On the 21st and 22nd, the collective Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan will stage six performances of the Babe Theater series "We Need a Flower" at the Zhenggang Little Theater in Kaohsiung’s Pier-2. This is a young children’s physical theater program designed specifically for babies aged 0 to 2. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The parent-child theater "We Need a Flower" by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is an improvised creation that integrates visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory integration. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The "We Need a Flower" production by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is a young children’s physical theater program designed specifically for babies aged 0 to 2. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The core of the performance of "We Need a Flower" by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is transmitted to the babies through their parents. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The performance of "We Need a Flower" by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan has almost no dialogue, relying purely on performance and music to convey its themes. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The primary goal of the "We Need a Flower" performance by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is shared enjoyment for parents and babies. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The "We Need a Flower" performance by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is an extremely experimental improvised creation integrating visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory integration. (Photo by Wang Jinhé)
The "We Need a Flower" production by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan is a young children’s physical theater program designed specifically for babies aged 0 to 2, and invites babies and dancers to interact together. (Provided by Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan)

On the 21st and 22nd, the collective Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan will stage six performances of the Babe Theater series "We Need a Flower" at the Zhenggang Little Theater in Kaohsiung’s Pier-2. This is a young children’s physical theater program designed specifically for babies aged 0 to 2. It combines visual, auditory, tactile, and proprioceptive sensory integration through improvised creation, inviting parents, babies, and dancers to interact together.

"We Need a Flower" integrates artistic aesthetics and dance elements from various fields, transforming them into seven different sensory vocabularies and stimuli rich in "sensory integration." The Babe Theater series differs from typical children’s plays; rather than aiming to perform a single script or rely on verbal interpretation, it draws from visual (colors, light and shadow), auditory (live music, sound effects), tactile (costume textures, stage settings), and proprioceptive (use of props and guidance in interactive games) elements to create a 30-minute cross-disciplinary improvised performance — an extremely experimental form of theatrical creation.

With parent-child shared experience as the primary goal of the performance, the show provides ample improvisational interaction guidance in visual, auditory, bodily perception, and parent-baby contact. The entire performance is non-verbal, expressing the characteristics of various objects and characters through the simplest of sounds. There is almost no dialogue, and the themes are conveyed purely through performance and music. The audience for the Babe Theater series consists of parent-child pairs. In addition to parents accompanying their children, the core of the entire performance is also transmitted to the babies through the parents.

Founded in 2014, the first work of Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan was the baby theater "We Need a Flower." While baby theater has matured abroad, it is still in its early stages of development in Taiwan. Zuo Hanjie, the artistic director of Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan, said that the concept of "We Need a Flower" originated from an Italian children’s song, and the text conveys a philosophy about the cycle of life, establishing a symbiotic relationship in which all things are interconnected. “To make a table, you need wood; to get wood, you need a tree; to grow a tree, you need a seed; to have a seed, you need fruit; to have fruit, you need a flower. So to make a table, you need a flower.”

Er Er Zhi Zao Ju Tuan’s 2016 Babe Theater production "We Need a Flower" will be performed six times over two days, the 21st and 22nd, at the Zhenggang Little Theater in Kaohsiung’s Pier-2. Showtimes are 10:30, 13:30, and 16:30. Parents are welcome to bring babies aged 6 months to 2 years to explore and experience the theater together.

(China Times)