(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 24, 2003

(Mahwah) – Visible Fictions Theatre Company, a children’s theatrical troupe, presents The Red Balloon, the story of a small boy’s friendship with a beautiful red balloon, Saturday, March 22, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. in Ramapo College’s Sharp Theater.

Adapted from the novel by Albert Lamorisse and Oscar Award-winning film, The Red Balloon tells the story of a small boy, Pascal, who feels misunderstood and ignored by his parents as well as his schoolmates. One day Pascal looks up into the sky and spots a red balloon. He wants the balloon and chases it across the city to finally catch it. From that moment, Pascal has found a best friend and the red balloon becomes the most important thing in life.

Premiered in Scotland in 1997, The Red Balloon tells the same story as the novel and film on which it is based. The adaptation was done by myself and the other members of the company,” Doug Irvine, co-founder and co-director of Visible Fictions told the Irvine (Calif.) World News Online Edition last October. That’s the way we do all our plays: in ensemble fashion, working as collectively as possible.”

Irvine said that the red balloon is manipulated by a puppeteer, who you see, because he reflects every thought and feeling of this helium-filled balloon…some people will eventually ignore the puppeteer completely, others will go back and forth with their eyes between the balloon and the puppeteer. It’s quite magical how this works, this triangle of Pascal, the balloon and the puppeteer. It always intrigues me what audiences will want to watch in order to follow the story,” he added.

Irvine said that 11 years ago, there was a lack of quality children’s theater in Scotland, when then-Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama graduate students Irvine and two others founded Visible Fictions Theatre Company.

Parents have brought children younger than five and we’ve had grandparents leaving moved to tears by The Red Balloon, Irvine said. Of course, the play says different things to adults than to children and everyone can take with them what they want from the experience.”

Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors, and $7 for children. The Sharp Theater is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the Ramapo College campus. For information or to order tickets, call (201) 684-7844.

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About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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