by Contributing Blogger Maytal Wichman
When it comes to creativity, children know no boundaries. Their minds are not completely formed yet so there are no prejudices or judgments and literally anything is possible. Once those children become adults, however, their minds are tainted with too much information; everything they have learned and experienced becomes a part of their psyche and affects everything in their lives, including their creativity. But not if they are a part of Mummenschanz. This is a group of adults who might as well be children. In their world, anything really is possible. (Read more after the jump)
Mummenschanz (say it three times really fast) is a timeless mime performance that transcends cultural boundaries. It was founded in 1972 in Paris by Floriana Frassetto, Bernie Schürch and Andres Bossard. Brossard has since passed away and Schürch has recently retired but Frassetto and Schürch continue to perform to this day and have been performing in 60 countries for over 40 years. They are now in the midst of a world tour to celebrate their 40 year anniversary. I recently attended their show at the Skirball theater at NYU with my kids, ages 3.5 and almost 6. Needless to say, all three of us were in awe and kept waiting to see what else will show up on stage. My oldest kept giggling and cracking up at what she saw, as were many of the other kids in the theater. My youngest was just amazed as he tried to process it all. Both kids kept asking “what’s this?” about what they saw, as did many other kids in the theater (beware, this is a very informal type of show. You will constantly hear kids’ chatter throughout the performance).
The show starts out with two giant hands that the performers, dressed in black, have in lieu of their own heads. This sets the tone for the entire show; the performers are preparing the audience to seeing anything but the performers’ heads until the very end of the show. Describing the actual show will not do it justice so I’ll let this video do the talking:
The show is recommended for ages 6 and up but many younger kids will enjoy it as well. It is is two hours long, with an intermission. Hurry and get tickets this holiday season – last performance in NYC is on January 6th!
When: December 26-29 / 7:00
December 26, 29 / 2:00
December 30 / 3:00
January 2, 5 / 2:00
January 2-5 / 7:00
January 6 / 3:00
Where: NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts
566 LaGuardia Place, New York, NY 10012
Corner of Washington Square South
How Much: $48-$85
To Purchase Tickets click here.
By phone: (212) 352-3101 or (866) 811-4111
Monday-Friday 9:00am-9:00pm
Saturday-Sunday 10:00am-6:00pm
At the box office:
NYU Skirball Center
Shagan Box Office
566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square
Tuesday-Saturday noon-6:00pm and two hours before show time.
I was not compensated for this post. I received tickets.
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Contributing Blogger Maytal Wichman is the owner of Mama’s Bites and has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for twelve years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 5, 3 and a newborn) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier.
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