PikPok.online@guguță, on Tour in Cricova. Pupils Discover a Different Facet of the Internet via Theater
This week, the Guguta Municipal Puppet Theater concluded its tour across the country with the Russian-language version of the PikPok.online@guguță show. The twentieth performance, the last one of the planned shows, took place on March 18 at the Russian Gymnasium No 77 in Cricova Town. The play brought together over 100 primary and gymnasium pupils, who, with the help of the play’s protagonists, became aware of the dangers they can encounter online, as well as the rules they have to follow in order to be better protected. The Guguta Theater tour is part of a project implemented in partnership with the Independent Journalism Center (IJC).
Anghelina Codreanu, actress at the Guguta Theater, greeted the kids, urging them to watch the performance attentively because it included an important lesson about what the Internet is and how much trust one can have in the content published online.
The pupils eagerly accepted this challenge and watched the protagonists attentively as they played the performance inspired by the present-day reality. The children not only had fun together with the characters of the play, but also learned some useful things in an interactive way.
Amelia Golban, the 4th grade pupil, admitted that the show she watched helped her realize that one should not completely rely on what is published online. “Until recently, I used to consider that everything in the online space was true. I could not believe that false, fabricated, or misleading information could also be published. Today, I have discovered another facet of the Internet. You never know who is behind the screen or uses a particular profile on social networks,” Amelia explains.
Artiom Movila, the 3rd grade pupil, mentions that the director of the show probably intended to demonstrate bad behavior children should avoid using the wolf’s image. “I find it interesting when the wolf shows us how far he can go and which tricks he uses to achieve his goal. It is good, however, that he admits he was wrong in the end. We should learn from his example and stay honest while communicating with our friends and colleagues,” Artiom adds.
Maxim Nabaciui, the 2nd grade pupil, a refugee from Ukraine, tells us that the show has given him only positive emotions. “I was actually eager to see Guguta today. I have heard about this character many times during my three years in Moldova, but I have not seen him yet. From this play, I have learned that we should not lie because we can always cause damage to ourselves in this way. The wolf acts dishonestly because he wants to gain popularity. And in the end, he finds out he is all alone. We should follow the example of the rabbit, who is adored by everyone because of his sincerity and his good deeds”, Maxim says.
The theater’s educational value as an opportunity to learn and to convey key messages for children’s development was also noted by the teachers from Gymnasium No 77 in Cricova Town.
Vera Dorosenco, a primary school teacher and the 2nd grade homeroom teacher, says that since Digital Education was introduced as a school subject, pupils are taught to develop their digital skills in order to interact with the digital environment properly. The PikPok.online@guguță show provides a new vision on teaching this subject easier. “While teaching Digital Education, I familiarize the kids with the risks one can face in the online environment, I provide some examples, give them tests, and check their knowledge, and it seems to me that the children understand the materials. Still, today, I feel pleasantly surprised by the way such a complicated and current issue as online security is presented in a creative and simple manner understandable to children. Frankly speaking, in the beginning, I doubted the kids would understand the play properly, because there were also musical and entertaining moments in it; but at the end, they came to hug me and told me: ‘You know, I don’t want to spend hours online anymore, and I don’t need virtual friends anymore,’ and I realized the colossal role theater plays in our life. I guess the message of the performance reached 98% of the kids.”
The teacher appreciates the content of the play adapted for children, as well as the excellent direction of the performance. “Everything was balanced and reasonable, including the pauses between the lines and the musical accents. We would like to sincerely thank the actors of the Guguta Municipal Theater for this present. All of us have become really addicted to the Internet, and it mercilessly steals our time, emotions, and pleasures. We should change something in our lives and change ourselves,” Vera Dorosenco concludes.
Alla Oselski, deputy director at the same institution, also shares her gratitude for the theater team who crossed the institution’s threshold. “Without the Internet, we feel like we are truly helpless. Still, we realize that we need to strictly follow some clear rules to stay safe. Today’s performance was extraordinary; it was dedicated to online security issues which are very topical. As the teachers, we discuss the types of allowed and prohibited online behavior with our pupils. Parents also talk about online behavior and safety with their kids at home. However, the show is another form of conveying messages: it not merely describes a certain issue or some rules to follow, but also challenges the audience in an attractive way. Discussion is a form of communication, but it is not as captivating as a performance. I think this type of conveying messages is modern and innovative; it reaches kids’ hearts better,” Alla Oselski concludes.
PikPok.online@guguță is an adaptation of the educational story “A Click of Fangs or the Manipulative Wolf” written by media researcher Solvita Denisa Liepniece from Latvia. The play lasts for 45 minutes and is included in the repertoire of the Guguta Theater, both in Russian and Romanian. In partnership with the Independent Journalism Center, the Guguta Theater launched the Romanian version of the PikPok.online@guguță show in November 2022, and the Russian version in February 2023.
The show is an educational and entertaining story, and it is intended for kindergarten and primary school students. The show helps children understand how the online environment works, urging them to analyze what they see or hear, especially on social networks.
The PikPok.online@guguță show tour is organized within the framework of the project “Media Education and Literacy and Optimisation of Newsrooms” (MELON). This project is financially supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moldova.
