The International Children’s Theater Festival is a fun and interactive experience featuring performances, workshops, plus Miracoco; a stunning walk-through sculpture of light and color. Many of the festival activities including balloon animals, face painting, chalk art and more are free of charge. More than 25,000 students and families participated in past years.
Daniel Hahn
Vice President, Community Engagement & Education
A native of northeast Ohio, Hahn joined PlayhouseSquare (2013) after 16 years with Great Lakes Theater (GLT). In his 12 years as director of education with GLT, Daniel created and maintained a variety of programs to engage nearly 50,000 students and adults each year. Hahn also taught Theatre Management and Creative Dramatics as an adjunct professor at Baldwin Wallace University for over 10 years.
The 2014 International Children’s Festival Public Performances:
BLEU!
The Mediterranean Sea
Compagnia T.P.O. (Italy)
May 9-10
Taking the classical mythology of the Mediterranean as a starting point, BLEU! explains the meeting between a sailor and a sea nymph. The story begins when the nymph drops a pearl into the sea, which the sailor has to find. The sailor sets off on an adventure-packed voyage across the sea, transforming this story into an odyssey of discovery and knowledge.
ArKtype presents
A co-production with Marseilles European Capital of Culture 2013 & Mercat de les Flors of Barcelona
Artistic Direction by Francesco Gandi & Davidue Venturini
Choreographer by Anna Balducci
Fluff
Cre8ion (Australia)
May 9-10
The Gingham family is very concerned for all of the lost and discarded toys in the world. They travel all around to retrieve them and bring them to their colorful home of odd shaped boxes where they welcome them to the family. Each toy is introduced one-by-one and, after seeing a slide show of how they came to be lost, is given a vocal sound, a movement, a piece of music, a nightlight and a nice comfy bed.
Fluff: A Story of Lost Toys is a simple, joyful and humorous tale told with a twist. It has been acclaimed for its originality, warmth, clever use of comedy and extraordinary combination of song, movement, sampling, projection and audience participation.
LOVE
Terrapin Puppet Theatre (Australia)
May 9-10
Oslo Rogers has a very fun mum called Ruthy, and lives in a very fun town called Mellingong. But now a very un-fun problem (called a big approaching storm) is forcing everyone to head for The Clondike, the big town hall on the hill.
And they can only take a few important things each – ‘love luggage’, Ruthy calls it. But the thing is, Oslo’s mum is a milk-lady, and owns a milk-float, and those can hold heaps of ‘love luggage’… if you pack them right. So Oslo sets out to help the people of Mellingong, and to find out the things they love most, the things you would save from a storm.
In this new play the lyrical and heart driven writing of Finegan Kruckemeyer is brought to life with traditional puppets, digital puppetry, stunning music and Terrapin’s trademark silly business. Love is a heartfelt story that is thoroughly entertaining on many levels.
Join this very brave 10-year-old, as he races against the elements and discovers a whole world of stories, all held in a milk-float’s worth of objects.
Terrapin Puppet Theatre and the tour of Love is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, and through Arts Tasmania by the Minister for the Arts.
Pinocchio
Tout à Trac (Canada)
May 9-10
If the story of this little puppet seems timeless, that is because it is about much more than just his nose that grows longer whenever he tells a lie. Pinocchio is one of the most beautiful representations of mankind, with all its faults and shortcomings, but also its most touching and noble aspects.
In 1833, author Carlo Collodi did not want to relate the feats of princes and princesses, rather he decided to tell the life of someone who was born at thievery bottom of the social ladder, at the lowest rung imaginable: that of a “common block of firewood, one of those thick, solid logs that are put on the fire in winter”. Pinocchio is a story about the growth of a tiny being who has the misfortune of being born into a difficult environment and who will learn, through the many hardships of life, to become what he has always dreamt of becoming: a real boy, a good son, a righteous man.
And this is a much-needed story in this dark and cynical time when descendants of the Fox and the Cat are making headlines on a daily basis. We still need Pinocchio because life, with all the hardships and hurdles it still throws at us, nonetheless remains a magnificent adventure. We still need Pinocchio because telling the story of a small block of wood dreaming to become human brings hope to a world that is losing its humanity and becoming increasingly dependent on machines. And because a child that grows up and carves out his place in the world is still a miracle of life with or without the help of the Blue Fairy.
In co-production with Tennessee Performing Arts Center & Place des Arts
WhyOhWhyOhWhy? African Pourquoi Tales
Charlotte Blake Alston (USA)
May 9-10
WhyOhWhyOhWhy? African Pourquoi Tales– Tales that make you say, “Hmmm.” The essential themes and lessons of this genre of centuries old African folk stories reveal why they have stood the test of time. Often offering creative and humorous ideas for natural phenomena and man’s relationship with the earth and the universe, these timeless stories were primarily designed to offer the listener food for thought. At the center of many of these tales are characters you may know: Anansi the Spider from Ghana, or Sungura the Rabbit from Kenya.
Not only may you find yourself asking, “What will Turtle do next?” you may also find yourself asking, “What would I do in that situation?” Hmmm. This tradition followed Africans to America where Br’er Rabbit, Br’er Fox and company were born. Come listen, laugh, join in, tap your finger on your temple and say “Hmmm?” then go back to your classroom (or back to your home) and TALK! No, not talk to your neighbor when you should be listening – talk about the ’Why’ stories you just heard! Hmmm.
Miracoco
Architects of Air (United Kingdom)
May 6-10
$5.00 tickets available on-site only
Built in 2011, the Miracoco luminarium is a stunning sculpture of light and color representing a new step in the evolution of luminarium design. Miracoco’s Centre Dome is more voluminous than any previous dome built. It’s is a monumental structure redolent of the Lotus Temple of India that features spiral lattices to create a display of glittering points of light on a field of iridescent hues.
Vivid reflections of liquid color spill across the curved walls creating a world apart from the normal and every day. The radiance of the daylight transmitted by colored PVC is surprising in its luminosity and makes a direct impact on the senses. Through labyrinthine tunnels and cavernous domes, you will move in a medium of saturated and subtle hues. You can wander freely or just lay back and enjoy the ambience.
No two visits are alike as the atmosphere inside alters according to changing weather and light. It is a paradox that such a stimulating environment can simultaneously be so calming. Many people try to put their experience into words – describing it as a visit to a futuristic space station or a journey inside the human body.
Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult (1 adult for 4 children).
Miracoco is fully accessible for wheelchair users and persons with physical disabilities.