臺灣多元文化兒童戲劇之脈絡、策略與挑戰：以向日葵兒童劇團與六藝劇團為例

Context, Strategies, and Challenges of Multicultural Children’s Theatre in Taiwan: A Case Study of the Sunflower Children’s Theater and the Six Arts Theatre

二十一世紀初，臺灣校園開始出現以認識移工與新住民母國文化，促進多元包容和尊重的教育性戲劇，普遍被稱為「多元文化戲劇」。由於其主要針對國小和幼兒園兒童，本文將之定義為「多元文化兒童戲劇」，歸屬於臺灣移民工劇場的範疇。自2007年至今，此類戲劇仍持續在校園演出，然相關學術研究付之闕如。
本文希望填補此研究空缺，選取兩個最具代表性的劇團作為分析對象：業餘的向日葵兒童劇團與專業的六藝劇團。前者由嘉義大學幼教系葉郁菁教授指導的「兒童閱讀服務社」所。自2007年起每年自發性地到臺灣西部偏鄉幼兒園和小學，進行以關懷新住民為主的多元文化戲劇演出，截至2016年後停止運作，十年共創作演出十齣新戲，每年約十場，年均觀眾數約有兩千位名。六藝劇團在2001年創團即以教育性質演出最主旨，自2014年起承接新北市政府勞工局外籍勞工多元文化宣導業務至今。原先以每年進入25所在新北市的國小演出，以不重複至同一學校為原則，到2019年已至135所國小，每年觀眾約五千名；在2017年起，更自校園擴展到社區。
本文將多元文化兒童戲劇視為臺灣移民工劇場的重要類型之一，首先探究兩個劇團的多元文化劇本創作模式、執行和演出情形，建構關鍵的劇場史學紀錄。其次，進而分析兩個劇團採用何種敘事策略，達成其設定的多元文化教育目標？學理方法結合九年一貫課綱的情意、認知與行為三大目標，西方多元文化素養量表常用的情意、認知與技能三個項目，以及美國多元文化教育權威學者詹姆斯．班克斯（James A. Banks）歸納美國教師統整少數族裔文化到課程中採取的四種取向。接續，從兒童劇被認為該具備藝術性、娛樂性、和教育性三大特質出發，檢視兩個劇團的表現與觀眾接收情況，並進一步分析三者互相影響的關係。最後，綜合討論兩個劇團面臨的制度與創作挑戰，提出反思與建議。

In the early 21st century, educational theatre productions emerged in Taiwanese schools aiming to promote understanding of migrant workers’and new immigrants’cultural heritage while fostering diversity, inclusivity and respect. These productions became commonly known as“multicultural theatre.”Given their primary focus on elementary school and kindergarten audiences, this study categorizes them as“multicultural children’s theatre,”a distinct genre within Taiwan’s migration theatre. While such performances have continued in schools since 2007, scholarly research on this subject remains scarce.
This study addresses this research gap by examining two representative theatre troupes: the amateur Sunflower Children’s Theater and the professional Six Arts Theatre. The former, operated by the Children’s Reading Service Club under Professor Yu-Ching Yeh’s guidance at National Chiayi University’s Department of Early Childhood Education, voluntarily performed in rural western Taiwan’s kindergartens and elementary schools from 2007 to 2016. During this decade, they created and staged ten original productions focusing on new immigrants, with approximately ten performances annually reaching an average audience of 2,000. The Six Arts Theatre, established in 2001 with an educational mission, has been engaged since 2014 in a multicultural outreach program commissioned by the New Taipei City Government’s Labor Affairs Bureau. Initially, they performed in 25 different elementary schools each year, adhering to the policy of not repeating performances at the same school. By 2019, they had reached 135 schools, engaging approximately 5,000 viewers yearly, and extended their performances beyond schools to community venues from 2017.
This research positions multicultural children’s theatre as a significant genre within Taiwan’s migration theatre. It first examines the scriptwriting approaches, production processes, and performance practices of these two troupes, constructing a foundational historiographical record. This study then analyzes the narrative strategies employed to achieve their multicultural educational goals, drawing upon theoretical frameworks that integrate the Nine-Year Integrated Curriculum’s affective, cognitive, and behavioral domains, the commonly used affective, cognitive, and skill-based dimensions in Western multicultural literacy assessments, and the four curricular approaches identified by multicultural education scholar James A. Banks (1941–) for incorporating minority cultures into teaching. Furthermore, considering that children’s theatre is expected to balance artistic, entertaining, and educational qualities, this study evaluates the performances and audience reception of these troupes while examining the interplay among these three dimensions. Finally, it discusses the institutional and creative challenges faced by both theatre troupes, offering reflections and recommendations for future practice.