(Kaunas) Pelėda Drūlija 1

Musical play for children

"Pelėda Drūlija" (Owl Drūlija) is the first series of musical plays by the "Lietuva" ensemble, which has won the hearts of many children and their parents, subsequently encouraging the continuation of the entire trilogy.

Pelėda Drūlija is a character created by therapeutic storyteller Inga Narijauskienė. It was only much later, after the Lithuanian author became an early childhood education specialist and a grandmother, that the stories told at home were written down and released to live their own authentic life. Today, Drūlija is considered one of the most successful and beloved characters of the younger generation, both in children's literature and on the musical theater stage.

The first part is based on one of the writer's tales, "How Pelėda Drūlija Searched for Patience." One morning, Pelėda Drūlija tastes peas and decides to grow them, but only after planting them does she learn that patience is required for the peas to grow big and juicy. Not knowing what patience is or where to get it, the Owl goes into the forest to look for it. In the play, Drūlija meets characters already familiar to children – a caterpillar, little woodpeckers, Taputapas the elephant, and Umba the squirrel – all of them are waiting for something and all find different ways to do so without getting bored: "When you play and wait,/ It is easy to wait,/ Time flows quickly/ With a little motor."

The character's creator, I. Narijauskienė, who has studied early childhood development for a long time, personifies the owl by transferring not only a playful but also a complex world of children into her. The witty and multi-layered narrative allows not only for identification with the described character but also for finding a way out of sometimes not-so-simple stages of child development for both the little ones and their parents. The author provides tools to solve problems in a playful and creative way.

The forest, which will allow Drūlija to discover patience in the play, will sound distinctly Lithuanian. It will interweave instruments such as the birbynė, kanklės, and skrabalai. The story itself will incorporate Lithuanian folk games, sutartinės (multipart songs), and the sensitive and magical relationship with nature that is dear to all of us Lithuanians. By fostering stage-based Lithuanian folk art, we aim to educate the identity of the younger generation in a relevant and inspiring way – that which our grandparents, parents, we ourselves grew up with, and our children will grow up with.

"The 'Lietuva' ensemble has long been carrying out this mission – to introduce children to national art. And not only through plays for children, but also through educational programs, which a large number of Lithuanian schools attend. And the emergence of this Owl is special; I knew the writer Inga Narijauskienė very well because I attended her classes for toddlers with my daughter. Inga, while raising her son Pijus, began telling stories about Pelėda Drūlija, so the character's stories have been nurtured for over twenty years. The play was also long-nurtured at home – by me while raising my daughter, by Inga while raising her son, and by Pijus himself while raising his own son," says director Giedrė Kriaučionytė-Vosylienė, who works at the "Lietuva" ensemble.