On Feb. 6 the Central Kitsap Performing Arts Center welcomed Peppa Pig and her family to the stage as they performed famous pieces of classical music. The show has previously toured across Europe, but this time will be starting their tour at the PAC.
“Sometimes we have a touring company that comes through and we’re just a stop along their route,” CKHS Production Manager and Technical Director Ken Philips said. “So, they’re going to a bunch of different places. The difference with this production is they’re actually starting their tour here. They’re launching it. So, this is the first time that they’re actually sitting down and having a technical rehearsal and putting all these elements together.”
The show consists of an 11-piece orchestra featuring a harp, cello, and French horn among other instruments. The entire cast and orchestra are from the UK and will be staying with the show as it travels across North America. Besides the orchestra it also features six puppets, operated by a team of skilled puppeteers, as well as advanced lighting and visual projection effects.
“There’s a big video component with the projection and cameras that had to have been figured out and planned ahead of time and even their puppetry,” Philips said. “They had to have custom puppets built for this production.”
(Samuel Campagna)
Behind the scenes, a dedicated tech crew makes sure not only does the show run smoothly, but it works as a touring show. Everything has to be easily packed up and moved in order to quickly be on the road for their next performance, posing some challenges for the crew.
“It’s not only about how to get this show in and out of different venues, but also adapting to different venues and it’s also getting all these people together because they have a bunch of people in their cast, they have a bunch of people in their orchestra, a bunch of technicians, all coming together and having to meet with this show,” Philips said.
While the PAC hosts a range of over 200 events a year, the booking process for one of these shows requires copious amounts of bargaining, especially for a show of this stature. While the PAC has a diverse technical range, their budget imposes some constraints to the events they can host. For this show it was specifically scouted out by the PAC in the hopes of working out a trade which benefits both the venue and the performance.
“So, one of the things that I do in trying to bring our venues to life is about once or twice a year, I will go to what is called a booking conference,” CKHS Director of Performing Arts Operations and Resources Don Fox said. “One of the people that I met there was an agent named Lindsay Kratz, and she and I struck up a conversation. One thing that we can do in this type of venue, is possibly work out a trade with them where we offer them a few days to launch their show. We made a deal on the performance, which would be a public performance we could never otherwise afford and a field trip we could never otherwise afford by trading them time in the venue to launch their tour.”
In addition to the touring show, teachers and students from Woodlands Elementary got to attend a performance at roughly 10:00 a.m. Feb. 6, marking the first official performance of the show’s tour. The students displayed excitement to see the show which was an immense motivation to those behind the scenes.
“It’s always really exciting to me when we’re able to bring the littlest kids to the performing arts center for a show because their enthusiasm is just off the charts,” Fox said. “So having the district support to bring all of those 1st graders to see Peppa Pig, was really, really endearing. I really hope that those kids carry forward a newfound love of music and hopefully, we know that a bunch of those kids will wind up in band or orchestra one day. Maybe this was the start of that.”
The concert serves as an introduction to classical music for young kids, with explanations of different instruments, what a conductor is, and notable music pieces such as “Hall of the Mountain King,” “Flight of the Bumblebee,” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Symphony no. 6.” With a touch of comedy by way of jokes sprinkled throughout, it’s both educational and comedic, bringing an interesting show to the PAC that is enjoyable for all ages.
“It just really exposes these kids to a symphony style concert with these characters that they know and love kind of guiding them through that journey,” Fox said. “So we’re teaching them about music and musical instruments kind of on the sly using Peppa Pig and Peppa’s family to sneak in that education to those little kids.”
