The Boy With Wings

Information for Primary and Performance/Art Teachers

Laughter, tears and thrilling adventure are promised when a young man’s epic journey unites with the miracle of Kuaka/Bar-tailed Godwit migration. A comic, touching, and environmental story using the ageless wonder of puppetry, live music and exquisite hand-crafted sets that magically unfold out of boxes, telling an epic fable of one young man’s life-altering journey. All this is set against the backdrop of a contemporary ornithological lecture about the miracle of the great migration of Kuaka (Bar-tailed Godwits).

“Kua kite te kohanga kuaka? Ko wai ka kite I te hua o te kuaka?”

“Who has seen the nest of the kuaka? Who has ever held the egg of the kuaka?”

In māori mythology, kuaka are regarded as mysterious birds who signal the arrival of spring and still, to this day, there is ‘mystery’ surrounding their journey. So welcome to ‘The Boy with Wings’, where the power of puppetry and a great story brings wonderment to children's lives – a theatrical delight for children ages 5 to 9, that will introduce your students to the concept of bird migration as well as immersing them in a unique storytelling experience that they will remember for many years to come.

A brief description of the show: The stage appears to be the setting for a lecture with projector screen, projector and cardboard packing boxes. Enter Birdie Bartholomew, a loveable and unselfconsciously comic ‘bird expert’, who begins her lecture on the miracle of Kuaka/Bar-tailed Godwit migration using slides and personal anecdotes. She focuses her talk around one particular bird named EB53. The stage then reveals itself to be a puppet theatre, as cardboard boxes are opened to disclose an ancient world, and the tale of Jacks’ quest begins. Jack is an optimistic adventurous young man whose story is relayed through a series of scenes using a variety of puppet techniques and scales. The performance switches back and forth between these two separate realities, each story reflecting the other as the plot develops, with projection and live songs creating links across time and space. The resolution of both stories comes to a head in the grand finale (spoiler alert), as both Jack and EB53 return home. Both have had to ask the question; how do we live our fullest lives amid the uncertainty of the world? How do we find our own wings and follow our dreams?

In this high-tech fast-paced digital world, our performance offers your students a significant counter to ‘screen time’ that allows space in ‘real-time’ for them to watch, listen and reflect. This story appeals to the hearts of children, helping them build resilience, reflecting for them qualities of care and kindness towards others and their environment, and the recognition that sometimes we need to push through challenges to get what we need! This show is designed for ages 5 to 9 but is especially suitable for the Middle Syndicate

We are featured in an excellent article regarding the importance of theatre for young people in schools:

Capturing emotions and imagination through live theatre

Education Gazette | Tukutuku Kōrero, Vol 101, No 7

Teachers pack

We provide a 15 page comprehensive Teachers Pack to accompany the show that includes the following:

A fully comprehensive fact sheet with images

about Kuaka (Bar-tailed Godwit) migration, ​including information about the environmental issues facing NZ shorebirds.

A set of reflective questions

that tie into the NZ curriculum’s outcomes and values in a range of subjects such as science, environment, folklore, arts, self-reflection and personal development, to stimulate discussion both before and after the performance.

A simple classroom craft activity

to make a hanging display, imitating the flocking formations of flying Kuaka, including a printable template and instructions.

Specifications

Age suitability: Specifically 5 to 9 years

​Length of show: 50 mins

Audience capacity: 150 per show seated on floor

Stage dimensions: 5m w x 4m d

Set up time: 90 mins

Take down time: 40 mins

Tech: We provide a stand-alone set, lighting, Projector and Speakers

Venue: Indoors only. School hall or large Utility room

Cost to schools

$5 per child
Minimum fee $500 per show
Max audience 150 per show

Curriculum

Through their experience of ‘The Boy with Wings’ students will have the opportunity to meet Curriculum Achievement Objectives in the learning areas of Arts, Science and Health (Levels 1-3)

 

Arts

  • Identifying ways in which elements, techniques, conventions (such as puppetry and storytelling), and technologies (such as projected digital imagery) combine to create meaning in their own and others’ work.

    This show adopts a complex intertwining of both the present and the past. Students may be inspired to dramatize their own ideas and stories using simple puppetry techniques, and characters and narrators and/or Storytelling.

  • In relation to the aesthetic and artistic realisation of the puppetry and sets, students will observe the ways in which objects and images communicate different ideas.

  • Students can explore and identify how sound is made and changed, as they listen and respond to the different elements of music in the show, both live and recorded, including sound effects and a rhythm poem.

    They will have the opportunity to respond to live and recorded music and discuss/consider the effect of musical choices in the show.

 

Science

  • Students will learn that shorebirds have certain requirements to stay alive.

  • Students will learn that shorebirds are suited to particular habitats and that they must respond to environmental changes.

    Communicating in science: Students can build their language and develop their understanding of the many ways the natural world can be represented, in this case through the use of theatrical devices.

    Evolution:
    Students will appreciate that some living things in New Zealand are quite different from living things in other areas of the world.

 

Health

Personal Identity

Students can see how their own feelings, beliefs, and actions, and those of other people, contribute to their personal sense of self-worth.

Values and Key Competencies

 
 

Innovation, Inquiry, and Curiosity:

by thinking critically, creatively, and reflectively.

Ecological Sustainability:

which includes care for the environment.

Excellence:

by aiming high and by persevering in the face of difficulties. Integrity: a character displays honesty, responsibility, and behaves ethically.

Participating and contributing:

by watching attentively and responding to the performance and after-show questions appropriately.

Managing self and relating with care and kindness to others.

 
 

“THE ARTS are the optimum way for tamariki in early childhood to engage in complex modes of thinking and abstract ideas.”

— Te Whāriki - Kindergarten Association