Since 1982, thousands of young people have experienced the performing arts at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts by attending creative daytime programs. These performances are designed to invigorate students’ imaginations while also addressing Common Core and Illinois learning standards.
The 2019-20 season continues the center’s two-season 50th-anniversary celebration, and it features an international mix of artists representing a variety of performing arts genres and cultural traditions. Youth Series programming is priced at $5 per ticket, with ticket subsidies made possible through support from the center’s Campaign for Young Audiences and Youth Series endowed funding. Educators – including public, private and home school teachers – may apply for financial assistance when placing their ticket order. Visit KrannertCenter.com, call 217-244-3009, or email youth@krannertcenter.com to learn more.
A Youth Series season preview and educator appreciation event will be held Wednesday, May 8, from 4-6 p.m. in the Krannert Center lobby. Area teachers, school administrators, PTA members and youth advocates are invited to preview the season and place orders for the upcoming school year.
Visit information tables to learn more about public engagement and outreach programming from Krannert Art Museum, Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, the University of Illinois School of Music, the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerts, Lyric Theatre at Illinois, Dance at Illinois, Illinois Theatre, Global Arts Performance Initiatives and Sinfonia da Camera and Sousa Archives. Enter to win free tickets to the Krannert Center event of your choice, plus additional prizes.
Youth Series Performances
Bizhiki Culture and Dance Company will perform Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 18-19, at 10 a.m. in Tryon Festival Theatre. The event is recommended for students grades one to five. Storytelling, a blending of traditional and contemporary song and dance, and a deep connection to traditional ecological knowledge form the heart of the dance company. Krannert Center is joined by the Native American House at Illinois for this informative powwow dance exhibit.
Isango Ensemble will present “Aesop’s Fables”on Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 1-2, at 10 a.m. in Tryon Festival Theatre. The event is recommended for grades one through five.
Isango Ensemble came to life in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2000, the creation of director Mark Dornford-May and music director Pauline Malefane, who draw artists from surrounding townships to reimagine the Western theater canon within a South African setting. The tale portrays the ancient Greek story of a servant on a journey to Mount Olympus, contextualized in the recent history of South Africa and sung in English, Tswana and Zulu.
Trick of the Light Theatre will present “The Bookbinder” on Wednesday to Friday, Nov. 6-8 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in Studio Theatre. The performance is recommended for grades three and up. This one-person show pays homage to old-world fairy tale traditions with touches of darkness, mystery and high-stakes daring as an apprentice bookbinder gets rather too engaged in his work. “Trick of the Light” employs puppetry, shadow play, music and paper art.
“Harlem 100 – Celebrating the Harlem Renaissance” features Mwenso and the Shakes with special guests Brianna Thomas, Michela Marino Lerman and Vuyo Sotashe. Recommended for grades four and up, it will be presented Thursday, Nov. 14, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at Colwell Playhouse. This troupe of global artists presents music that commands a formidable timeline of jazz and blues expression through African and Afro American music.
Created in collaboration with the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, this multimedia show captures the sights and sounds of Harlem when artists such as Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes and Billie Holiday made Harlem the cultural center of the country.
Brush Theatre will present “Yao Yao” on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 22-23, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., and Friday, Jan. 24, at 10 a.m. in Studio Theatre. It is recommended for grades pre-kindergarten to second grade.Yao is a mischievous girl who delights in time spent with her father. But she’s disappointed every morning when her dad heads to work. One morning, Yao grabs his overcoat and accidently pulls a thread that unravels an adventure. Through this blend of reality and fantasy that incorporates shadow-play, pantomime, live music and digital media, audiences go on a journey with this Seoul-based theater troupe to see where the thread ends.
Step Afrika! presents “Drumfolk” on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 6-7, at 10 a.m. in Colwell Playhouse. It is recommended for grades three and up. Step Afrika! introduces an exploration of the drum as an instrument of community, resilience and determination. Grounded in research and over two decades of percussive practice and investigation, “Drumfolk”reveals hidden histories and events that transformed American life and experience.
Cirque FLIP Fabriqu will present “Blizzard” on Monday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at Colwell Playhouse. It is recommended for grades three and up. Quebec’s Cirque FLIP Fabrique asks if winter has taken over in a cirque-style expedition. Snowballs soar aloft and are met with high-flying acrobatics, remarkable contortions and curious possibilities.
Cahoots NI will present “Penguins” on Thursday, March 10, at 10 a.m., and Wednesday and Thursday, March 11-12 at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in the Studio Theatre. It is recommended for pre-kindergarten children through third grade. New York City’s Central Park Zoo is home to myriad animals from throughout the world, including a special pair of bonded male penguins who delight in their big-city life by walking, playing, swimming and dancing together.
TAO will present “Drum Heart” on Wednesday and Thursday, March 11-12, at 10 a.m. at Tryon Festival Theatre. It is recommended for grades four and up. The performers are athletes and artists trained in the ancient art of Japanese drumming.
Slingsby Theatre will present “Emil and the Detectives” on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5-6, 2020, at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. in Colwell Playhouse. It is recommended for grades three to six. Emil catches a train to visit family, but something valuable is stolen from him, and he ends up alone in the big city, lost and rather desperate.