International Children's Theater Festival Set for Playhouse Square, 5/8-10

Each May, Playhouse Square brings the world to Cleveland through the International Children's Theater Festival presented by University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital. One of only four such festivals in the country, Playhouse Square's offers children and families the opportunity to explore other cultures and enjoy the excitement of a visit to downtown Cleveland in a fun, welcoming environment.

This year's International Children's Theater Festival, which runs May 8-10, revolves around five unique theater performances representing Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and Scotland and an interactive art installation, Polyglot Theatre's Paper Planet.

In addition to the ticketed theater performances and art installation, Playhouse Square offers additional Festival experiences free of charge on Saturday and Sunday, May 9-10. Children can make crafts, create chalk art and express their ideas at the International Imagination Station.

"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 (1307 Euclid Ave.). Families can dance along with the Americana folk music of the Grammy Award-winning Okee Dokee Brothers, performing on U.S. Bank Plaza under the GE Chandelier.

University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital will offer a variety of free and fun hands-on activities for children including the opportunity to meet Petey the Pony and other Pet Pals (dogs who visit children in the hospital), learn about safety from the Rainbow Injury Prevention Center team and take exercise and nutrition challenges from the Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight team. Several other Rainbow stations will offer cool learning opportunities and fun giveaways.

There also will be balloon and caricature artists, face painters and magicians waiting to delight and entertain.

Tickets for International Children's Theater Festival performances are on sale now at the Playhouse Square Ticket Office (1510 Euclid Ave.), online at playhousesquare.org/festival or by phone at 216-241-6000. Tickets for each performance are $10-15; Paper Planet tickets are $5. Tickets for free activities are not required.

2015 International Children's Theater Festival Performance and Art Installation

The Adventures of Robin Hood
Visible Fictions
Scotland

Somewhere near you there is a band of brothers fighting for justice, seeking to rid the land of evil and return hope to the poorly treated. They are lean, mean, trained justice fighting machines! Armed with whatever comes their way, nothing is as it seems in this Sherwood Forrest, but one thing is for sure...no rogue is safe! Join internationally acclaimed company Visible Fictions for a silly and unexpected take on Robin Hood and be prepared to unleash your imagination!

KAPUT
Tom Flanagan, Strut & Fret
Australia

KAPUT is the story of a clumsy "Mr. Fixit" who, despite his best efforts to perform the simplest of tasks, only manages to fuel the catastrophe unfolding around him. Described as "physical comedy at its best" (Entertainment Hive), KAPUT revives the art of silent movie-esque slapstick, exploring the simple and universally engaging charm one of the oldest forms of humor. Tom Flanagan is one of Australia's youngest leading acrobatic clowns and a graduate of the internationally renowned circus school, The Flying Fruit Flies. He has performed at festivals and venues around the world collecting nominations including the Little Creatures Circus Award - Perth Fringe World 2013 and Best Circus and Physical Theatre - Adelaide Fringe - 2012. Tom is also the winner of the Spirit of the Fringe Award - Edinburgh Festival Fringe - 2012.

Manxmouse
Theatergroep Kwatta
The Netherlands

Manxmouse is one-of-a-kind. He's the strangest little mouse you'll ever see, with bright blue fur, huge rabbit ears and a distinct lack of tail. But Manxmouse doesn't mind being different. He knows that destiny awaits him, and so Manxmouse sets out on an exciting adventure. He meets tigers and hawks and dastardly pet-shop owners, but there's someone he dreads and desires to meet more than anyone else. Someone who has been waiting for him all along...the Manx Cat.

The Star Keeper
Theatre de l'Oeil
Canada

The Star Keeper is immersed in the magical universe of children's dreams. As he is lighting up the evening sky, Pierrot accidentally dislodges a star from the heavens. Luckily, Pretzel notices and puts the fallen star in his big basket. However, his adventures are just beginning. To return the star to its proper place, he must climb a spider's thread, cross the dormitory of dreams, dive to the ocean depths in pursuit of a pearl-fish, and resist the bewitching charms of the bubble tamer. In the end, it is Daisy Bygone, a very old lady, who brings this fabulous story to its conclusion.

Timber!
Cirque Alfonse
Canada

You can almost smell the fresh cut pine logs and see the sweat of the lumberjacks as this energetic circus troupe draws upon their country roots in this one-of-a-kind show. The artists perform incredible feats of aerial acrobatics that are directly inspired by the natural raw materials of the forest and the equipment used on their real-life family farm. The talented acrobats and musicians create a colorful, energetic scenes and epic feats of agility and strength, inspired by the exploits of the first North American lumberjacks, loggers and farmers. Merriment and mischief abound. And staying true to their roots, the axes, saws and knives used in the show are genuine!

Polyglot Theatre's Paper Planet - Interactive Art Installation
Australia

Paper Planet is a spectacular forest of tall cardboard trees inviting kids and adults to fill the world with fantastic paper creations. Children's imaginations go wild in a world made of paper. Entering the space, families make creatures, vines and flowers, costumes and impossible constructions, adding to the world around them. This is an on-going, durational installation, where audiences build whole communities. Theatre and play merge, as children discover an imaginative world for adventures in this forest of their own making. Paper Planet is an experience that all ages find inspiring and utterly blissful.

The International Children's Festival is made possible in part by support from University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, Katherine and James R. Pender and The Michael Pender Memorial Foundation, Medical Mutual, Pat Catan's, PNC, the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation and the William N. Skirball Endowment Fund.

The sixth annual International Children's Theater Festival at Playhouse Square is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund the sixth annual International Children's Theater Festival at Playhouse Square with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

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