Unique children’s festival expanded to two-day event

May 7, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

cleveland

If there’s one advantage to living in our digital age, it’s the smartphone calendar, which tell moms and dads who needs to be where, and when. The dirty little secret about being a parent these days is kids are busy with a seemingly nonstop onslaught of extracurricular activities (sports, music, dance, etc.).

Catching wind of these hectic schedules were the organizers of Playhouse Square’s International Children’s Theater Festival, which this year is being expanded from one to two days with some shows in hopes of accommodating those hectic schedules.

“The idea was to give families more of an opportunity to see the work,” said Daniel Hahn, Playhouse Square vice president of community eEngagement and education. “Sunday seemed to be a day where people might have an interest to come down and availability.”

Playhouse Square’s International Children’s Theater Festival is only one of four such festivals in the country. This year’s lineup of productions revolves around five unique theater performances representing Australia (“KAPUT”), Canada (“Timber!” and “The Star Keeper”), The Netherlands (“Manxmouse”) and Scotland (“The Adventures of Robin Hood”). There’s also Australian interactive art installation, Polyglot Theatre’s Paper Planet.

Among the highlights is “KAPUT,” which Hahn describes as capturing the spirit and magic of the silent-film heroes Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.

“Tom Flanagan is the performer in the show, and he’s really a performer in the spirit of those great acrobatic clowns,” Hahn said. “He plays a silent-movie projectionist who tries to fix the camera, and everything he does in the projection house makes it worse. He uses physical comedy. He uses audience engagement, and your sides are hurting from laughter. That’s for all ages.”

Another show of note is “Timber!,” which delivers what its title promises featuring a family of circus performers who come from the outback rural woods of Canada.

“They literally use equipment from their family farm, doing stunning acrobatics and storytelling where they’re throwing hatchets across the stage into giant logs,” Hahn said. “There’s a professional skier who does acrobatics. They’re smashing watermelons and fruit. There’s a clown. There’s a dancer. It’s a beautiful show.”

In addition to the various shows, there will be plenty of free activities ranging from crafts and chalk art to safety and nutrition exhibits. Also, The Okee Dokee Brothers will perform free at the U.S. Bank Plaza. “The World Through My Eyes,” an exhibition featuring original artwork created by children on the autism spectrum, will be on display in the Galleries at Cleveland State University.

The expansion of the International Children’s Theater Festival into a two-day affair means now the event will take place on Mother’s Day. Hahn admits the move isn’t happenstance.

“We’re hopeful that people will come and celebrate with their mom on Sunday,” Hahn said. “Take her to a show she’s never going to forget. And if you take her to ‘Timber!,’ she’ll never forget the strapping young lumberjacks throwing axes across the stage.

“Or take her to ‘KAPUT’ and she might be the lucky lady who gets pulled onstage. Or come see a quiet, little, beautifully done puppet show in ‘The Star Keeper.’ It’s just a wonderful opportunity.”