MANILA, Philippines – The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) seeks a yearly summer activity to help the kids of GSIS’ employees do something productive and fun over the vacation while also encouraging them to bond with their families. With kids nowadays often glued to their laptop and phone screens, and also the uneven work and school schedules getting in the way, the summer season is the perfect time to get these kids moving and to get them closer to their moms and dads.
This year’s summer program for kids centers on the theme of creative expression. What better way to teach these kids about artistic release other than through theater?
Having started on April 4, the GSIS Children’s Summer Workshop is a month-long program for kids and teens aged 4 to 13 focused on opening up the participants’ skill in the arts facilitated by pioneer theater company, Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA).
Known for their original Filipino productions, PETA also specializes in crafting workshops tailored for different artists and individuals. Energetic, lively, and inventive are only a few words to describe PETA’s approach in their workshops as they make use of the different aspects of theater to create a unique and wholistic art experience that pushes the limits of the participants’ imagination and creativity.
“By allowing them [children] to respond to their creativity in a safe environment, we empower them.”, articulates Glenn Valmores, M.D, of the GSIS Medical & Wellness Services Department, front runner of the Children’s Summer Program for the GSIS.
PETA’s design for the GSIS summer workshops involves a series of focused workshops that discusses specific aspects of theater such as creative storytelling, puppetry & visual arts, and drama. At the end of every week, the participants engage in a showcase wherein they will get to perform or present their own original performance and artwork that stemmed out from their sessions. These showcases are attended by the members and also parents of the workshop participants.
“My daughter is really enjoying the workshops. She gets to meet new friends and the most important thing is that she has learned how to participate. She’s only 4 years old. Nakatulong din talaga sa kanya para pagdating din ng school year, she’ll get to participate and be more active in school activities.”, expresses Anne Guste after watching her daughter perform in their first showcase on Creative Storytelling.
The members of the GSIS get to bring their kids to the workplace spending the day with them and also seeing them grow through the workshops.
Atty. Jane Quimsing, employee of the GSIS and mom of a participant, mentions that the workshop has helped her discover her daughter’s potential in the arts. “Her teachers have been telling me that she’s really good in the visual arts. The workshop became an avenue for me to discover something different about my daughter that I feel I need to develop and that’s really nice for parents like us.”, she explains.
The GSIS Children’s Summer Workshop will wrap up on the first week of May, in time for the opening of PETA’s Summer Workshops at the Pineapple Lab in Poblacion, Makati. For more information on PETA’s summer offerings and extension workshops for organizations and companies, contact PETA at 725 6244, 0921 522 1728, or [email protected]. Complete details may also be found at www.petatheater.com.