Elmer and the Elder Tree: A Theatre-Dance-Clown Nature Fable for All Ages Presented by the Piti Theatre Company December 19, 2008

This Holiday Season There's a New Tree in Town: Elmer and the Elder Tree Arrives at Boston Playwrights' Theatre

The Piti Theatre Company, based in Shelburne Falls, MA and Les Ponts-de-Martel, Switzerland, will bring their unique integration of theatre, dance and clowning to Boston with the original nature fable Elmer and the Elder Tree from Dec. 19 - 21st at Boston Playwrights' Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Avenue. The show is designed to appeal to both children and adults. Showtimes are 7 pm on Friday, 12/19 and 2 pm on Saturday 12/20 and Sunday, 12/21.

The one-hour performance will be followed by mural-making and theatre workshops after matinees and the distribution of tree seeds after all shows. Tickets are available online or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

Elmer is a city-dweller who loses his job, wanders into the countryside and learns to revive a desolate landscape - and his own happiness. The tale is told by two forest beings who transform into all the characters from Elmer's life: mother, boss, a wise nomad, a young woman and of course - an Elder tree.

The show is "a unique environmental story . . . [which] helps children understand ecosystems, plant life and humanity's effect on the natural world." - Catherine Fahy, Shelburne Falls and West County Independent

Elmer's tale is inspired by Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree and Jean Giorno's The Man Who Planted Trees but is transformed in the hands of Piti Theatre Co-Founding Artistic Directors Godeliève Richard and Jonathan Mirin into an interactive event where children play roles on stage, create soundscapes of forests and villagers forced to leave their homes in search of water and make suggestions to the performers. Mirin is an actor/playwright/director whose work has been produced in New York, regionally and abroad. Richard is a Swiss dancer/choreographer/designer whose solo dance piece "Little Journeys" premiered at Boston Playwrights' Theatre last January. Musicians Aaron Sherwood (saxophone), Peter Buchanan (guitar) and Wayne Smith (cello) created an original sound design for the production.

The Piti Theatre Company was founded in 2004 and nominated for an Independent Reviewers of New England Award after the New York and Boston premieres of "Riding the Wave.com" - Mirin's autobiographical tale of stocks, love and spiritual searching. The production was featured in the New York Times, Boston Globe, San Jose Mercury News, International Herald Tribune and went on to play at Harvard Business School among other venues. For complete bios and more information go to www.ptco.org

Official Website: http://www.ptco.org/elmer