Simulator

Theater education at the Białystok Puppet Theatre

By Tomasz Damulewicz

“Simulator” was a theatre production that takes place within a computer game. The characters are participants in a computer game: three adults – a mom and dad, and one single father with their children. The game pretends to be real life. The task of the participants of the game is to raise their offspring. The audience observes the struggles of parents with their adolescent children (who we have seen from infancy and through to teenagers). We follow the process of raising children – behavior, communication, ways of dealing with emerging complications. The plot of the play was also enriched by the actors drawing on some of their own personal experiences. The actors are, at the same time, providing a commentary on the characters of the play. At the end of the play, although it does not end happily, it is surprising and inspiring.

It all started in September 2022. We started working on the show “Simulator” simultaneously in two countries in Poland and the Czech Republic. The assumption was to investigate the problem of intergenerational communication and watch how these two generations see each other.  How parents talk to their children, and how children talk to their parents.What is a problem in these conversations but also what works well and is valuable. In consultation with the artists from the ALFA theater, we started researching the issue and collecting information necessary for further work. We didn’t want to impose our own vision, we wanted to be guided by the young people.

For this reason, we conducted several surveys in Polish and Czech schools. On the Polish side, about fifty students aged 13 – 17 participated in surveys. The surveys were not only asking about communication with parents, but various aspects of the young people’s lives: about moods, fears, joy and dreams. In Poland the artists worked with Czech young people’s surveys, and in the Czech Republic a show was created using the surveys from Poland. Both countries also held numerous meetings together to analyze the results, collect ideas and discussing the project. During conversations, talks and brainstorming, we identified the key themes for the performance. For example, we discovered the works of Marshall Rosenberg. His method of non-violent communication, this not only made a great impression on us, but also became an inspiration for further work. The involvement with young people was extensive, and by working with professional artists, the young people learnt more about the co-creative process of theatre making. I sent preliminary versions of the script for the play “Simulator” to the schools cooperating with the Bialystok Puppet Theatre. The first version of the script was in English, which was then also an opportunity for English language teachers to join the process. The young people designed their own versions of the characters and scenography for the play. Therefore, the co-creation process was multifaceted – in Białystok Puppet Theater and in Białystok and Czech schools. As a result of this cooperation, two performances were created in Poland. “Simulator” which was directed by the Czech artist Tomsa Legierski, and in the Czech Republic – “Snowball” was directed by the director of the Bialystok Puppet Theater, Jacek Malinowski.