Together with my Playback Berlin partner Benthe Verhagen I went to the opening of the TUSCH festival on the 15th of March. An evening in which different projects of different theatregroups that worked for or with children at schools in Berlin presented themselves. A nice evening with a big diversity in styles and quality. We got to talk about the different between the focus on the process and the focus on the quality of the product.
You could see groups of children having fun because they were working hard on making a good performance and you could see groups of children having fun because they had a nice group and it was a social thing. Both the groups had fun that was obvious but the groups that were working hard on the product really shined. You could tell they had learned a lot and they were proud. I am not saying the product always goes before the process. It is about a balance. But in my opinion when you focus on the product as your goal and you now that for a good product you need to have a good process you will get the best of both. The best example of a group of hard working kids enjoying themselves and shinning on the stage was captain jack. You could tell they worked really hard, but the directors also made sure that every kid had is own moment. You could really feel the love for theatre combined with the love of working with this kids. Inspiring