​Created by Amanda L. Andrei

Directed by Kate Debelack

Help us create a new show for children ages 0-3! 

Workshop #1
Join us for a 30-minute creative movement class and playtime,
where performers will use props, objects, balloons, and music to take you and your little one on a magical journey. 

Workshop #2
Taking what we learned from the first workshop in September, we will begin to create a first draft of show. During this workshop, we will share a sneak peek of what we have created so far with you! Following the mini performance, there will be a hands-on exploration of the props used in the show, lead by the performers.

The Balloon Project is a nonverbal, interactive show where a balloon takes a child on a whimsical adventure of exploration. Using movement, choreography, and object transformation, the performers will create animals, trees, and flowers that the audience will meet and engage with along the way. 
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Both workshops are FREE

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September 24th, 2022: 10:30am-11:00am
​ and
October 8th, 2022: 10:30am-11:00am
at
The Durant Center
1605 Cameron St, Alexandria, VA 22314

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Arts on the Horizon is a proud recipient of a Creative Neighborhood Grant Program grant award. The Creative Neighborhood Grant Program is made possible by City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts and an Arts Project grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Creative Neighborhood grant program will help underwrite the cost associated with The Balloon Project. 

To learn more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. 
To learn more about other programs and services of the Office of the Arts visit: alexandriava.gov/arts.

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Artistic Team

Amanda L. Andrei (Playwright)
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Amanda L. Andrei is a playwright and literary translator residing in Los Angeles by way of Virginia/Washington DC. She writes epic, irreverent plays that center the concealed, wounded places of history and societies from the perspectives of diasporic Filipina women, and she translates from Romanian to English. Her plays have been produced or developed with NY Classical Theater, La MaMa, Relative Theatrics, Parity Productions, Echo Theatre, The Vagrancy, Pasadena Playhouse, Artists at Play, and more. Her play MAMA, I WISH I WERE SILVER recently won the 2022 Jane Chambers Award for Feminist Playwriting. MFA: USC, MA: Georgetown. www.amandalandrei.com

Kate Debelack (Director)

Kate is a DC-area director and actor and a proud company member of Arts on the Horizon. In addition to the original production of By the Seashore, Kate has directed Sailing on String and Sunny and Licorice with Arts on the Horizon. Other directing credits include the One Minute Play Festival, Capital Fringe, and Cherry Red Productions. D.C. acting credits include: Kennedy Center Theater for Young Audiences (American Scrapbook), The Shakespeare Theatre (Ion), The Studio Theatre (Fat Pig, Long Christmas Ride Home, Ivanov, Blue Heart), Studio Theatre 2ndstage (Bat Boy the Musical, Love’s Fire, The Wild Party), Taffety Punk (Measure for Measure), Forum (The Memorandum), Longacre Lea (Dogg’s Hamlet/Cahoot’s Macbeth), MetroStage (Electra), and Cherry Red Productions (Cinema Verité, Anger Box, Worm Girl, Spamlet, and Zombie Attack!). Regional: New York International Fringe Festival, Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre. She studied at Western Washington University and the Studio Acting Conservatory, where she now teaches.

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Florence Babatunde (Performer)

Florence has previously worked with AOTH as a teaching artist, on the digital show, Once Upon a Zoom, and enjoyed touring the Drumming With Dishes Remount. DMV theater credits: Smithsonian’s Discovery Theater, TBD Immersive, Longacre Lea, and Synetic Theater. TV: The Walking Dead: World Beyond, The Good Lord Bird, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Billions, and the movie Wonder Woman 1984. She’s appeared in industrials for International Spy Museum, Leidos, & DGC International. When Florence is not onstage or on set, you may find her: jamming, painting, crafting poetry or signing ASL. Love and many thanks to her family and friends. www.florencebabatunde.com

Sylvern JD Groomes, Jr. (Performer)
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Sylvern is excited to be apart of The Balloon Project! He is a singer, actor, dancer, songwriter, performer and all around artist based in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. Classically trained as a Baritone, with Tenor abilities, as well as in dance and  theatre, Sylvern is versatile musically and theatrically across the board. When he’s not performing for youth, he can be found in the classroom as their teaching artist. You might have last seen Sylvern in the ensemble of Imagination Stage’s production of Mr Popper’s Penguins.
www.sylvernjr.com
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Graciela Rey (Performer) 

​Graciela is so excited to be part of this project! Her regional credits include: On Your Feet! ¡En español!  (GALA Hispanic Theatre), Beauty and the Beast (Olney Theatre Center), Paper Dreams and The Snow Queen (Imagination Stage), Make Way for Ducklings (Adventure Theatre), Athena (Gloucester Stage Company). Graciela has a BA in Musical Theatre from American University. Find her online @graci_rey and www.GracielaRey.com.

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Sam Fromkin (Stage Manager/Understudy) 

​Sam Fromkin is a DC-based artist who is excited to work with Arts On The Horizon for the first time! While primarily an actor, he is also a stage manager and is thrilled to work on the technical side for The Balloon Project. When he is not acting, he is working as a personal trainer and a DJ. Local credits include: Mr. Popper's Penguins (Imagination Stage), Antigone (The Kennedy Center). Recently, Sam performed a solo piece entitled I Am Not Here as a part of the True Reflections series with JÁ International Theatre based in Lisbon, Portugal. Sam graduated from American University with a degree in Musical Theatre and Spanish Studies. Find Sam at samfromkin.com.