The famous detective Lefki Xxaspri is urgently called by the fairy Nolana for a very serious case.

She has recently lost her magic wand and is in despair, as she can no longer satisfy every wish of the four children she has baptized and hosts in her cloud.

Lefki unravels the tangle of evidence she needs to solve the case, and with it the characters that coexist in the fictional story.

Along the way, the consequences of a divorce on a child’s psyche, the loss of a father, children’s phobias, consumerism, aggression and cynicism, screen addictions, but also incidents of bullying and harassment in the school environment are revealed.

The above unfolded in the children’s theater show “We fell from the clouds” which was already staged in Stavroupoli, Oreokastro and Evosmos and was organized by the Center for the Prevention of Dependencies and the Promotion of Psychosocial Health of Western Thessaloniki “Alfa Network”, in collaboration with the Municipalities of Pavlos Melas, Oreokastro and Kordelio – Evosmos.

“This show is an original action for prevention. And this is because theater, and art in general, speaks indirectly to people, through emotion. It’s another way of saying things. It offers a material that we carry and works within us. At the same time, it manages to highlight the causes that lead to dangerous behaviors – risk factors, but also to shed light on protective factors, i.e. to show the way to a possible solution to the problem”, the psychologist – prevention executive at the “Network” reports to APE-MPE Alpha”, which is supported by OKANA, Vasiliki Zoundouridou.

Regarding the choice of the topic, he emphasizes that “aggression, consumerism, phobias and screens are issues with which the professionals of the Alpha Network deal a lot” and adds: “we constantly have appointments for such requests”. On the other hand he conveys the symbolism of the play, explaining that the fairy who does all the pampering to the children is essentially the parent – a supporter who has lost his way a little, wants to give, says “yes” to everything and is afraid of displeasing . The detective, after all, is the adult – supporter, who provides the solution, teaches the children about boundaries and in this way “liberates” the children.

The protective factors against risky behaviors

Ms. Zoundouridou points out, at the same time, that there are possibilities to strengthen the protection factors at an individual level, through learning life skills, such as the recognition and management of emotions, the strengthening of children’s self-esteem so that they know their strengths and weaknesses and to acceptance, goal setting and impulse control through the practice of patience.

Protective factors at the family level include creating an emotional climate and strengthening bonds in the family, at least with a caring person, limiting education to avoid the two extremes (excessive tolerance and harsh discipline), applying few, clean and honest rules resulting from negotiation, the essential communication with people who are willing to listen and try to find a solution and the pure parents’ rejection of substances and patterns of violence.

In the social protection factors, crucial elements are the attitude that someone will develop towards the crisis of the institutions in order to integrate smoothly into societies governed by these institutions, the positive role of peers, the neighborhood, classmates, older siblings and avoiding conditions such as availability of substances or exposure to incidents of violence.

How the idea for the play started

According to the psychologist of the “Alpha Network”, the idea to meet prevention and theater arose in 2019, before the pandemic, in the conversations of the professionals of the Prevention Center with teachers of primary education, after the end of one of the seminars on addiction prevention. Subsequently, more teachers gathered with the same passion for expression, participation and contribution and at the end of 2019 the first theater group of volunteer partners in prevention was created. The effort was interrupted during the years of the pandemic and continued after it, with the aim of children growing up to be able to protect themselves.

On the stage, the roles of the show, which is aimed at kindergarten and elementary school children, are played by a kindergarten teacher, five teachers and a teacher and a student of the Ampelokipi Artistic High School.

The reactions of young and old

Regarding the reactions of young and old after watching the play, Mrs. Zoundouridou speaks with emotion about the way they leave, “with a smile, an upliftment, with a sense of ‘togetherness’, since in the end all the children manage to calm their demons, they see a change in the way they behave, they reveal themselves everyone’s weaknesses and everyone manages them with the help of other children and adult supporters.”

“Something else we didn’t expect was the reactions of the young people from SAEK and EPAL who took over the make-up and hairstyles of the actors. The whole process seems to have encouraged them a lot, they felt part of the process and realized that their participation in it can help them professionally,” he adds.

The curtain of the performance closed with a song and multiple messages: “There will be the color of joy There will be words of the heart/ Take the pen you are holding and write how you love them/And remember more: what is written will stay there ».

Information about the project (from the co-organization with the Municipality of Oreokastro)
Text: Maria Albanou
Direction – Sets|Costumes|Lighting: Nikolas Lampakis
Music: Chrysanthi Tsoukala, Nikolas Lampakis
Assistant Director – Music Teaching: Panagiotis Meggoulis
Organization – Scientific guidance: Alpha Network Prevention Center, Spyropoulou Eleftheria, Scientific Manager, Psychologist and Zounduridou Vasiliki, Christina Makrogianni, Prevention Officers, Psychologists
Performers (in alphabetical order): Anatoli Avgerinou, Nadia Vikopoulou, Katerina Karabatis, Katerina Kafetzopoulou, Giorgos Kritharidis, Georgia Oikonomidis, Eleftheria Sirmaloglou, Anna Hatzivasiliadou / The voices of actors Thanasis Dovris and Maria Parasiri are heard in the performance.
Construction of scenery: Christos and George Kyrgianes
Visual stage selection assistant: Aphrodite Karamali
Costume Making: Tamara Clothing Atelier
Special constructions: East of Avgerinos
Special effects: Vassilis Papachristos
Poster Design: Lia Katsigianni
Performance photography and videography: Lefteris Trachanidis (GL Productions Photo Studio)