MACON -- Mercer University President R. Kirby Godsey and Bibb County Public Schools Superintendent Gene Buinger have announced a partnership to establish the First Annual Georgia International Festival For Young Audiences. This festival is a first in the Southeastern United States and will take place at The Grand Opera House and the Macon Centreplex

May 4 - 9. During that week, six international groups representing cultures from Africa, Canada, Native America and The Netherlands will present daytime performances to more than 10,000 first through fifth grade Bibb County Public School students. The general public can also participate through evening and weekend performances with a potential community reach of more than 29,000 people. The Georgia International Festival For Young Audiences is presented in collaboration with The Philadelphia International Festival for Children and Mercer University’s School of Education. Sponsorship is provided by Mercer University, The Bibb County Public Schools and The Knight Foundation/Macon Telegraph.

The Georgia International Festival For Young Audiences was created out of an existing successful collaboration between Mercer University and Bibb County Public Schools. Mercer began working with Bibb County Public Schools in 1996, when morning performances of the Family Series were added to entertain 2,000 Bibb County fourth graders. Through what is known as Mercer’s Youth Audience Initiative, Y.A.I., fourth graders attend shows at The Grand introducing them to professional music, dance and theatre. One factor that has greatly enhanced this project is the introduction of classroom preparation by the Education Coordinator for Mercer University’s Youth Audience Initiative. Mercer’s Y.A.I. Coordinator visits each fourth grade classroom prior to the performances to teach and explore relevant topics designed to help students understand and appreciate the art forms. Follow-up discussions with each classroom indicate that the students are enjoying, learning and generally broadening their horizons. The partnership is a tremendous success and continues to grow, making the Georgia International Festival For Young Audiences a natural extention.

Paul Oppy, Mercer University theatre director and Brian Joyce, director of the Philadelphia International Festival for Children, have teamed to serve as co-artistic directors for this year’s festival. Selecting from hundreds of possible international performing groups, Oppy and Joyce have assembled a culturally diverse, entertaining line-up. The shows chosen for presentation are: Namu Lwanga and Kayaga! Of Africa; Tomas Kubinek of Canada/Czechoslovakia; Kevin Locke, of the Lakota Tribe; Tolkein’s The Hobbit presented by Montreal’s Theatre San Fil; and The Flight of Captain Lindberg by the Dutch group, Het Filiaal.

In addition to performance offerings, interactive visual arts will be introduced with a 4,000-square-foot playground, installation and performance space. The playground, FabricAction, was conceived by Debra Roth, founder and artistic director of Pink Inc. FabricAction has been in residence at the Atlanta Festival Of The Arts and Montreal’s Just For Laughs Festival, and will be appearing at the Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival and several Canadian Children’s Festivals this Spring. Using "theatre" as a vehicle to present their unique Art-In-Motion, Pink Inc.’s performances and installations combine sculpture, physical theatre and puppetry to stretch the boundaries of your imagination.

Many of these international groups will continue their North American tours performing the following week at The Pittsburgh International Children’s Festival and/or two weeks after Macon at The Philadelphia International Children’s Festival. The Georgia International Festival For Young Audiences differentiates itself from the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Festivals through education and preparation. Part of the success of Mercer’s Y.A.I. was the introduction of the coordinator who prepared each classroom individually before each performance. With assistance from Anne Hathaway, Dean of Mercer’s School of Education, her students will go to each of the first through fifth grade classrooms to teach and explore relevant topics. According to Hathaway, "Preparation is key to the festival’s success. Mercer’s School of Education is going to make sure that these students have all the tools they need to fully enjoy and appreciate these groups and cultures."

Performances are scheduled May 4 - 8 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, May 9 at various times and locations, and are available to the general public. The weekday evening performances will be held at The Grand Opera House and the Saturday performances will be held at both The Grand and the Macon Centreplex. Tickets go on sale to the public on Monday, April 6 at 10 a.m. Half-price tickets for groups of 20 or more go on sale in March. Both public and group tickets may be purchased by calling The Grand’s Box Office Services at (912) 301-5470.

About the shows . . .

The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit has long been a favorite and a natural for a theatrical setting. But a setting with puppets? Well, that’s what the Canadian troupe Le Theatre Sans Fil does in its production of the tale. The name of the troupe literally means "theater without strings," since the life-size puppets it uses are attached to rods. For those not familiar with The Hobbit, the story revolves around Bilbo Baggins, a "hobbit" or very tiny dwarf, who with the aid of the Wizard Gandalf and various dwarf friends, sets out to recapture a treasure taken by a nasty dragon. Bilbo’s route takes him through familiar fairy tale turf including a mysterious forest and a twisted spider’s web, with the journey serving as a metaphor for self-discovery.

Namu of Uganda and Kayaga of Africa! Ugandan born performer Namu Lwanga uses her life experiences, as well as traditional stories from her childhood, interweaving music, dance, mime and a lot of audience participation. Namu is the artistic director of Kayaga! - a colorful performing group that specializes in East and Central African arts. Through music, dance and storytelling, this show portrays traditional and modern day life in Africa, taking the audience on a wonderful trip. From the royal courts in central Uganda to the shores of Lake Victoria, Namu and Kayaga! present a colorful and powerful taste of African culture.

Tomas Kubinek Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and raised in Toronto, Kubinek, some say, has to be the greatest thing to fly out of Canada since geese! He’s a magician, acrobat, clown, certified lunatic, master of the impossible, and a true artist who creates experiences to be remembered for a lifetime. His outrageous theatrics are executed with such conviction and charm that audiences instantly fall beneath his spell. No matter what the madness, Kubinek is a consummate master of whimsy who beautifully balances the absurd and the profound.

Kevin Locke Among North American Indian artists, none is more famous than Kevin Locke, a Lakota dancer, indigenous flute player and storyteller. Reared on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota, Locke got his first training in the traditions of his culture. He is an exquisite player of the seven-note cedarwood flute. Many elder Lakota say he is better than those they remember from long ago. Yet, Locke came to national attention first as a hoop dancer, a brilliant performer in the ancient and honorable Lakota tradition involving 28 hoops in a complex and acrobatic dance in which they twirl and intertwine to create images of the seasons. Locke has performed his music and dance in more than 70 countries, sharing his vision of balance, joy and diversity.

The Ocean Flight of Captain Lindberg The Dutch children’s theatre company, Het Filiaal, is currently in its fourth season and presents the story of the Ocean Flight of Captain Lindberg. In Captain Lindberg’s Flight, director Monique Corvers has wonderfully succeeded in showing how music and acting can strengthen and enrich each other. It’s America 70 years ago, a time in which people still waved at passing airplanes, and in which one only flew over land, that an unknown young mail pilot wanted to fly from New York to Paris, over the Atlantic Ocean. His name is Charles Lindbergh. His inventory included lots of fuel, five sandwiches, his grandfather’s pocket-watch and a rubber boat, in case he ends up somewhere in the ocean . . . See this show to find out the rest!

The public performances are as follows:

THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE: $5 Tickets

Monday, May 4 at 7 p.m. Opening Night Sampler (all groups perform)

Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. Theatre San Fils’ The Hobbit

Wednesday, May 6 at 7 p.m. Tomas Kubinek & Kevin Locke

Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. Theatre San Fils’ The Hobbit

Friday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Tomas Kubinek, Kevin Locke & Namu Lwanga

Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m. Theatre San Fils’ The Hobbit

Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. Theatre San Fils’ The Hobbit

MACON CENTREPLEX $5 Tickets, $7 Day Pass, $20 Family Day Pass for All Shows on 5/9/98 (limit of 6 people per Family Pass)

Exhibit Hall (600 seats):

Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m. & 2 p.m. Lindberg’s Flight

Ballroom (600 seats)

Saturday, May 9 at 11 a.m. Tomas Kubinek

Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m. Kevin Locke

Exhibit Hall (1,200 seats)

Saturday, May 9 at 12 noon Namu Lwanga

Saturday, May 9 at 3 p.m. Tomas Kubineck

- 30 -