2007-04-26 16:28
Kid’s Menu for May
Staff Reporter The month of May is blessed with mild weather and performances for the entire family. During this festive time, children will be given gifts and pocket money, as May 5 is specifically reserved for them. A common tradition for Children's Day is that families usually make trips to children's parks, amusement parks, zoos or other child-friendly locations. Below is a list of programs and events for next month will keep children entertained and parents' worries at bay. Musical The National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts (NCKTPA) will present a musical drama for children, ``Grandma Mago'' May 3-6. The musical is expected to help children learn about Korea's traditional culture. The story is based on a Korean myth that is reproduced in the form of traditional music, dance and songs for children. A giant elderly woman, called ``Mago,'' tells us how she created the land, how she created the river by urinating on the land, and how she built riverbanks and stone walls with her skirt flapping in the wind. Various Mago stories can be found across Korea. This play is based on ``Giant Grandma Sulmun'' _ a story from southern Cheju island. During the musical, children will make a journey into Mago's world where it is sometimes tranquil like a lullaby, and sometimes joyful and full of excitement. Children will also meet and make friends with Grandma Mago while playing with the giant goddess on stage at the center. Traditional Korean musical instruments, dance, songs, and objects, such as dolls, made of Korean paper, will help the myth come alive on stage.
After the show, children will be allowed to step onto the stage after taking off their shoes and can take photographs with the actors and actresses who performed in the musical. Adults are not allowed on the stage. Also, children can make their own Korean paper dolls and enjoy other various Korean paper crafts at the NCKTPA square. The musical will be performed May 3-6 at Umyondang Theater at the NCKTPA. Tickets cost from 10,000 to 20,000 won. For more information, call (02) 580-3300. Concert Theater Yong will offer ``Mozart Concert'' which is the first attempt to turn a classic concert into a ``multi-media concert game.'' The Web game-based concert was developed by Han Sang-hyun, who is a member of the Korean Percussion Orchestra (KPO). Titled ``Mission Mozart,'' the concert, which will be held May 4-6 at Theater Yong located in the National Museum of Korea, is designed specifically so that parents and children can take part in it together. The audience is supposed to carry out a given mission throughout the space adventure game. The KPO will perform many of Mozart's famous pieces such as ``Overture from Le nozze di Figaro'' and ``Symphony No.40,'' through the Web game in which children can participate in via a flash video on the stage.  The show is based on a story in which Mozart takes a spacecraft to rescue musicians kidnapped by Lucifer.Children can learn about classical music through the game and enjoy KPO's performance in an organized and educational way. Children are allowed to visit the world percussion exhibition experience hall that displays more than 60 kinds of percussion instruments. Tickets cost from 30,000 to 50,000 won. For more details, call 1544-5955. Puppet Show Let the old meet new. ``An Unusual Concert,'' a traditional puppet show that turns 63 this year, will be presented by the State Academic Central Puppet Theatre of Russia. Since its premiere in 1946, the show has hit the stage more than 300 times in Korea alone. The revue is a collection of a variety of puppet shows under a certain theme of dances, songs and comedy.  The show is a flagship work of Russian puppet master Sergei Obraztsov who established puppetry as an art form. A variety of puppets will be presented by a puppet host with humorous and satire performances.The show will be conducted by 10 Russian performers who will control with their hands each delicate movement of the puppets, including the eyelids, hands and feet. The program will offer cello and piano performances, tango, Mexican music, an animal show, magic show, circus and tap dancing. The performance will be held at four different venues throughout this month _ Naru Arts Center May 4-6, at the National Theater of Korea on May 16-20, at Seoul Performing Art Hall in Seoul on May 26-31, and Hanam Cultural Arts Center in Kyonggi Province May 12-13. Tickets cost from 20,000 to 30,000 won. For more information, call (02) 762-0810. Theatrical Painting Show For parents and children seeking something new, what about hitting the stage for a new kind of artistic performance?  German painter and theatrical artist Joachim Torbahn will take children into a glass canvas on which colors are spread with paint brushes. ``What Does Red Do on Thursday?'' which will be held in LIG Art Hall May 1-5, is a combination of a painting and a play. The performance has been highly acclaimed at the Children's Theatre Festival in Denmark since its premiere two years ago. It consists of seven chapters and presents a picture full of surprises and metamorphic forms through lines, shapes and colors beginning with a little red spot. Tickets cost for the performance cost 20,000 won. For more information, call (02) 6900-3900. Book Festivals Book events will offer both educational and entertaining opportunities for children. The World Tour in Fairy Tale Books displays a variety of world-renowned illustrations at Hangaram Design Museum of the Seoul Arts Center in southern Seoul until May 25. About 100 illustrations from 15 world top-rated illustrators, including Kirill Tchelushkin, Tiziana Romanin, Matthieu Roussel and Eric Heliot, are on display. Most of the stories are based on folk tales and myths, which were passed from generation to generation long ago in various countries, with modern touches to help children better understand the tales. A collection of various illustrations reflect the cultural characteristics of many countries. For more information, call (02) 3143-4360. Tickets cost 8,000 won.  The Paju Book City Festival for Children will attract kids May 4-13. The festival marks the fifth anniversary since its launch in 2003. The festival has facilitated cultural exchanges for children's book experts worldwide to connect Asia and other parts of the world. In the 10-day festival, world-renowned experts from France, Japan and Taiwan, including graphic artists Louise-Marie Cumont and Katsumi Komagata, will take part in the theme-oriented exhibitions and symposiums. The theme-oriented exhibitions will display a children's book history of Korea with visual images and illustrations. For more information, call (031) 955-0063.  chungay@koreatimes.co.kr |
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