The popular Redfern Family Series returns this season with the award-winning Swiss-American Piti Thétre Company presentation of their charming family show “Sammy and Le Grand Buffet” on Saturday, Feb. 22 at 11 a.m., in the Keene State College Alumni Recital Hall.
Performed by Jonathan Mirin (Piti artistic director, playwright, performer, teacher), Sammy tells the story of an American clown in Paris trying to prepare a great feast, or be fired. He does his best to follow the list “à faire,” with his limited French and his clowning antics, but it’s anyone’s guess if he can get it all done in time.
Sammy is directed by Piti co-founder Godeliève Richard and developed in collaboration with Swiss director Dominique Bourqin as well as the United States’ Avner Eisenberg – considered one of the world’s great clowns. Sammy is inspired by Chaplin, Keaton, Calvin and Hobbes, 1947’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”, and Mirin’s own experiences living and working in French-speaking Switzerland.
Mirin and Richard co-founded Piti Thétre Company in 2004. Piti (pronounced “pea-tea”) is an ancient Pali word from India translatable as “joy” or “rapture.” Their first production, an autobiographical tragi-comedy called “Riding the Wave.com” premiered in 2004 at the New York International Fringe Festival and was nominated for 2004 & 2008 Independent Reviewers of New England Awards for “Best Solo Performance, Small Company.” They have received the Children’s Theater Foundation of America’s Aurand Harris Fund Award as well as Club Passim’s Iguana Fund Award for their collaboration with Northampton, Massachusetts musician Carrie Ferguson who also composed music for “Sammy and Le Grand Buffet”.
Piti Thétre’s work incorporates science and environmental themes and interactive theatrical events, as with “To Bee or Not to Bee”/ Etre ou ne pas être . . . une abeille, a play with music about honey bee disappearance (Piti’s first French language production), and “Innocenzo” another French production with music about a clown’s environmental health challenges in the 21st century. The company has worked with various New England communities, offering “mini-productions,” workshops, residencies, and festivals for schools, libraries, organizations, and co-creating stories and creative material with students of all ages. Piti Theatre released their first album in March 2018 with three “rock songs” from an elementary school residency/production called “This is Your Rock” based on a request from teachers for a show about rocks, minerals and geology. The company is based in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, where they host their annual SYRUP Festival, featuring a delicious potpourri of world class performance for all ages, syrup tasting, free real pickles and more. SYRUP 2020, their 11th iteration, is planned for March 29.
Creative Connections outreach activities for the Piti Theatre at Keene State College include: Friday, Feb. 21, 11 to 12:30 p.m., L.P. Young Student Center – Workshop with Jonanthan Mirin, Piti Theatre Company- InterACTion: What an Actor knows about Communication and Conflict Resolution in Community. Presented for the Keene State College Teach In, Spring 2020; Saturday, Feb. 22, Main Lobby: Post-performance reception, family art activities, and meet and greet with Jonathan Mirin. Food-themed art activities and yummy treats for the family following the performance of “Sammy and Le Grand Buffet”.
Audiences of all ages will love this lighthearted and entertaining presentation. Ticket prices are $5-$10 for the General Public and $7 for KSC Students. For tickets, call the Redfern Box Office at (603) 358-2168 or visit www.keene.edu/arts/redfern.