http://www.achildgrows.com/small-kid-big-city-capturing-your-childs-moments-spellbound-theater/



Location: performance of Under the Tree by Spellbound Theatre at the Old Stone House in Park Slope, Brooklyn

Story: I took Liam and Jack to the last showing of this unique performance for children aged 1-5 that took place last weekend in a small tent in front of an intimate audience of 16 children and parents.

Liam, my four year old, hung out with a friend of his and both were active participants but it was particularly fun to experience the show through the eyes of Jack, my eighteen month old, who looked like he wanted to bolt at the very beginning but quickly became engaged and mesmerized by the little fabric bird he was given at the beginning, the ant, pictured here, and all of the beautiful digital animations that were projected on various surfaces of the tent.

This week’s photo tip: a puppet show or performance like this is great not just for stimulating your child’s imagination and giving them enriching experiences, but as a bonding experience for the whole family that will create great memories. If photography is allowed, capture your child’s natural reactions as well as the action on “stage.” Show them the photos afterwards as a way of talking about their experience and cementing their memories.

Under the Tree is over now but if you’re in NYC, keep an eye out for future productions from Spellbound Theatre, perfect for little ones.

And no matter where you’re located, look out for opportunities like this, especially during the summer when there are many festivals and outdoor performances that are also great photo opportunities!

- See more at: http://www.achildgrows.com/small-kid-big-city-capturing-your-childs-moments-spellbound-theater/#sthash.GJYGjlje.dpuf

Last month my daughters and I enjoyed a special theatrical performance of Spellbound Theatre's Wink. Held at the the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Wink was a beautiful depiction of the ethereal world of what happens when we all go to sleep. Through puppets, gentle music, stuffed animals and animation the audience of young children and adults were able to connect with the magic of what lies within our dreams.

This imaginative and beautiful world is seen through the eyes of a young girl and her beloved bear as she experiences the magical moments of what we all experience in our minds and our hearts when we sleep. My daughters were front and center, and completely mesmerized through this moving entire non-verbal show.

The beauty of this show was that it was designed for kids 4 and under - that allowed my kids to connect with the innovative puppetry, animation and physical theatre in a way that we have never seen before. Since it was also for the younger set, I loved that it both held their attention span and was over in 40 minutes - providing a gentle introduction to this unique theatrical experience.

Created by Lauren Jost and Margot Fitzsimmons, the show was inspired by the classic poem, "Wynken, Blynken and Nodro and turned out to be remarkably captivating that allowed both kids and adults to lose themselves for 40 minutes into the magical and surprising world of our dreams.

Serena is a writer and mom of two. She is also the managing editor of Momtrends and the creator of Seriously Soupy, a website devoted to soup making. She also loves to write about theatre, travel, NYC, and food on her blog, TravelCultureFood.

Read more about BWW JR: Magical World of Wink by offbroadway.broadwayworld.com

http://www.materialsforthearts.org/2013/06/07/building-fabric-forts/ 

When you were little, did you ever make forts out of pillows and blankets? Inside this cozy spot, you could escape the world around you and pretend you were anywhere. In Spellbound Theater’s latest play, Under the Tree, Pea, a young girl, travels to a make-believe world of “shifting light, shape and time” in her own backyard.

Using materials such as fabric, jewelry, beads, and paper from the MFTA warehouse, Spellbound Theater’s artists built a magical set in a tent in Park Slope where visitors can hide away from the rest of the world. Under the Tree is an immersive performance installation where children and families can feel and experience a secret world as they join Pea on an adventure.

Director Lauren Jost said, ”It calls on the artists’ memories of tree houses, pillow forts, and crawl spaces under the stairs…all the places we used to imagine were our secret worlds as children. We used fabric, lumber, beads, strings, and projectors to create the puppets and setting of this unique, interactive show.”

To construct the main ‘tree’ elements that make up the structure’s roof, they used a mix of green and brown textiles, torn, cut into strips, and then tied together.  Pea, the star puppet made out of fabric swatches, ribbons, and wires, encourages the audience to project themselves on her through her unpainted face and fantastical form. The set is made primarily from strips of fabric, resembling the blanket forts Lauren built as a child. Even the decorative clothespins grew out of childhood memories.


 Everything can be touched on the set.  Under the Tree is an enchanting performance piece that doubles as a visual art installation that can be discovered and interacted with by young audience members through the context of a story.

“Our aesthetic is very hand-crafted and we want everything we have in this show to look like it is made out of familiar materials, but even though it looks slapped together during an afternoon play date, weeks of planning and buckets of hot glue went into ensuring that our props were up to the challenge of the audience,” writes Lauren.

You can read more about Under the Tree’s development phase at the Miranda Arts Project Space and view photos of Lauren and Visual Artist Christine Dehne’s creative process as they transform the space into a wonderland full of surprises.

“This original new work of theater for young audiences required a great deal of physical materials, and the donations we received from Materials for the Arts were an incredible gift, without which our production would not have been possible,” said Lauren.

Discover the hidden world Under the Tree in the ‘backyard’ of the Old Stone House (336 Third Street, Brooklyn) this Sunday, June 9 at 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm, and 4:00 pm. The performance is designed for 16 audience members at a time. The show will also run June 16 and 23 at the same times. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children.

Lauren writes, “As an artist, it is such an honor to be a part of a young person’s first aesthetic experiences and contribute to their imaginative life. Under the Tree is very much a show that I would have wanted to see when I was four and a place I would have wanted to live when I was four. I hope that it is equally exciting to some of our visitors.”

Spellbound Theatre is a Brooklyn-based theater for families. Puppeteers, actors, storytellers, and writers create imaginative works for audiences of all ages. Their summer Creative Play classes(running June 3 – July 24) for young children uses theatrical principles and activities to support early development of social, physical, and imaginative skills.