The influence of the creative process on the child’s reality based on the example of the girls’ project „Theater of Power”

Cultural institutions become more and more open to the implementation of inclusive projects aimed at a large and constantly expanding group of recipients-creators. The potential of amateur creativity has also been noticed in the field of theater activity, and thus the understanding of art as a sphere in which only professional artists have a voice has been surpassed. The idea of a theater devoted to children's imagination was anticipated in Poland by a patron of theatre pedagogy, Jan Dorman. Children's theater, drawing on the natural creativity of a child, the unlimited potential of his imagination and the tendency to play, places in the center of the creative process a child, who is not only a performer or spectator, but a committed author of activities – theatrical events. Playing the theater becomes a space for the child's participation, in which his voice has the driving force. Through art, creating an imaginary world, and thus moving in the world of fiction, the young artist develops skills that are necessary for full participation in real social life. Socially engaged theater is based on the assumption that art can be a common act because it is a dialogical meeting in which everyone can express themselves. Theater provokes both reflection and action, it presents a creative dialogue between man and the world. Art understood in this way transcends its aesthetic function, focusing on the process that its creators go through and the change it causes, which goes far beyond the theatrical event. The Girls' „Theater of Power” is an example of theatrical work in which the participation of girls was at the core of all activities. By following the creative potential and unlimited imagination of children, it became possible to get to know their worlds and learn sensitivity to the environment from them. The girls reflected on the school reality and, using the tools of the theater, created an alternative „School for Children”. As a result of this cooperation, the voices of the participants were manifested in a project of the world which was not only directed at children but also created by children