BIG EASY: Darwin the Dinosaur at the Contemporary Arts Center

If you’re anything like me, you have the best of intentions when it comes to providing your kid(s) with creative stimulation. But, if you’re anything like me, it happens much more infrequently than you’d like. A trip to a museum here, a music class there… oh, for a little inspiration.

Well, ask and ye shall receive!

I was fortunate enough to make it to opening night of Darwin the Dinosaur at Creative Arts Center New Orleans (CACNO) on Friday night with my husband and five-year-old son. I knew very little about it, other than it was described as a “glow-in-the-dark adventure." What I imagined would be a glorified puppet show turned out to be quite an amazing and original experience for us all.

Not unlike a live-action, neon Fantasia that combines puppetry arts and movement, it’s all about mesmerizing visuals and music from a dizzying array of genres -- and no dialogue. The basic storyline is about a professor who brings a dinosaur to life and teaches him compassion, then the dinosaur sets out to discover the world on his own. He encounters beauty and danger and love and heartbreak, all wordlessly expressed by larger-than-life creatures made of electroluminescent wire. Some creatures are extensions of the performers’ bodies, some are puppets – all seem to magically levitate in the darkness.

The show itself is innovative and inspirational, but the Q&A session that follows the show really allows the audience to appreciate the group’s ingenuity and enthusiasm. Creators Ian Carney (a Tulane grad who was raised in New Orleans) and Corbin Popp met while dancing in Twyla Tharp’s Broadway show Movin’ Out. After they discovered their mutual love for art, theater and technology, they formed a partnership. Together with their wives, they began to develop puppetry-based creatures (using "EL" wire and repurposed sports equipment and home improvement items!), and Darwin was born.

The show lasts an hour and, despite the volume and intensity, even kids under the age of two seemed to enjoy themselves (I think it would've rattled my kid at that age, but every kid is different). Don’t miss out! I swear you can feel unused portions of your brain being stimulated by this delightfully unique experience!

This week’s remaining showtimes:
Friday, August 19, 7pm
Saturday, August 20, 2pm
Saturday, August 20, 7pm
Sunday, August 21, 2pm

Tickets are $18 General Admission, $15 CAC members & students, $10 for children 10 and under.

For tickets or more information, call the CAC box office at 504.528.3800 or visit http://www.cacno.org/performingarts/event/2011/08/darwin+dinosaur/index.html