SPECIAL OFFER - FOX- PREVIEW APRIL 9th, 6.30pm

PREVIEW TICKETS - APRIL 9th, 6.30pm | $10 TICKETS QUOTE "magpie" WHEN BOOKING

Children can come to this performance FREE! | Bookings: Seymour Centre 93517940

FOX is an internationally acclaimed book for young readers written by Margaret Wild and illustrated by Ron Brooks. In 2010 the Monkey Baa team will present an outstanding adaptation which opens at the Seymour Centre in April 2010 before a 30 week national tour.

The haunting text is set to music by Daryl Wallis and the action of the story is presented through a series of poetic visual and striking physical images. Beautifully designed and imaginatively conceived this is a story of friendship and courage.

Suitable for ages 8 - 108!

Visit http://www.sirentheatreco.com/fox/ for more information | Season http://monkeybaa.com.au/fox.html

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Kids' APT Summer Spectacular | QLD

Free artist workshops, performances and tours for kids will bring the world of contemporary art to life when the Kids’ APT Summer Spectacular takes over the Gallery of Modern Art and Queensland Art Gallery from January 16 to 26, 2010.

For more information visit http://qag.qld.gov.au/exhibitions/current/apt6/kids_apt

The Arrival - Sydney Festival -Review

Red Leap Theatre magically brings to life Shaun Tans graphic novel The Arrival during the Sydney Festival season.

In this wordless production we see a man leave his oppressive country to set up a new life for his family in an unknown country. We follow him on his journey where at first he is lost, wandering attempting to decipher new languages, foods and rituals. Along the way he meets other immigrants who befriend him and guide him in his new life and we also learn of what horrors have forced them to flee their own lands to this new one.

The Arrival is a beautiful piece of theatre that incorporates an ingenious set design, puppetry, dance and physical theatre to tell this universal story of overcoming hardship.

Some parts of the story may go over the heads of children under the age of 8 but they will still enjoy the visual beauty of The Arrival.

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Jan 10 -17 | The Arrival | Red Leap Theatre

CarriageWorks Bay 17

Bookings

Wizard of Oz - STC - Review

Alirio Zavarce, Ezra Juanta & Patrick Graham

Photo by Tony Lewis

My daughter (aged 8) and I went along to Windmill’s production of THE WIZARD OF OZ By L. Frank Baum presented by the Sydney Theatre Company on Friday evening.

Windmill have mastered children's theatre and there are no expectations with the Wizard of Oz. The performance captivates not just the children in the audience but also the adults. I was laughing throughout most of the show. The set was clever- lots of colour, media installations and enough variety to make you feel you where moving to a different destination. The cast were all wonderful and Ursula Yovich shone as Dorothy and the wicked Witch played brilliantly by Geoff Revell was also our favourite.

If you have younger or restless children, I would recommend the 10.30am, 1.00pm or 5.00pm sessions as the 7pm could be a little late in the evening as the performance spans just over 2 hours.

View trailer

Details: Venue: Sydney Theatre

Season:
Tuesday 27 October 10.30am
Wednesday 28 October 10.30am
Thursday 29 October 10.30am
Friday 30 October 7pm
Saturday 31 October 1pm & 5pm
Sunday 1 November 1pm
Adults: $35Child: $30*Concession: $30*Under 30: $30* Family $110 (for 2 Adults, 2 Children OR 1 Adult, 3 Children) * Additional Child (to Family ticket): $20

For children 8 years and older and their families
Bookings

Sydney Children's Festival

Kick your heels up at the Sydney Children’s Festival Opening Party on Saturday 3 October. The celebration will be led by Georgie Parker and the Sydney Children’s Festival Choir, who will have every foot in the house tapping. The celebration will continue with a huge dance party where kids can go wild and parents can enjoy a flashback to their partying days. Plus, there’ll be a sneak preview of Erth’s Amazing Room for curious kids.

There are oodles of fantastic workshops, performances and activities to get involved in throughout the festival. See the amazing Circa perform 46 Acts in 45 Minutes, warm up your vocal chords in free morning singing workshops, or kick start your acrobatic career in a week of workshops with Legs On The Wall!
 
Visit www.sydneychildrensfestival.com  to find out more.

Ready to get Sketchen?

Odosketch is a fun online tool that lets the user draw on the screen as if they were using a sketch book.  Great rainy day distraction!

Odosketch seeks to recreate the decidedly non-digital experience of working with a sketchbook. Its papery textures, variety of brushes and intentional imperfections make you forget you're working on a screen.

What would kids do if they could do anything?

Erth, the creators of the famous dinosaur Petting Zoo, are looking for kids to be part of the creation of the Amazing Room – a new component of the upcoming Sydney Children’s Festival.
Erth are busily designing this crazy, silly play space, and are seeking some input from kids .

This coming Tuesday 21st July at 6.30 pm, come down to CarriageWorks with your child, aged 6 – 12years, and take part in a 1hr workshop where Erth’s Artistic Director, Scott, will be asking "What would kids do if they could do
Anything?". 

Yummy pizza and drinks with be provided. Email scott@erth.com.au by Tuesday to participate.
There's room enough for 10 kids plus their parents to participate and you must register with Scott to attend.

Melbourne International Film Festival

Now a MIFF institution, the Next Gen program within the Melbourne International Film Festival provides stimulating films for younger generations of cinema viewers.
I felt the SFF this year had a disappointing range of family /childrens films within the program so it is refreshing to see a festival that encourages mature cinema for older children.

The festival presents an extensive range of international films for older children they may not ever get the chance to see.

Highlights include:
Cheeky Girls - Germany
Based on a bestselling German book series, this raucous rock ‘n’ roll adventure is about friends, crushes and surviving high school.

Mommo - Turkey
A touching true story about the bonds between a brother and sister, set amid the picturesque beauty of a remote Turkish village.

Jermal - Indonesia
A young boy learns self-reliance in this extraordinary story filmed in a unique location – at sea, amid the platform-fishermen of Indonesia.
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July 24th until August 9th 2009
Full the full Next Gen program

Melbourne International Film Festival

Orisinal - Online Games

Easy going non violent online games for young children at Orisonal. Beautiful graphics designed by Ferry Halim.

Visit http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/ to join the fun.

The Gruffalo | May - June | NSW / ACT

The Everest Theatre in the Seymour Centre was jam packed full of kids and their parents eagerly awaiting  for the performance of The Gruffalo to commence.  

The musical production has been adapted from the well loved book by  Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.  The  story centres around a little mouse alone in the forest and the creature he invents to protect himself from the bigger animals who want to each him for lunch.

The hour performance sped by with catchy songs, witty dialogue and audience interaction.  The Gruffalo succeeds in keeping both young children and parents both entertained. 

THE GRUFFALO follows Mouse into the deep dark wood on a lunchtime hunt for hazelnuts. Armed with just a nut map and a very vivid imagination, Mouse runs into the smirking, wheeler-dealer Fox; an eccentric, retired Woodland Air Force General Owl; and the maraca-shaking, party animal Snake. Rather than becoming the main course of their next meal, Mouse kills their appetites with stories of an imaginary monster friend. 

Little does this clever critter know but Mouse will have to escape the jaws of this faux protector as well. In a production that has become the toast of London’s West End, Tall Stories vibrantly reinvents this delightful tale through its signature style of bold, multifaceted storytelling.

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SYDNEY 16-30 May   

Performance times: Sat 10am, 12noon & 3pm; Mon, Thurs & Fri 10am & 12 noon   

Venue: Everest Theatre, Seymour Centre, Chippendale  

Bookings: 9351 7940 or www.seymourcentre.com.au 

 

WOLLONGONG 1-2 June   

Performance times: Mon 12noon & 1.30pm, Tues 10am, 12noon & 1.30pm 

Venue: IPAC Wollongong 

Bookings: 4226 3366 or www.merrigong.com.au 

 

PENRITH 4-5 June   

Performance times: 10am & 12noon 

Venue: Q Theatre, Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith 

Bookings:  4723 7600 or www.jspac.com.au 

 

CANBERRA 10-13 June   

Performance times: Wed 1pm, Thurs & Fri 10am & 12noon, Sat 10am, 12noon & 3pm  

Venue: Street Theatre, Canberra 

Bookings:  62471223 or www.thestreet.org.au 

 

WAGGA WAGGA 6-17 June   

Performance times: Tues 12 noon, Wed 10am & 12noon 

Venue: Civic Theatre, Wagga Wagga 

Bookings: 6926 9688 or www.civictheatre.com.au 

 

PARRAMATTA 19 June   

Performance times: 10am & 12noon 

Venue: Riverside Theatres, Parramatta 

Bookings: 8839 3399 or www.riversideparramatta.com.au 

 

Under the Crystal Sky | 15 May - 3 June | Sydney

Star Made Rainbow | 2008 

Sugar, pigments, origami, modeling compounds, plastic objects, artificial plants and flowers, beads, 

confectionery, straws, tables Dimensions variable (detail)

My daughter and I went the opening night of the exhibition Under the Crystal Sky created Pip & Pop (Nicole Andrijevic and Tanya Schultz).  As soon as we walked into the gallery we were hypnotized by the wonderful sugary formations that took over the whole room.  As we walked around we discovered little treats and wonders within the habitat. 

Under the Crystal Sky created by Pip & Pop, is a vibrant installation lavishly filled with dunes of coloured sugar, embellished with miniature objects and all things sweet, accompanied with a soundscape specifically designed by Big Ear.

The exhibition springs from Pip & Pop’s fascination with thekawaii (cute) aesthetics of Japanese pop culture that ranges from items you come across at the local bargain shop to intricately folded origami pieces, to disposable edible objects.

Meet Pip & Pop in person on Saturday 16 May for a chance to discover the creativity behind the imaginary paradise.

This is an exhibition not to be missed!!

Pip & Pop are one of the three selected finalists of the Japan Foundation, Sydney’s new artist program,Facetnate! Facetnate! is a grant program launched early 2008 to support emerging visual artist/s whose work is strongly influenced by Japan. 

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Dates: 15 May - 3 June 2009

Venue: Japan Foundation Gallery Chifley Plaza, Sydney

Gallery Hours Monday - Friday 11am- 4pm 

Meet the artists: Saturday 11am - 4pm

Admission: Free

More info 

Sculpture by the Sea - Bondi Beach and beyond

Photography by Fiona Hueston

Today we headed out to the Sculpture by the Sea before the crowds hit it over the weekend.
Sculpture by the Sea is a wonderful way to spend time with your family....fresh air, exercise and interactive art.

Unfortunality not all of the Sculptures are interactive. I found it hard to keep up my 4 year old to keep him off the Sculptures that could not be touched ( even though they seemed to be tempting children to climb all over them). It does add an little element of stress to the day because their are adults there without children who feel they need to enforce the no touching rule by yelling or frowning. Not a very nice to experience art as a child.

On a positive note our family favourites:

The Bush Ranger: fantastic for kids to run in and out of the over sized helmet.
Ode to joy: This one is very hidden but is well worth looking for.
Underfoot: They loved pretending the creatures were real
Form of Scenery : Beware, kids love it but are not allowed to touch.
Humpback gunship: One of the most kid friendly sculptures. The kids climb into a metal whale and come out at the mouth.
New nomadic Home: I could not get my 4 year and 7 year old out of this piece. really wonderful>would love to have this in our back yard.
You want to do what??!! (Tow an iceberg from Antarctica) . Great interactive piece on the beach at Tamarama.

My favourite:
Bjorn Godwin:
if you need an extension of time to pay, press#

Check it all out and enjoy. We will go back to experience it all again.

For more information visit:
http://www.sculpturebythesea.com/

Children to go WILD with orchestra and animals in the holidays

Animal Tracks @ the Zoo from January 15th- 25th.

Playing at Sydney’s famous Taronga Zoo, much-loved Babies Proms maestro Big G, aka conductor George Ellis, promises to tame children and take them on a journey of rhythm and sound as he uncovers the magic behind orchestral music.

Children will join Big G and his two favourite friends Bertie Bott and Sugarplum on a musical animal hunt, as they try to choose the cuddliest, creepiest and scariest animals in the zoo through the inspiration of classical and pop music.

World famous classics such as Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals, Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and even Elton John’s Crocodile Rock will have children dancing in their seats, while educating them on orchestral instruments and the sounds they produce. Children will also be introduced to new original songs, such as ‘It’s Unreal To Be A Seal’ and ‘Platypus (It’s Obvious)’.
After the show, children will be able to mingle with the orchestra and visit the animals of Taronga Zoo at a special discounted price.

George Ellis has led the country’s top orchestras as well as composing and presenting the hugely popular Babies Proms at Sydney Opera House for the past six years.

Acclaimed comedy and drama writer and children’s author Jimmy Thomson teams with Big G to create the engaging stories, characters and songs.

Animal Tracks @ the Zoo is the first concert for Big G Conducts 2008 and will be staged at the ANZ Conservation Theatre, Taronga Zoo, with a donation going to The Taronga Foundation.

Tickets are $25 and available through Ticketek (www.ticketek.com or 132 849).
All full price tickets include a 15% discount for entry to Taronga Zoo.
Visit http://www.biggconducts.com.au/ for more details