Inclusive theater in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, in April and May 2025

 

The theater for children and young people in Bishkek has been in existence since 2013 and has been an inclusive theater since 2015.

The participants are children and young people from the ÜMÜT-NADJESCHDA rehabilitation center, children from School No. 72 in the neighborhood, and sometimes children from other schools.

So far, we have performed four different pieces from the Kyrgyz epic MANAS. Then we did “The First Teacher” by Chingiz Aitmatov, followed by “The Dragon” by Yevgeny Zhovtsev, “Momo” by Michael Ende, and this year “The Cold Heart” by Wilhelm Hauff. All of these were theater versions that I wrote especially for us.

This year, 10 children and teenagers from ÜMÜT-NADJESCHDA took part, playing most of the leading roles. They were joined by five girls and three boys, all aged 13, from School No. 72 in the neighborhood. And two preschoolers.

Eight German social interns also contributed by taking care of the scenery, theater brochures, music, and rehearsals. We received additional support from teachers and staff at the schools, especially from ÜMÜT-NADJESCHDA, with organization, learning the texts, props, costumes, transportation, catering, and more. The assistant director and musician Elmira was a great help.

Preliminary work

In December, I was able to rehearse and perform “The Cold Heart” in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan, with adults with disabilities and many young people. Now I had changed and expanded the texts for us in Kyrgyzstan. Beforehand, the roles were distributed and the time available was discussed.

Rehearsals

At first, we practiced in a small basement room at the center, often just individual scenes with three to five actors, doing small exercises and lots of repetition; everything was still open…

Soon we were able to rehearse daily in the theater hall or on stage. Jasin, the driver, drove us every day through unfamiliar streets, past congested main roads, to the theater.

How was it there?

• Everyone sat down in a circle, about 20 to 25 people.
• After greeting each other, often by name, some children reported how they were doing.
• Then I told them something about Wilhelm Hauff, for example, or we talked about “The Cold Heart.” (Many didn’t understand our play as a historical work at all, but as “theater of our time,” as “exactly for now, 2025”). Or we did little miming, gestural, and linguistic exercises. With precise observations. What do we hear and what do we see when someone simply says “yes” or ‘no’? How differently can we say “yes,” “no,” “come here,” etc.?
• This was followed by rehearsals of a nude scene with many interruptions and then once without breaks.
• Breakfast was served. The high school students preferred to stay among themselves and sat together at one table. The children with special needs—some of whom needed help eating—sat at another table. But otherwise, everyone spent a lot of time together, talking, laughing, and playing with each other.
• Then there were rehearsals again until lunchtime or even longer.

The rehearsals were a very enriching experience for everyone. Everyone was very attentive. The students from the neighborhood school sat at the back of the stage and watched everything quite quietly until it was their turn (of course, there was a little talking and teasing…). And the cell phone ban was observed!

I repeatedly attempted to portray something through acting, which resulted in some humorous moments. Every evening, I practiced several roles on my own and reviewed the entire direction.

Therapeutic elements

Movement: For a child with infantile cerebral palsy, opening their hands upwards and reaching for an object can mean a lot. They sit up straight, the tension in their hands eases slightly, their facial expressions relax… It feels like a small liberation. Children with spastic paresis often have difficulty orienting themselves in space, e.g. running in a circle. They tend to cut corners. Some of them had to practice this a lot. (Such small movement and balance exercises are the basis for important cognitive skills in the future, e.g., spatial and numerical concepts). Incidentally, the high school students also found it very difficult to dance a simple circle dance without making mistakes.

Speaking: This is not easy for most children. In many cases, they have difficulty articulating words clearly or their voices are too weak. It was amazing to see how everyone’s voices grew stronger during rehearsals. We did the following with one boy who had tetraparesis: The caregiver spoke the individual sentences to the audience. The boy was then allowed to repeat them twice – with great intensity and the full support of everyone present.

Attitude/role: An actor should continue acting even when they are not speaking. They should remain in character. Simply maintaining eye contact and not looking up, for example (“Why are you looking up? Is your son flying around in the sky?”), sometimes requires a great deal of willpower.

Communication: What a big deal it can be to play a role: a young boy, a worried mother, a villain, a cheeky girlfriend, a drunk – and not just to play the part, but to “be” the character! The whole human experience, with all its highs and lows! And my counterpart is now someone else too… After all, communication involves connecting with the audience: they “carried” us, “lifted” us when we sang.

The idea behind the piece: I looked for works that showed development, a transformation from a hopeless situation. Such “transformation scenes” often work particularly well. Some members of the audience were moved to tears. (The audience’s great empathy was only possible because cell phones were not allowed).

Scenes/Theater backdrop/Lighting

These were the tasks we worked on together with the eight German interns and others. We painted new pictures on our existing backdrop frames. And we spent many hours painting two new theater backdrops (7.5 m x 3.5 m). A Kyrgyz artist helped us and embellished them. The social interns then became more and more involved in rehearsals, director’s meetings, set construction, wheelchairs, props, lighting, curtains, etc.

Music

Elmira, as a musician, rehearsed most of the music for the children and young people. The planned “interlude music” (there were eight acts with seven short musical interludes planned) was not as feasible as I had hoped. Few of the German social practice students were willing or able to sing. Most of them couldn’t read music either. So there were violin duets by Charles-Auguste de Beriot, played by intern Minna Omahen and me.

Performances

There were three performances. One in the Palace of Culture in Kemin (with a statue of Lenin in front), 180 km east of Bishkek. On a very large stage without a curtain or theater lighting. It was an adventure. In the morning, our two buses were escorted by the police through congested Bishkek with blue lights flashing and sirens blaring. After a quick rehearsal, we performed under completely new circumstances. There were then two performances in our small theater in the center of Bishkek. Standing ovations everywhere!

We were naturally delighted with the external success. After the final performance, there was a buffet in the courtyard and lots of conversation. Everyone involved was overjoyed.

This year also saw great public recognition: a few days later, a celebration for ÜMÜT-NADJESCHDA was held in a large city hall. It was a support event organized by a well-known Bishkek entrepreneur. Some of the children performed scenes from the play “The First Teacher” (our 2021 play). I didn’t know anything about it beforehand! That’s how it should be, that the work continues without me! Then there were dance and music performances by outside groups and many speeches. I received certificates of appreciation from the Minister of Social Affairs and the Minister of Education.

Finally, I was also honored by the “Chingiz Aitmatov Fund” for services in the spirit of Aitmatov (for peace, humanity, international understanding, and inclusion) by his son Eldar.

The hidden, longer-lasting inner success is certainly even more important:

• Our theater is theater work with therapeutic power. Of course, it is no substitute for therapy. But it has recognizable positive effects for everyone, especially in terms of motor skills, language, and self-confidence. Even if it sometimes takes years for these effects to become apparent.
• Our theater is a social training ground for everyone involved.
• Our theater is an inclusive theater for and with everyone—including in its public image. This is because there are still many prejudices and a great deal of rejection based on ignorance toward people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan.

Thanks

A big thank you goes to all the staff at ÜMÜT NADJESCHDA and School No. 72, to the German social interns, to the many sponsors in Germany, and above all to the wonderful children and young people who took part! Many thanks also to documentary filmmaker Tamara Kubaeva for the film (with German subtitles).

 

Contact:

chr.stolzenburg@gmail.com