Director Elinor Agam uses sign language and interesting props in her play to engage children. She chats with Trisha Mukherjee about her unique concept
While ma is believed to be every Indian baby’s first word, in Hebrew, it is parpar, meaning butterfly. Drawing her script out of the babies’ first words, director Elinor Agam’s play, Butterfly Kiss, seeks to take children through a “scenic emotional experience.”
Butterfly Kiss is a one-woman, non-verbal show for young children, which tells the story of a young girl running after the butterflies she has collected. Before she lets them free again, she wants to get a last butterfly kiss.
“Every child has a dream. And every child dreams to fly. Butterflies represent beauty and magic,” says the director and adds, “It’s a visual spectacle when butterflies in myriad shades are seen on the stage. Children from the audience want to catch those colourful butterflies.” Combining music, video-art, animation, puppetry and shadows, the play appeals to the kids emotionally. “It is often their first theatrical experience. Because it is a non-verbal show, it uses other ways to communicate; a sign language that all kids can understand,” says Agam.
Unlike any other theatrical performance, the play does not involve any storytelling. The director says that it seeks to teach the hearts and not the minds. She wants the little ones to set the realms of their imagination free.
“Butterfly Kiss is not about telling a story but more about experiencing. There is no need to tell a story to two-year olds. Every child translates this non-verbal show the way he/she wants,” she says.
Much like an intimate theatre performance, Butterfly Kiss makes the children an active participant. The actress, Hagar Tishman has a direct connection with them. She dances with them and lets them touch her butterflies. “I believe theatre and acting is about sharing what happens on stage. In the Butterfly Kiss there are no walls, no illusions,” she says.
“They sit on the floor, very close to the stage, upon cloud-carpets that hide a surprise beneath them and some of them even go onstage with the actress. She is a beautiful and gentle girl who invites them to share this unique experience. The real magic is not happening on stage but in the children’s eyes,” she explains.
Considering that the Butterfly Kiss is a play for kids, a moral lesson is expected to follow, but Agam is likely to take you by surprise, when she says “Butterfly Kiss is not pedagogic. There are no lessons to learn. The only message we want to send across is an emotional and artistic one. We know we have been successful when we see our audience smiling,” she says. The play will be performed at the Indian Habitat Centre on July 13.