“Without a suitable stage there is no scene” Construction of enabling conditions for the involvement of children and girls in artistic areas

Abstract

We develop in this article the different meanings around the concept of child from a historical perspective and a psychoanalytic point of view. The deployment and problematization of the viewpoints around this concept will allow us to situate a general framework from where to think those artistic systems that are being offered to the children by a local public institution. The analyzed experience belongs to this mentioned system. Once we have analyzed these general aspects, we will point out, based on psychoanalytic theory, those aspects concerning the activity of playing: the “as if ” and the conditions for installing a theatrical convention. We try to identify structural and structuring issues of these processes. Then, using the precedent studies as a category of analysis, we take into account an experience of the beginning of a theater workshop and its avatars in the institution. We also analyze a case on the basis of the precedent investigation results.