29 October 29, 2005

FAMILY FUN
Second in Family Performance Series goes off tonight

By Eric Duvall

Adults aren’t the only ones enjoying the Kenan Center’s programming these days.
The cultural organization is in the middle of its Family Performance Series aimed at young children and this weekend’s offering. German puppeteer Matthias Kuchta’s „Haensel and Gretel“ has been well received.
Susan Przybyl, the center’s executive director, said the performances in the series are geared towards not just entertainment, but reinforcing education and life lessons, as well.
„The goal is to educate while entertaining,“ she said. „We want performers who are wonderful working with children, who know how to present to children.“
Przybyl said the performances offered Friday and today by Kuchta are a perfect example. His show incorporates the audience, 50-or-so pupils from area grade schools on a field trip. The show, she said, gets children who might otherwise consider themselves beyond puppets to actively participate.
„It’s for the purpose of stimulating any age,“ she said.
Kuchta agreed, saying that children in audiences the world over react the same to his performances.
„They forget they’re too big to see a puppet show,“ he said. „Children all over the world, they react the same way. That’s pleasing to see.“
Another upcoming show, Przybyl said, points to the series’ emphasis on history. „The Spirit of Harriet Tubman,“ coming in January, will offer students a dramatic interpretation of the famous slave turned Unterground Railroad worker. The local tie to the Underground Railroad will reinforce what pupils are learning in school.
„It’s the diversity of performances,“ she said. „It’s designed around their curriculum to help teachers meet New York state learning standards.“
Kuchta’s trip to Lockport, with a show tonight at 7 p.m., its the second of eight in the series. It stretches through April and will include a magician, mime, circus-style performer and a children’s theater group presenting a holiday performance of „The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t.“


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Tonight’s performance will take place in the Kenan Center’s Taylor Theater. Tickets are $10 adults, $9 senior and members, and $7 children.