Underwater
This magical blue world of multisensory
opportunities and fun can be created in a variety of ways. Use
translucent organza or thin polythene sheets to create underwater currents, with a living underwater projection to set the scene. Participants could wear swim hats, goggles and flippers if appropriate. The creatures they meet will depend on how deep you go, but all should have stimulating tactile, visual and sound qualities for them to explore
.
Participants could explore a sandy seabed,
similar to the Beach activity, but including sea creatures;
crab/fish/jellyfish
puppets, sea anemones and sea slugs.
Swimming deeper down, meet the giant stretchwrap fish
who leaps through the water towards you. Swim together and feel its scaly skin.
Feed the greedy sea-slug, who crawls and shuffles and nibbles your toes. He is a playful clown offering opportunities for fun for all.
Glide through the blue water with beautiful foam manta rays, catching the light as it ripples over their slowly flexing fins.
A bloom of jellyfish appears bobbing, dancing, spinning, twirling through the water. Hide inside them, feel their tentacles, hear them swish and flutter around you.
Listen to whale calls echoing through the space then see the whales appear (projection), and an inflatable whale swims out of the darkness and greets each person in turn. Share fishy treats before swimming away home.
Create a coral reef built from cloths
over a frame of white tubes and lit from above with dappled light. Fronds of polythene ‘seaweed’
hang down into the space, while fluorescent fish and cloths await a
UV light source, to glow in the dark. A helium balloon in the shape of a
pilot fish swims overhead while chimes and/or vibratones play gently in the deep waters.
Our Nautilus puppet, made with ventilator tubing and foam tendrils was greatly enjoyed by all participants, particularly with background projection showing how it moves through the water.
