good and bad

Exactly one week after the Serbian version of "The Longest Winter" premièred, the Albanian cast finally had their turn to perform in front of an audience... a young audience. We went back to Mitrovica, to one of the original schools that we visited in February when conducting workshops with students on the subject of missing people. The kids were quite enthusiastic; aside from thunderous applause, the students insisted that the actors re-play one of the scenes again after the show was over :) Also after the show, the actors led an open discussion with the kids, asking questions about certain aspects of the play, from comprehension ("what was going on?") to more advanced reactions ("was this action right or wrong?"). From the way the students responded, it was clear that they both understood the play on a basic level and could interact with the themes and dilemmas presented in the story on a more advanced level...

That said, holy lord! The audience was like my worst nightmare! The kids were totally disorganized, and during yesterday's show, kids were standing, moving around within the room, and actually walking freely in and out of the gym! The best part, as always, was that cell phones kept interrupting the performance. Anyway, it wasn't surprising behaviour considering that I have found children bouncing off the walls -- literally -- and screaming in school halls on several previous occasions. Let's just say that education here is a far cry from schools at home where even five-year-olds know how to walk in lines, to sit in proper rows, and to use their "indoor voices" (ever so predictably,) indoors.

Here, one the one hand, it seems that kids simply don't have much experience with organized school events -- even assemblies happen, maybe, twice a year -- and thus, they, have little practice with being organized. But, really, it is very clear that the bulk of the problem lies with an utter lack of direction and instruction. (Or, to rephrase, an utter lack of appropriate and productive direction... I did see a bit of yelling and even some whistle-blowing by teachers and superintendents yesterday, but it was again, ever so predictably, not at all helpful). So, while students aren't getting much in the way of discipline (in the best sense of the word) from school, I'm told kids are often given free reign at home, as well. Basically, it's not a behavioural problem, but an educational one that extends all the way up to lack of training for teachers and parents.

It's been interesting for me to think about how I responded to this situation. It seems that there are two general reactions by internationals... Some people lower their standards, saying, "Yeah, well, what can you expect? You're in Kosovo," as though it's an excuse. In contrast, for others, a belief that life here will always been sub-standard is reaffirmed (like the person who actually said to me the other day, "The more you're here, the more you hate the people here."). Although it sounds awful, maybe you need a bit of both to respond productively? You must understand and accept that there will be differences (response a), but still become upset enough (response b) to see what needs improvement.

(After the show, once I had stopped steaming and talked to a few people about how disgusted I was with the audience, we were able to set up simple means of avoiding the problem in the future... It's just a matter of starting each performance by doing the jobs you would expect teachers to do at home: organizing the kids, making sure that they are seated, and reminding everyone to turn off their mobiles...)

Ahh. Despite all its weaknesses, I noticed something here this week that made me nostalgic for a time past. In Pristina, restaurants and cafes actually leave their deck furniture outside overnight... unlocked, unchained, and with no signs that read: "property of ____". Maybe it's only something small, but it's nice.

As always.... good and bad together.

 

this is the simple set of "The Longest Winter"

 

the Albanian cast

 

and finally, the audience... you can tell how interested they are in the show because of how intensely they are all staring at the stage... but I made sure that the obnoxious mob of students was cut out of the photo :)