they are invited to present the result of their work —a shadow play— to the class.