World Festival of Children’s Theatre is Coming to AMDSB!

This June, for the first and only time in North America, 300 children from 6 continents and 20 countries will descend upon our region for the 14th World Festival of Children’s Theatre (WFCT) – an event that brings the world’s children together to share each other’s stories and culture through theatre.

Ensuring that as many students as possible are a part of this global experience, the Digital Human Library (dHL), the Foundation for Education Perth Huron and the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) will be live streaming a variety of WFCT performances, and hosting live Twitter Chats daily from June 5th – June 14th, 2016.

Scheduling information and the links to watch the live streaming of events will be shared in the coming months! Stay tuned . . .

About the Festival

The World Festival of Children’s Theatre originated in Lingen (Ems), Germany, as the brainchild of Norbert Radermacher. In 1990, children from 20 countries came to Lingen under the theme ‘Children play and dance for Children’. The result was a huge success!

Now, for the first time in North America, the world’s children will come to Canada.

From June 5-14, 2016, Stratford, Ontario will host up to 300 children, ages 7 – 15, in a theatre festival unlike any other. Under the theme “My World, Our Planet”, 20 countries will show how children see their world.

“The festival is ‘for children, by children’, with productions for children and kids at heart,” says Ron Dodson, the Festival’s Artistic Director. “Its varied performances will give us a window on how children see their world and we know that they will inspire and challenge theatregoers with their fresh and thoughtful perspectives.”

Traditionally, each country’s festival reflects its own culture, and allows its children to show each other how they work in theatre, and to share both their ideas and their views of the world.

The 2016 Festival includes:

Africa

Uganda − Wakayima Stories, Ushindi Children
Zimbabwe − Children’s Dreams and Fears, Chipawo – Harare Junior Theatre

Asia

Bangladesh − The Scarecrow, Kids Cultural Institute
China − Seven Coloured Flower, Guangzhou Happy Man Cultural Arts Education Company Limited
Indonesia − Spectacle ZERO − A Visual Theater Performance, Teater Tanah Air
Indonesia – Cindelaras – JACCO, Jakarta Children Community
Palestine − Forget the Border, Diyar Dance Theatre

Australia/Oceania

Australia − A Kid Like Me, True North Youth Theatre Ensemble

Europe

Czech Republic − Jednou v Chelmu – Once in Chelm, Divadlo Vydýcháno
Estonia − Exploring the World, Eksperiment
Germany − Pinocchio, Theatre Group of the TPZ Lingen/Germany
Greece − Homer’s Odyssey, Theatrical Cultural Artistic Center “Poupoulo”
Russia − Survival Lessons, Theatre studio ‘Peremena’
Slovakia − Behind the Fence – Children´s Theatre Prvosienka
Slovenia− Children’s Eyes See It All, Race Primary School

Special Guests:

Russia − Wings for Clowns, Piano Theatre

PIANO Theatre (Theatre of Silence) consists of children who are deaf. Their work has been seen in more than 40 international festivals. Their director, Vladimir Chikishev, is an Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation.

North & Central America

Canada − The Legend of Parvana Lake, Once Upon a Kingdom Theatre (Ontario)
The United States − As You Like It, The Children’s Shakespeare Theatre

Special Guests:

El Salvador − Labour Intensive, EsArtes Teatro

EsArtes Teatro is committed to economic stability through the arts in El Salvador. It is supported by the city of Suchitoto, the city of Stratford, The Stratford Festival and CUSO.

South America

Colombia − Volver…Volver, Laboratorio Teatral lLa Caja Negra de Sibate
Cuba − Para ser Mejores (To be better), Fragua (Forge)
Paraguay − Todo Vive, Axioma Teatro

More information about the Festival can be found on the World Festival of Children’s Theatre website (worldfestivalofchildrenstheatre.com), the WFCT Facebook page (facebook.com/wfoct), Avon Maitland District School Board website (yourschools.ca), Foundation for Education website (foundationforeducation.ca), and the Digital Human Library (digitalhumanlibrary.com).