February 17, 2020
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Media Contact:
Rebecca Hansborough, Communications Manager
hansborough@trustarts.org | 412-456-7021
EQT Children’s Theater Festival Assets
Thursday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., Friday-Sunday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Pittsburgh’s Cultural District
The Way of Color by Adam Kalinowski | Poland
Age Recommendation: All ages
Festival Location: Trust Oasis Open during Festival hours | Free and open to the public
Festival attendees will be able to watch as the colors of the sand in the art installation slowly mix and meld over the course of the festival. The installation is created by Polish artist, Adam Kalinowski, who has created interactive and captivating installations around the world, including London, the Netherlands, Poland, Qatar, Germany, Ireland, Japan, and Denmark.
This installation is supported by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Maranne P. Welch Family Endowment, which was established to support adventurous theater for young audiences.
Finale of the 2019-2020 Children’s Theater Season
Doodle POP! by Brush Theatre | South Korea
Age Recommendation: Ages 3+
Festival Location: Byham Theater
Come celebrate the end of the 50th Anniversary of the Children’s Theater series with the mischievous Doodle POP duo! Join as they experience an exciting adventure in an ocean world they imagine and create while on stage. What will happen to them in this beautiful but mysterious watery world, as they try to return a turtle doodle to the sea safely? With live sound effects, stunning animation, and an abundance of theatrical imagination, this is a touching and exciting screen show for anyone ages three and above.
There will be a sensory-friendly performance of this show presented by UPMC and UPMC Health Plan, with additional support by The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh.
Emil and the Detectives by Slingsby Theatre Company | Australia
Age Recommendation: Ages 7+
Festival Location: Pittsburgh Playhouse
Never underestimate the determination of a child! Kästner’s 1929 novella broke ground for the independent-children-versus-devious-adults story genre. Young Emil catches a train to visit family in the big city. Something valuable is stolen, but the thief soon discovers Emil was not such an easy target. A group of quick-thinking and resourceful children rallies. Can a bunch of kids work together to uncover and outsmart the true criminal? Streetwise city kids, a hard-working single mother, and Emil’s past brush with the law add grit and nuance to this satisfying tale. In Slingsby’s signature intimate theatrical style, Emil and The Detectives is told by two skilled actors immersed in smoke and mirrors, miniature worlds, and a cinematic score. The show will also feature local actors from Pittsburgh in pre-show activities and interactions with the audience throughout the show!
70 minutes, plus a pre-show engagement activity beginning 15 minutes before the scheduled show time
Origami Tales by Kuniko Theater | Japan/United States
Age Recommendation: 4+
Festival Location: Trust Arts Education Center
Welcome to the infinite world of Origami! In Japanese, ori- means "to fold" and -gami means "paper". Using origami, music and audience participation, storyteller Kuniko Yamamoto provides a magical entry into Japanese culture. In her show Origami Tales, mythological character masks and puppets, amazing flowers and a dragon – all made from origami – set the stage while Kuniko shares heartfelt stories from ancient Japan. Expect boundless imagination out of simple paper folding and an uplifting world of storytelling.
45 minutes
Age Recommendation: Ages 2-4
Festival Location: Pittsburgh Playhouse
Welcome to the world of White. Full of birdsong and birdhouses, it gleams, dazzles, and shines in the night. Two friends look after the birdhouses and make sure the eggs stay safe. The world is bright, ordered, and white. But high up in the trees, all is not white. Color appears. First red… then yellow… then blue… White is a playful, highly visual show for very young children and is a perfect first-time theater experience.
45 minutes
Dan + Claudia Zanes| United States
Age Recommendation: 4+
Festival Location: Byham Theater
Grammy Award winner Dan Zanes and Haitian-American jazz vocalist Claudia Eliaza perform folk and blues classics from their popular new songbook entitled Dan Zanes’ House Party!: A Family Roots Music Treasury. The audience is invited to dance and sing along in a party atmosphere with music that is homespun, joyful, sophisticated, and artful.
All performances of the show are sensory-friendly and supported by The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh.
Age Recommendation: 0-14 months
Festival Location: Trust Arts Education Center
A stunning sensory performance for babies (0-14 months), their parents, and caretakers. Unfolding in a custom-built performance tent, Nest takes audiences on a journey through the seasons. It uses playful poetry supported by an original score, movement, puppetry, tactile play and complete engagement of the senses to awaken every baby’s curiosity and remind grownups of the wonder of being in the world for the first time. Gentle, surprising and magical, Nest leaves audience members “enchanted” and with “a sense of wonder and excitement.”
30 minutes plus a pre-show exploration
Festival hours are 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Thursday, May 14 and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15 – Sunday, May 17, 2020
TICKETS
Featured performance tickets are $12 each, and multishow packs are available for as low as $8 per show! Flex Vouchers from the Children’s Theater Series and EQT Bridge Theater Series are honored for all ticketed events taking place during the Festival but must be redeemed in advance of the performance. Some performances will sell out in advance. To avoid disappointment, plan ahead. For tickets and information:
- Visit TrustArts.org/PGHKids
- Call 412456-6666
- Visit the Theater Square Box Office at 655 Penn Avenue
- Groups of 10 or more start at $10 per ticket per show, and are as low as $5 per ticket per show
Call 412471-6930 or email GroupSales@TrustArts.org - On site at the Festival, visit a pop up box office at 807 Liberty or the venue where each show takes place just before show time
UPGRADE YOUR FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE – BECOME A PITTSBURGH CULTURAL TRUST MEMBER!
Families and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Partners help the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to continually present affordable, high quality theater productions. Giving at the $100 Sustaining Partner Level grants access to priority seating at the Children’s Theater Series and EQT Bridge Theater Series. As a member, you’ll also receive many other terrific benefits for a full year! Visit TrustArts.org/SupportKids or call 412-471-3518 for more details.
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The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has overseen one of Pittsburgh’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a non-profit arts organization whose mission is the cultural and economic revitalization of a 14-block arts and entertainment/residential neighborhood called the Cultural District. The District is one of the country’s largest land masses “curated” by a single nonprofit arts organization. A major catalytic force in the city, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is a unique model of how public-private partnerships can reinvent a city with authenticity, innovation and creativity. Using the arts as an economic catalyst, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has holistically created a world-renowned Cultural District that is revitalizing the city, improving the regional economy and enhancing Pittsburgh’s quality of life. Thanks to the support of foundations, corporations, government agencies and thousands of private citizens, the Trust stands as a national model of urban redevelopment through the arts. TrustArts.org | @CulturalTrust on Facebook · Instagram · Twitter
The award-winning Pittsburgh Playhouse at Point Park University, reopened in the Fall of 2018 in a new, award-winning 90,411 square-foot center for arts and entertainment that serves as an artistic laboratory for the prestigious Conservatory of Performing Arts (COPA) and downtown Pittsburgh’s newest home for arts and entertainment. The Playhouse is comprised of professional, artist educators dedicated to an approach to training that enables students to pursue careers as professionals. COPA includes Departments of Theatre, Dance, and Cinema. The four-story, state of the art facility, located in Downtown Pittsburgh at 350 Forbes Avenue, features the 550-seat PNC Theatre whose backstage and inner workings are visible from the street, resulting in an intentional glimpse into performing arts classes; the 200-seat Highmark Theatre; and the 99-seat Rauh Theatre. The new Pittsburgh Playhouse was designed to be both a learning laboratory for all Point Park students and cultural asset for the community. The Playhouse provides experiential learning opportunities and collaborates with the University’s Rowland School of Business and Center for Media Innovation on events, lectures and related programming. Additional information is available at pittsburghplayhouse.com