Waves, All That Glows Sees (Preshow Guide)

An All-New Theater Experience for Grownups and Young Theatergoers WELCOME to Waves, all that Glows Sees, a carefully-crafted theater experience that takes you and your very young theatergoers on a shared imaginative and peaceful beach adventure. Here’s what to expect and some ideas and activities for getting ready.

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences

About the Performance As you arrive at the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater, you’ll be greeted by someone from the theater company who will tell everyone what will happen. You’ll be invited to remove and stow your coats and shoes before being guided by the performers on a seashell and stone “beach-like” pathway into a warm tent. Then, you’ll join them as they begin a memorable and playful journey creating the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the beach.

Using simple words, gentle movements, and lots of creative play, the 30-minute performance will take you through a series of moments with boats, seagulls, seashells, fish, sand, waves, a turtle, a whale, and a man swimming. The performers will use objects, sounds, music, shadow puppetry, and even silence to create a dreamlike atmosphere and engage everyone’s sense of imagination.

Ideas Behind the Show “All that glows sees” (tout ce qui brille voit) is a quote from the 1958 book The Poetics of Space

by French philosopher Gaston Bachelard. He attributes the light inside of a home as giving it life, and argues that homes contain rich memories and foster day-dreaming. Honoring those themes, Quebec, Canada’s Le Théâtre des Confettis (The Confetti Theater) created a show evoking the warm comforts of home, the wonders of memory (such as “mommy’s glasses”), and the soothing and hopeful daydreams of being at the beach.

Just for You! A Play for Playing This show is specially created to engage the senses of very young audiences, starting with something familiar—being asked to “wait.” Within the cozy and comfortable performance space, everyone will experience a number of sights and sounds to spark imagination and memory. We encourage young theatergoers to engage any way they want to, from sitting and watching to talking and laughing—and we encourage you to join them as they react and imagine.

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Getting Ready During the show, which takes place in a tent on the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater stage, the two performers pretend they are at the beach—and they want you to pretend, too. If you have time before the show, try these activities together to start thinking about the wonders of the beach and ocean. n Using a bathtub, sink, or bucket of water, how many sounds can you make? Think splashing,

swishing, smacking, draining, or gurgling. Make as many as you can together and talk about other places you hear sounds like that (such as splashing in a puddle of water outside). n Talk about what you remember about the beach or playing in the sand, visiting an aquarium, or

even seeing a fish tank. What did you see? Hear? Feel? n Choose favorite toys or objects that remind you of the beach and pretend you are at the beach

or in the ocean with them. Move them, make sounds, and tell stories about what they are doing. n Find and read books together about fish, the ocean, or the beach. A couple of examples

include I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean by Kevin Sherry, Swimmy by Leo Lionni, and Good Night Beach by Adam Gamble.

During and After the Performance Observe when your young theatergoers react and notice what they’re reacting to. These are moments you can use for conversation after the performance. You may even want to act out those moments together, if possible. As you leave the theater, please pick up a Cuesheet Performance Guide, which offers more ideas for extending the performance experience and a coloring sheet for children—plus it doubles as a poster.

We hope you and your young theatergoers enjoy the performance—one of the very first presented by the Kennedy Center for this specific age group!

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Waves, all that Glows Sees A Théatre des Confettis Creation Conception and direction: Véronique Côté Sets, costumes, and lighting: Erica Schmitz Original music: Josué Beaucage Lyrics and music for the song Juste Beaux: Josué Beaucage Cast: Josué Beaucage and Guy Daniel Tremblay Artistic direction: Hélène Blanchard and Judith Savard A show for the very young, from 18 months to 4 years old

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Deborah F. Rutter President Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences Additional support for Waves, all that Glows Sees is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

International Programming at the Kennedy Center is made possible through the generosity of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2018 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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