Special presentations will be offered by Lincoln Center’s resident organizations throughout the festival, including film screenings, concerts, and interactive music and dance workshops by The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Film Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City Ballet, New York Philharmonic, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. In addition, workshops will be held to offer first-hand involvement in the arts. For a full schedule, BigUmbrellaFestival.org.

Highlights include:

Festival Kickoff events – April 14:

10:30 am, David Rubenstein Atrium:

Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Brady Rymer leads a whimsical Americana mashup, bringing his rootsy, accordion-laced pop and rock tunes to Lincoln Center for a relaxed Saturday morning show.

Actionplay Chorus
Made up of a group of young performers on the autism spectrum and led by music therapist Gabriel Lit, the Actionplay Chorus performs original music in professional settings. In recent years, the Actionplay Chorus has performed with Weird Al Yankovic on Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars, with the Greenwich Village Orchestra, and at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.

Silent Clowns Film Screening
11am, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Bruno Walter Auditorium, Free

The Silent Clowns Film Series is NYC’s longest-running regularly scheduled showcase for classic silent film comedy, presenting the silent movies of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, and others, with live musical accompaniment by renowned silent film composer Ben Model.

Very Young People’s Concert: “Make-Believe”
4pm, New York Philharmonic
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
Tickets $18

Musicians from the New York Philharmonic invite audiences on a playdate where musical instruments are toys, songs become games, and kids can make-believe whatever their hearts desire. Philippe the Penguin and host Rebecca Young lead audiences on a journey to make new friends and share in the fun of music. Designed by Philharmonic musicians together with faculty of Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, Very Young People’s Concerts combine games, storytelling, and music in a fun-filled hour that unlocks children’s imagination and talent. This Very Young People’s Concert includes pre-concert musical games with musicians and a half-hour hosted performance of Martinů’s La revue de cuisine, including audience participation and story with Philippe the Penguin.

Theater

Three internationally focused theater companies, New York City’s Sidekick Theater Company (Up and Away), London-based Oily Cart (Light Show) and Australian Sensorium Theatre (Oddysea), will offer a variety of performances.  See schedule for dates and times.

Up and Away
Trusty Sidekick Theater Company
Clark Studio Theater
Tickets $25

Up and Away is both a story and an interactive experience, inspired loosely by the imagination of Jules Verne and his famous book Around the World in 80 Days. Seated in hot-air balloons, audiences join the Fogg Family Balloon Society on their 1,000th balloon ride. Featuring puppetry, live music, and interactive play, this “flight” travels through extraordinary places such as the Fog Bog, the Arctic Aviary, and Cloud Canyon, all with multisensory experiences. Each child in the audience has a one-on-one guide from the Fogg Family for the trip through the clouds.

Light Show
Oily Cart
Samuels Teaching Studio
Tickets $25

Creating distinct silhouettes in an exquisite play of light and shadow, Light Show brings audiences to a magical paper palace. The serene papery white landscape transitions from a beautiful warm day at the beach to a dreamy moonlit wonderland, creating a multisensory journey of textures, smells, and tactile experiences accompanied by live music from a virtuoso double bass player.

Oddysea
Sensorium Theatre
Samuels Teaching Studio
Tickets $25

Set within a beautiful undersea world, this immersive tale of best friends Crab and Turtle’s oceanic adventures comes alive through touch, smell, taste, live music and stunning imagery. Seated on beanbag sand dunes, audiences become part of the “oddysea” unfolding around them as they journey with Crab and Turtle from the beach through sparkling blue-sequined waves to a kaleidoscopic crocheted coral reef, encountering many memorable oddities along the way.

More Arts

Film Society Kids Screening and Discussion
Film Society of Lincoln Center
April 18, 5pm

Francesca Beale Theater, Free

This special showcase presents a selection of ten of the best short films made by students in Film Society Kids, a program that supports literacy learning through visual storytelling. These shorts will immerse viewers in the art of the silent film, as seen through the eyes of children of all abilities from neighboring public elementary schools. The screening, welcoming community members of all ages and abilities, will be followed by an audience discussion with the Film Society’s Director of Education.

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
LC Kids Storytime at the Atrium
April 21, 11am

David Rubenstein Atrium, Free

At this relaxed story hour, Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Sophie Blackall (Ruby’s Wish, Ivy & Bean) explores the life of a lighthouse through shifting seasons, changeable weather, and the tenure of its final keeper.

NYCB Access Workshop
New York City Ballet

May 6, 1pm

Samuel B. and David Rose Building, 7^th Floor
Tickets $14

This one-hour movement workshop specially designed for children with autism will feature the music, movement, and themes from New York City Ballet’s treasured repertory. NYCB Teaching Artists guide children in a ballet warm-up and movement combination, concluding in a lively performance for accompanying family and friends. No prior dance experience needed.

CMS Kids
The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
May 6, 2pm

Rose Studio
Tickets $25

Explore the up-close and friendly world of chamber music in the intimate Rose Studio. Host Rami Vamos and CMS artists show that the most personal of art forms speaks volumes to even the youngest listeners.