BE WILDER MAN + is a two-hour workshop offered to small groups of about 20 children between 5 and 7 years old.

This workshop is an experience-orientated trajectory in which we philosophize about everything that’s different from the usual.

The Story

We enter the world of a strange character.
He made his tent and now lives in ‘our’ place.
Who is he? Or she? Or it?
When the children enter the space they see this character for the first time:
he hangs out the laundry, drinks water from paper, eats plants and dog biscuits and he manages to cook with an iron…
We don’t know his name…
What shall we call him?

He invites the children to come and explore his ‘world’. This is how we discover five different tents. In each tent the children are plunged into a new philosophical experiment.

In these 5 different spots, through concrete experiences and playful tests, the children are challenged to think about what they see and whether the world they’re familiar with is the same for everyone. Each time, there are two coaches who help the children to consider their actions by means of philosophical questions.

The whole workshop is centered around experiments that stimulate the senses and question the way things are normally. In this workshop we can drink from a paper cup and dog biscuits turn out to be tasty… Maybe not everything is the way it appears to us.

In the final moment, we ask ourselves whether the ’strange’ things we saw are that strange after all. Because, if we get to know ’the strange’, doesn’t our fear disappear? Is strange still as strange as before, now that we got acquainted with it? Are we still afraid of this strange character and his strange world? And is he still afraid of us?

Rather than passively watching a performance, it’s about actively participating and dealing with the theme of ‘the strange’.

Credits

Cast (varying occupation): Amber Goethals, Lotte Vaes, Karolien De Bleser, Liesje De Backer, Anna Vercammen, Evelien Van Hamme
Philosophical support and guidance: Ilse Daems and Eef Cornelissen
Set Design: Michiel Van Cauwelaert
Costumes: Viv Van der Poel
Technique: Frouke Vangheluwe

With support of the Flemish Community and thanks to BRONKS, Brussels