Shadow Theatre - Everybody Participates

Shadow play, also known as shadow puppetry, is an ancient form of storytelling and entertainment which uses flat articulated cut-out figures (shadow puppets) which are held between a source of light and a translucent screen or scrim. Shadow puppet theatre likely originated in Central Asia-China or in India in the 1st millennium BCE.

 The cut-out shapes of the puppets sometimes include translucent color or other types of detailing. Various effects can be achieved by moving both the puppets and the light source. A talented puppeteer can make the figures appear to walk, dance, fight, nod and laugh.

Indonesian shadow play, source: Wikipedia

Another way of doing shadow theatre is with human bodies - using actors from flesh and blood.  The only minimum equipment in this case is a white sheet and a light source. The actors stand between the light source and the sheet. It can be very useful for inclusion work as it allows people from all kind of backgrounds to actively participate. People that are very shy usually like this tool a lot as they are free to express behind the sheet and do not see the audience. Everybody has a shadow so everybody participates.

That was the main method used in the "Without Words" project training course that happened in the beginning of August 2022 in Sofia, Bulgaria. 

It created a wonderful process where everybody was active and creative- the participants designed small etudes from scratch by themselves and then presented them in front of others. For the project team it was another confirmation that shadow theatre is a powerful inclusive tool as participants with different kind of disabilities loved it.