Brooklyn Academy of Music Goes Family Friendly

One of my first theater loves was the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).  Before I had kids, I would often make the trek to Brooklyn to see extraordinary shows.  And when I didn’t live in NY, I’d make a pilgrimage.

I saw a 9 hour production of the Mahabarata there and a 4 hour production of the Cherry Orchard (both directed by one of my personal directing heroes Peter Brook) I’ve seen Laurie Anderson, Astor Piazzola retrospectives, Kung Fu Dance, and Robert LePage’s briliant one man Hamlet called Elsinore.  I’ve seen Pina Bausch there a couple of times, and a couple of years ago I saw the amazing production of Raoul by James Thieree.

They often produce extraordinary shows, but I generally don’t think of them as producing kid friendly entertainment.  I’ve been associating them with my pre-kid life.

Apparently, they’ve noticed that also.  This year marks the first ever BAMfamily season–a diverse lineup of performances, workshops, and participatory events (and I’ve already missed a few this season).  You can get a full list of their upcoming kids events by checking out their website:  http://www.bam.org/programs/bamfamily

The one I’m most looking forward to is a show called Kindur by the Italian company Compagnia TPO.

Kindur is described as children’s theater in which “A fairy-tale landscape of glaciers, volcanoes, and flower-filled meadows is brought to vibrant life through touch in this interactive theater experience from Italy. Children are invited on stage to trigger the sounds, images, music, and colors that make up this enchanting world as three dancers take the role of kindur (“sheep” in Icelandic) to guide audiences on an immersive, magical adventure.”

It sounded pretty great to me, but what made me want to see it when I started looking further is a blogpost by artistic director of the Chicago Humanities Festival Matti Bunzl about first seeing the show (he presented them in 2011):

That sealed the deal for me.  Especially when he goes on to say that this event was one of the top aesthetic experiences of his life, and how it combines avant garde theater with kids and uses some exciting low tech ways to use chance to create art.  If we were playing poker, I’d be all in already!Kindur runs on March 23 at 11 am and 3 pm.  Tickets are $12, and it is recommended for ages 4-10.  The Brooklyn Academy of Music advises that the Barclay’s has an event that day, so public transport is highly recommended.Other things they have going on this season are an amazing public concert for Kindiefest, the Kid’s Independent Musicians Conference on April 28.  A Spanish children’s theater group doing a multimedia show called In the Garden (May 2-5), and a week long workshop with members of the group Pilobolus. (March 25-28)

You can find out more and buy tickets online at the Brooklyn Academy of Music website. http://www.bam.org