The children's festival Octoburst! held annually on the Children's Day weekend at Esplanade is back for its 17th run, albeit in an online and digital edition, from 5 to 18 October.
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Pre-Festival Programme: PIParade Online
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Kickstarting the Festival this year is the PIParade Online, a pre-festival programme that will involve and engage the schools, and getting the students to submit something that will lead up to the actual festival in October.
Here’s how it works:
- Watch the tutorial video comprising 3 categories, percussion, song signing and dance.
- Choose one or even all segments to participate.
- Follow the tutorials and record the children in any of the categories, then submit the videos via the form by 6 September. You may submit as many videos as you like for the various categories!
- Selected submissions will be stitched into one main video that will be published/premiered online on 5 October, 12pm on Esplanade’s Offstage Platform (via YouTube) and Esplanade’s PIP’s Club Facebook.
- Full details for the PIParade Online is available on the website.
Online Programmes
All online programmes have been launched on the website. Some of the programmes may require pre-registration so do register early as there's limited capacity.
Here are some of the highly recommended programmes:
1. Hold My Hand
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Age range: 4 years and above
Returning as a filmed immersive table-top puppetry performance for Octoburst! 2020, Hold My Hand follows an older brother, Boy, and his younger sister, Girl, as they make their way home from school. As they set off on their journey, ordinary encounters are transformed into extraordinary ones through their imagination. Even as the siblings play, squabble and fight with each other, Boy learns to take on the responsibility of caring for his sister while Girl learns to face her fears and trust her brother.
There will also be a craft video that teaches students/kids how to make puppets, so you may do this before or after watching the show in the class. Feel free to video or take pictures of the children at work, or children’s artwork and share them on Facebook!
2. The Putu Piring Incident of Batu Bulat
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Age range: 5 years and above
Batu Bulat is an island-home to many wonderful villagers. The landscape of Batu Bulat is marked by a hill, many fields for endless hours of fun, and an ice-factory. Three characters meet by chance one day, and something good… and bad happens. The story is different for each of them.
An ice-factory prince, an island adventurer, and a putu-piring seller all clash in their accounts of what really happened that sunny day by the foot of Bukit Batu Bulat.
Inspired by Chimamanda Ngozhi Adichi’s The Danger of a Single Story, this work by Adib Kosnan was created in the 2018 edition of Octoburst! to encourage empathy, active listening and compassion amongst its audience members. The three works were originally presented in various parts of the Esplanade. In the digital version, the three characters will once again come together to share their respective versions of what happened that fateful day and maybe, just maybe, they might learn something new from each other.
There will be 3 videos/stories for this and will be premiered from 5 October, 3pm, 3.30pm & 4pm respectively online, and will be available for viewing till 18 October. The three videos will be accompanied by resources and guides on diverse thinking. The guides can be utilised by parents/caregivers or educators. So get hands-on with the students after watching the storytelling videos!
3. Beats & Doodles
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Age range: 4 years and above
Beats & Doodles is a DJ mixtape that leans towards the calm and serene. With an intention to encourage doodling for relaxation, kids and busy adults are invited to listen to the mixtape whether in full or in short segments while creating little moments of expressions. Select from a 60-minute mixtape or simply go for a 10-minute session to take a break in your day.
Enjoy the process of listening and doodling without the worries of finishing or “getting it right”. Snap a video of the doodle with the music running in the background, whether unfinished or finished and tag it #beats&doodles #octoburst2020 on Instagram.
4. The Noisy Forest
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Everything can be made into music. In The Noisy Forest, explore new ways of playing with sound with your little ones through a guided online experience. Before the session, each adult-child pair will receive a complimentary instrument construction kit to assemble. After a 15-minute play session, there will be a 15-minute discussion with the creative team to gather feedback from attendees.
5. Small Talk – Arts for Young Audiences (for adults)
Photo Credit: Esplanade
Small Talk – Arts for Young Audiences aims to engage educators, parents, caregivers and anyone enthusiastic about bringing young audiences to the theatre on the not-so-small topic of diversity. Pedagogy centered on diversity employs various approaches to guide children through thinking about difference. In engaging with children through performances and play, how do educators and parents/caregivers provide support for children in their understanding of diversity?
For more updates and details on upcoming programmes, do check out Esplanade's PIP's Club Facebook Page, and do also share your photos there!
