Shadow Theatre Depicts Traditional African Tales

Children watch "The African Drum" on Thursday at Brooklyn's PS 3: The Bedford Village School, where the Shadowbox Theatre has performance space. The Jan. 26 performance began a performance schedule through March 8 and in honor of African-American history month. Amal Chen/The Epoch Times

NEW YORK—The Shadowbox Theatre uses traditional African tales to convey meaningful messages to audience members, especially children.

“I’m concerned with giving them cogent and important stories and theater that has meaning for them,” said Sandra Robbins, founder of Shadowbox Theatre, an educational arts nonprofit born in the ‘60s.

“The African Drum” weaves four traditional African tales together with the shadow puppetry—an art form originating thousands of years ago in the East—a drummer, and a live storyteller.

Even elementary school children attending the first performance this year, in honor of African-American History Month, stayed quiet and attentive at Brooklyn’s PS 3: The Bedford Village School, where Shadowbox has performance space.

[etssp 503]An opening song and dance—interactive, as are other parts of the performance—introduces the audience to the ancient African language, Swahili, and Jambo, or how to say hello, as well as “the great continent of Africa.”

As in many cultures, Africans use drums to tell a story—and they have billions and trillions of stories, says famed African drummer Leopoldo Fleming, whose live drumming accompanies the performance.

An overarching story, that of a young girl, Kijana, provides a backdrop for three African tales, “How the Animals Got Their Colors,” one of an egret obtaining freedom, and “How the Turtle Got Its Shell.”

These all impart meaningful messages, says Shadowbox founder Sandra Robbins.

“'How the Animals Got Their Colors’ is really for the children to learn how the essence of you is what shows,” Robbins says. The egret tale shows “the importance of being an individual and being free instead of being the king of the jungle.”

Robbins directs and writes not only the productions, but 10 books as well. “The African Drum” is almost 36 years old. Other Shadowbox productions bring back Hispanic and Native American folk tales and an American tall tale.

“Many of the other stories are teaching the kids without being didactic about important things,” said Robbins. “A basic, basic theme is that we should all be living together, and I’m trying to teach [that] to have peace is really to accept differences.”

As the school children filed out of the school on Thursday, they spoke of learning simple things, like telling their parents before going anywhere. Robbins believes they leave with profound understanding.

“Theater is an extraordinary, potent method of teaching kids,” she said. “Kids remember it in subliminal levels, so that it carries them forward as they grow.”