• The Children in Lockdown Arts Festival 2021

This past weekend (26-28 November) saw the culmination of a beautiful thing – the Stages Theatre Group’s Children in Lockdown Arts Festival – an eight-month-long creative endeavour, finally taking place for the public. Put simply, the Children in Lockdown Arts Festival 2021 is a primarily virtual event, which gathers together artists, children, and adults to reflect on the treatment and experiences of children in Sri Lanka during the Covid-19 pandemic. The festival comprised three days of public screenings, live interactive digital sessions, and a closing plenary for select artists (in keeping with pandemic restrictions). Curated by the Stages Theatre Group and supported by Kindernothilfe (KNH), the Children in Lockdown Arts Festival 2021 has brought children right into the centre of the curation of the artworks and conversations of this festival. The Stages Theatre Group is an ensemble theatre company that focuses on producing socially and politically conscious original theatre. Founded by veteran theatre practitioner and director Ruwanthie De Chickera, in addition to theatre productions, the Stages Theatre Group also works to strengthen the surrounding sub-culture of the arts in Sri Lanka and build stronger links between theatre and wider society, both local and global. Taking place across three days, 26 to 28 November, the artworks showcased at the festival included theatre performances, art installations, puppet shows, short-film screenings, and artist talks. The festival took place in six sessions spread out over the three festival days with each session curated to respond to a specific theme to do with children and the pandemic. Each session included a showcase of work by artists commissioned by the festival and was followed by panel discussions on the theme of the session. Day One of the festival, Friday, 26 November, covered the themes of “Health and Mental Wellbeing During the Pandemic” and “Abuse During the Pandemic”. Day Two of the festival, Saturday, 27 November, covered the themes of “Vulnerable Children in the Pandemic”, and “Schooling in the Pandemic”. Day Two also featured a virtual magic show for kids. Day Three of the festival, which took place on Sunday, 28 November, covered the themes of “Families in the Pandemic”, “Digital Wellbeing in the Pandemic”, and concluded with Chatroom 2021, a play directed by Tasmin Anthonisz about six teenagers who meet online looking for entertainment, a purpose to live, and a way to always be remembered during the global lockdown. Brunch checked out the closing session of the festival “Digital Wellbeing in the Pandemic”, which featured the unveiling of three artworks; Trapped by Encelleta Solomon; #ReconnectUs by the Digital Wellbeing Initiative (DWI); QuaranTEEN by Leeth Singhage; and a panel discussion on digital wellbeing in the pandemic. The festival took place primarily virtually, despite the initial intentions of the Stages Theatre Group. The festival’s Artist Curators Ruwanthie De Chickera and Malith Hegoda took on the challenge of translating all the different forms of art that had been produced into a hybrid between live performance art and film, and pre recording, so that each performance could create the maximum impact in a virtual setting. ‘Trapped’ by Encelleta Solomon [caption id="attachment_176540" align="alignleft" width="325"] ‘Trapped’ a mixed-media installation piece by Encelleta Solomon[/caption] The opening artwork showcase of “Digital Wellbeing in the Pandemic” was Trapped by Encelleta Solomon, a mixed-media installation piece by 19-year-old Encelleta Solomon under the mentorship of visual artist Shaanea Mendis. Trapped reflected on the fragility of human connection and solidarity within the challenges of the pandemic, about how what people took for granted became a privilege, and what people took for normal became luxury.   Speaking on the influences that she used when conceptualising Trapped, Solomon said that the pandemic turned everything upside down, and even though there were things she initially had positive feelings about (like the postponement of her Advanced Levels [A/Ls] for example), after a while the pandemic and the lockdown became a trap, not just for her, but for everyone, and it was this feeling of being trapped that she explored within Trapped.  Trapped features paintings of different hands symbolising Sri Lankans and children in lockdown, bound yet connected through pieces of crimson string and handmade chains that capture both the dark side of the pandemic, form loss of livelihoods, productivity, and depression to the positive aspects of society like charity and lending a helping hand that developed during the pandemic.  The final result was a multi-faceted piece of work that managed to capture the duality that everyone, from children in school to adults of all ages, who had to deal with both the initial shock of the pandemic and the slow pace we’re taking towards recovery at present with the threat of another wave hanging over us. #ReconnectUs The second showcase of “Digital Wellbeing in the Pandemic” was something more digital, a series of public service announcement (PSA) videos by the DWI, with a group of child-artists that focused on the need for digital awareness and wellbeing amongst teenagers and families. [caption id="attachment_176541" align="alignright" width="349"] #ReconnectUs a series of PSA videos by the Digital Wellbeing Initiative[/caption] In a talk on the public service announcement (PSA) videos and the concept of #ReconnectUs, DWI Co-Founder Maleen Jayasinghe that though the need and trend for digital has been a long time coming, educational systems and family units are still trailing behind when it comes to being proactive with the problems of technology, and this is what spurred him and a group of his friends to help children and adults both to develop stronger digital wellbeing. Through their maiden project #ReconnectUs, the DWI worked with a group of child-artists to develop a series of PSA videos where kids can create an honest dialogue with each other on the dangers of the internet (as opposed to being lectured by adults who are often not as up-to-date on digital safety and wellbeing as they would like to think).  The PSA videos touched on four key issues around digital wellbeing: Addiction to devices and social media; privacy and how what we share online (and with who) can make us vulnerable and open us up to harm; cyberbullying and the impact careless actions online can have on people in real life; and misinformation and the importance of sharing information responsibly. Over the course of #ReconnectUs, the DWI team as well as other professionals mentored the child-artists with workshops, knowledge sessions, and feedback sessions to help the artists develop the most impactful PSA videos despite the challenges of the pandemic. In the end, the artists all shot their components of the PSA videos on their mobile phones before creatively editing them to make them powerful one-minute stories that can show people how to be more responsible and safe online. Part of DWI and the group of artists’ intention was to show that the internet and technology are not inherently bad things, but are also tools that can be, and are, used for good. The videos themselves were compelling without being overwhelming. While the cyberbullying PSA could have had a little more depth into it in terms of just how cyberbullying can demoralise a person, given that each video was shot on mobile phones and had to be kept under one minute, it was nevertheless a wonderful attempt. The other videos of #ReconnectUs were spot on with capturing the issues outlined in a relatable and effective way. ‘QuaranTeen’ by Leeth Singhage The longest, but also arguably the most compelling, artwork featured in “Digital Wellbeing in the Pandemic” was the one (and a half) man show put on by 19-year-old Leeth Singhage.  [caption id="attachment_176544" align="alignleft" width="334"] ‘QuaranTEEN’ the one-man show by Leeth Singhage[/caption] The setting of QuaranTeen was one that was familiar to all of us, especially the younger among us – a simple bedroom. Over the course of 48 mins, Leeth took us through all the stages of the pandemic through a teenager’s eyes – from the first few weeks of “this too shall pass”, to the realisation that while it would pass the nature of its passing would be slow and arduous. At its core, QuaranTeen chronicled a teenager stuck in lockdown with the bleakness of socially distanced university applications, online life, poor judgement, and how teenagers navigated the pandemic. Leeth compiled QuaranTeen based on interviews conducted with teenagers on how they experienced lockdown, and honestly, this play ran the gamut. It started with reminiscences of the good old days, and how for this generation at least, everyone will be able to agree on just when “the good old days” were. It also dealt with rather relatable things like how everyone was supposed to have made the pandemic a “learning opportunity”. For teenagers, this became most apparent in university questions like “how has the pandemic made you grow?”. It also chronicled the rather ill-advised online dating escapades many of us have embarked on in lockdown, from randomly texting people we hadn’t seen in months only to be coolly rebuffed or contacting strangers in hopes of making a connection. There were some stellar cheesy pick-up lines that were shared in this section of the play. QuaranTeen also captured another interesting phenomenon that everyone, adult or teenager. could relate to – the development of online personas. From self-certified fitness expert to self-professed Instagram music star, whether we made these online personas by ourselves or simply enjoyed the efforts of others’ personas, this was absolutely something we could all relate to. QuaranTeen also captured how Leeth developed his one-man show, from its working title to its drafts to figure out how it would flow, and even to the moment he found out it would no longer be a live performance (the news was not well-received). Leeth’s one-man show was very engaging from start to finish and was a rather well-developed cross-section of all the things young people have been up to during lockdowns and the pandemic. Digital wellbeing in the pandemic as an issue The session closed with a panel discussion on the digital wellbeing in the pandemic as an issue and looked at how teenagers can navigate and take control of the virtual world in a manner that benefits them. [caption id="attachment_176543" align="alignright" width="357"] ‘Chatroom 2021’ a mixed-media live performance directed by Tasmin Anthonisz[/caption] The panel consisted of HashtagGeneration Co-Founder Mahishaa Balraj, one of the artists from #ReconnectUs Shaakya Nathavitharana, ICTA Legal Officer Thanusshi Dissanayake, and roboticist and academic Chrisjit Xavier, and was moderated by Sanjith Dias of the DWI. The panel discussed the importance of digital literacy, critical thinking, and being discerning when consuming and sharing information; the impacts of cyberbullying; the legality of cybercrime and the recourse available when dealing with cybercrime; and the very harsh reality of being addicted to our screens and how to break free from this addiction. The overall festival was concluded by a mixed-media live performance reimagining of Enda Walsh’s Chatroom in a pandemic situation, offering insight into the psychological effects of online harassment on teenagers, at a time when one’s world is completely virtual. The Children in Lockdown in Arts Festival can be viewed in much of its entirety on the Stages Theatre Group’s YouTube channel.