Asheville Creative Arts presents
Petit Mondrian
April 2 through 5 and 9 through 12 at 10:00 a.m., April 5,6,12 and 13 at 3:00 p.m.
Admission is free – donations accepted at the end of the performance.
PETIT MONDRIAN is a 30-minute interactive and multimedia performance installation for very young children ages birth to five and their caregivers, which mixes dance-theater with the language of object theater, video animation, music, and Bunraku style puppetry. Inspired by the shapes and colors in the paintings of Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian, it will immerse audiences in a world of imagination and play.
The show is produced by Asheville Creative Arts’ Executive Artistic Director Abby Felder, and had its world premiere at La MaMa Kids and The 11th La MaMa Puppet Festival Fall 2024 in New York City. Performances in Asheville will be held at 10am Wednesday- Saturday, and 3pm Saturday and Sunday between April 2 and 13th in the Tina McGuire Theatre at Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville. Admission is free, and donations will be accepted at the end of the performance.
PETIT MONDRIAN features concept, direction, and puppet design and construction by Edwin Salas Acosta, choreography by Blakeney Bullock, animation by Jay Bristol Wells and UNC-Asheville’s New Media Department Chair, Dr. Victoria Bradbury, original music and multilingual lullaby created and performed by Gina Stewart with Brenda Gambill, and early childhood development consulting is by Danny Gomez, LCSW. The cast features Eddie Yoffee and Ethan Schultz, and production management and light design is by Ean Moran.
“Gaining familiarity with the world of shapes is an important part of early childhood development, and we are delighted to use the visual language of well-known modernist painter Mondrian to provide a space for adults to help young folks engage with geometry,” says Executive Artistic Director, Abby Felder. Adds project creator, Edwin Salas, “the show is designed to be gentle, and also highly interactive, making this a playground for creative interactions between caregivers and their littles.”
PETIT MONDRIAN is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a general operating award from the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources. NCArts.org.
ABOUT THE COMPANY:
Asheville’s critically acclaimed, award winning theatre devoted to creating works for children of all ages, Asheville Creative Arts was founded in 2013 and produces, presents and creates innovative works for multigenerational and multiethnic audiences, performed by adult actors. Their first show was in 2015, and in 2025 Asheville Creative Arts is celebrating its 10 year anniversary season. Past productions include CHARLOTTE’S WEB, THE WARP & THE WEFT, BUGS!, and SLUG & SNAIL. “Ostensibly, ACA produces children’s theater, but the company’s ambitious works appeal to both youths and adults.” – Mountain Xpress.
Photos by Stephan Pruitt
