On Friday Nov. 6th, I had the pleasure of attending A Stitch in Time Saves Nine! by the Das Papiertheatre of Germany as presented at the French Embassy as part of Kids Eurofest. The show, performed by textile artist Suzanne Winter and sculptor Johannes Volkmann, started with a large blank sheet of paper stretched across the stage. The performers used shadow play and simple hand play to enact various stories through the images of sewing and creating patterns, cutting through the paper, stitching it up and actually creating a paper shirt that one of the actors donned at the end. I was fascinated to see how such everyday items as scissors, a sewing machine, a needle and thread could be used to stretch our imagination to see these mundane items in a new and refreshing way.

This kind of theatre is often offered up for children from countries other than the United States, where art is supported thru government funding, but I rarely see this type of performance in the US: art for art’s sake enacted on stage. The US government does very little to support the sort of work that gives artists opportunities to just explore a theme. A Stitch in Time was a lovely opportunity to sit back and see the world in a fresh new way; small moments that become delightful when we take the time to highlight them in such a theatrical atmosphere.
–Kate Bryer, Associate Artistic Director, Imagination Stage

Tags: Artistic Director