Barbie dolls and Shakespeare

Over the last 2 months my mum has been coming over on Mondays to teach Lil't how pleasurable it is to understand and subsequently enjoy Shakespeare. Maureen is an actress with over 40 years experience in the industry so it is only fitting for her to tackle this particular subject!

In Australia, Shakespeare's plays are not approached by students until high school which is right about when kids are rejecting anything cultural that is proffered to them by anyone over the age of 22 (which is WAY OLD anyway). Sparking an interest in this subject now is invaluable to Lil't's education, and how wonderful to have the privilege to start exploring this subject at the tender age of 9.

Big M and Lil't have been studying Romeo and Juliet. The quintessential romantic tragedy. So far they have also taken in two films as part of the study- the Baz Luhrmann version, and Westside Story, along with detailed coverage of the dialogue each week. More films will be viewed over time as to  impart some of the critical and interpretive understanding of theatre, tv and film. I can't wait to take her to a live theatre production!

So, what role does Barbie play in this I hear you ask? Well, who better to play the Montagues and the Capulets and all the other roles!

Learning to read Shakespeare out loud is fantastic. Lil't is learning about language evolution, history, metre, character, all while improving her literacy and covering various aspects of acting and performance. They have even begun a project that embraces location design for production purposes, finding  locations within our suburb to be used for different scenes and photographing them.

hi it's little T! Me and grandma have been doing Romeo and Juliet and we have being using the barbies that me and my dad collected when i was the age two up to five. I like the plot in Romeo and Juliet except the death part about it :[. sorry about the sad face. my favourite character is the nanny. ummm i guess that's all folks!!!!! :D

Dolls House

Is It Real? 

By lil't. 

A Beautiful Georgian House.

A blank canvas interior.

there are six rooms the botom small room is the bathroom then the botom big one is the kitchen then the top small one is the gestroom then the one next to that is the loungeroom then in the next floor it's  bedroom one and bedroom two.

How real does this look!

in true life this is a doll's house it is brand new and we had it on laybuy for three month's then we brought it home with the kitchen furniture and a tea set and nothing else.

Above posts by lil't, unedited of course. 

Big T. 

This is such an exciting project. Perfect for the little girl in both of us. As a rampant emerging feminist I have to allow here and now, I love pretty things. Being a feminist doesn't mean we have to be macho and grow large beards, though I do like wielding my power tools and am dying to get back into furniture restoration. For me and my daughter it is about embracing the awesomeness of being a woman. This is going to be a decorative experience for lil't and I to share. To create a beautiful heirloom for our family. The project will require much planning and research. From installing light fittings to deciding on wall paper and flooring to learning how to create our own fittings. Soon we will go on a country adventure to our friend's grandma's house, as she has a whole room dedicated to miniatures. Lil't's father was also into miniatures, more of the ancient army varieties, ala DBM (De Bellis Multitudinis.) Another very nerdy pursuit of painting tiny little men and then having wee wars with them. This is a tad more peaceful methinks, but no less of a lesson in history and architecture and so much more.