PlayhouseSquare Announces 2009-2010 Children's Theater Series

Beloved children's books coming to life on stage and a vibrant, diverse musical performance of original songs for the whole family make up the 2009-10 Children's Theater Series, presented by the Community Engagement & Education Department at PlayhouseSquare. Formerly known as the Discovery Theater Series, the Children's Theater Series provides an affordable, entertaining way for parents and grandparents to introduce children to quality live theater and the arts.

In its 2008 report Cultivating Demand for the Arts, the RAND Corporation described the public and private benefits that could be lost if children are not taught to appreciate the arts. These benefits include creativity, imagination, innovation, empathy, perception, interpretation, judgment, connections with others and participation "in the rich cultural life that is one of civilization's greatest achievements."

"The RAND study reinforces what has always been part of our not-for-profit mission - to create affordable access to the arts for families and to help children develop a life-long connection to the theater," stated Art J. Falco, PlayhouseSquare President and CEO. "We put a great deal of thought and effort into determining how we could strengthen our commitment in this area. The decision to offer a new, lower subscription price while continuing to present children's theater of the highest quality is the result of a collaborative, organization-wide research and discussion process."

"One of our goals is to help educators and families find ways to supplement the effect of budget cuts on in-school arts education," explained Colleen Porter, director of community engagement and education at PlayhouseSquare. "The Children's Theater Series is one of the opportunities we offer, and we hope that the new subscription pricing enables many more families to experience the joys of introducing children to theater."

Subscriptions to the Children's Theater Series at PlayhouseSquare are now available by calling 216-664-6044 or online at playhousesquare.org/childrenstheater. The four-show Children's Theater Series subscription package is $40 per seat.

Families that subscribe to the series receive a free activity guide for each show and can choose to participate in workshops held on the same days as Children's Theater Series performances. These fun, interactive workshops are led by professional teaching artists and feature opportunities to learn songs and dance steps, create performances and music and much more. Admission to each workshop is $5 per child.

The 2009-10 Children's Theater Series:

Stellaluna

King Cole Theatricals

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Baby bat Stellaluna's life is flitting along right on schedule--until an owl attacks her mother one night, knocking the bewildered batlet out of her loving grasp. The tiny bat is lucky enough to land in a nest of baby birds, but her whole world has just turned upside down. Literally. Stellaluna's adoptive mom accepts her into her nest, but only on the condition that Stellaluna will act like a bird, not a bat. Soon Stellaluna has learned to behave like a good bird should--she quits hanging by her feet and starts eating bugs. But when she finally has an opportunity to show her bird siblings what life as a bat is like, all of them are confounded. Anyone who has ever been asked to be someone they're not will understand the conflicts--and possibilities--Stellaluna faces.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favorites

Mermaid Theater of Nova Scotia

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar, Little Cloud and Mixed-Up Chameleon spring to life on stage through the colorful black light puppetry of the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. The Very Hungry Caterpillar munches his way through an amazing variety of food toward his eventual metamorphosis into a butterfly. High up in a beautiful blue sky, a Little Cloud changes into shapes of things he has seen. The Mixed-Up ChameLeon Learns the importance of being true to oneself during an adventurous trip to the zoo. This show, with its imaginative language and memorable imagery, is not to be missed.

Junie B. Jones

TheatreworksUSA

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Junie B. Jones is finally graduating from kindergarten and is ready for first grade, at last! But getting used to a whole new group of friends, a new teacher, and new glasses is challenging, even for irrepressible Junie B. Follow her adventures as she writes everything down in her "top-secret personal beeswax" journal. This new musical is based on the books by Barbara Park. Target is the National Tour Sponsor of this production.

Dream Jam Band

Saturday, May 8, 2010

As featured on PBS Sprout, the Dream Jam Band delivers a vibrant and diverse musical performance of original songs for the whole family. Their influences range from The Beatles to Mozart and from Duke Ellington to Woody Guthrie. The Dream Jam Band won four 2008 Children's Music Web awards and their debut album was named to the National Public Radio Top 10 list of the Year's Best Family and Children's Albums.

The Children's Theater Series is made possible in part by support from the Ohio Arts Council and is generously supported by the public through a grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Additional funding for special literacy activities and the series in general is provided by The Children's Theatre Endowment established by the Junior League of Cleveland and the Laub Foundation.

PlayhouseSquare understands its vital role as an educator in our community, and is committed to providing arts learning opportunities of the highest quality to enrich the lives of students, families, teachers and adults. PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department is unique in the performing arts industry for the variety of programs it offers, the partnerships it initiates and the access it provides students, educators and aspiring artists to performing arts professionals. Since its inception in 1998, the Community Engagement & Education Department has offered thousands of events, workshops, classes and more, most with minimal or no fees, to people of all ages from all areas of Northeast Ohio. The generous support of individual and corporate donors and foundations makes it all possible.