A Perfect Balance
An exciting multi-media adventure inspired by the work of American Artist Alexander Calder. Music animated circus sculpture and projected masterworks of modern art complement the dynamic performance of actor/visual artist Kevin Reese.
Mary Hall Surface and Kevin Reese are respected internationally for their innovative work in professional theatre for young audiences, including productions at the Smithsonian, Kennedy Center Theatre for Young People, Seattle Children's Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth and the California Theatre Center, and at international Festivals in Sweden, Peru, Germany, Canada, Japan, Scotland, and Ireland.
Has been presented over 800 times during twelve seasons of national and international touring;
Featured at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003;
Performed at the 1993 RITEJ Festival in Lyon, France - one of the most prestigious festivals of theatre for young audiences in the world (the first American company to be invited since 1981);
Featured at the Seattle International Children's Festival, May, 1993;
Presented at art musuems throughout the country, including the San Jose Museum of Art, Detroit Institute of the Arts and the Jacsonville Museum of Art;
Residencies at Philadelphia's Institute for Arts in Education, and New York's Southern Tier Institute for Art in Education in Binghamton, Rochester, Sracuse and Albany.
A Perfect Balance as seen at Janney Elementary School,
"I love magic! And magic is what you gave to us yesterday noon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in "A Perfect Balance"....The finale is spectacular. Again, the apparent ease with which it all comes together tells of an artist that has worked fiendishly long hours to bring the result to a state of perfection, a state any audience love and us old -timers admire beyond expression."
Metropolitan Museum of Art
"This is an exquisite piece of theatre, for both adults and young people... The direct connection to Calder's inner life, and the working through of his artistic impulse as a sense of play, made a huge impact on every audience member regardless of age. The adults wept. The children 'oohed' and 'ahhed', spoke aloud to the character, and reached up in wonder to the huge mobile as it floated above their heads....I hope that it can be seen by many, many more than our very satisfied community....We need this quality of work in our children's theatre seasons. It is extraordinary."
--Roberta Gaspare, Director
Discovery Theatre, Smithsonian Institution
"The play is one without a single dull moment thanks to Mr. Reese whose solo performance evinces an exceptional dynamism and capacity for innovation. His beautifully realized mime work has all of the charm of Charlie Chaplin. A Perfect Balance is a lovely play."
"A Perfect Balance is a brilliant and thrilling show. Our youngster's rapt attention was the ultimate tribute to your talent and the excellent script. The staff and I keep marveling over your knack for masking esoteric concepts visible, and doing so in a manner that entertained and enlightened even our youngest guests."
Children's cultural Arts Center Morristown,
"I felt this performance and the workshops that followed offered a multitude of avenues to explore and directions to go in. It inspired me to want to know more. Questions beget Questions and connections lead you onward. Who could ask for more?"
The content of the play offers limitless opportunities
for art teachers to build upon. It explores the qualities and forms
of a variety of media--paint, sculpture, drawing and photography.
It follows step by step Calder's innovation of taking shapes
and colors "off the page" and transforming them into
a whole new form of kinetic sculpture (the mobile). It explores
Calder's process of choosing subject matter, symbols and
ideas that shaped his life's work. And it examines the important
role of self-assessment in the artistic process.
Music and Dance (movement)