Gumi Cultural Foundation to Host Special Performing Arts Festival for Children and Youth

National Theater Company’s “Our Neighborhood Small Theater FESTIVAL”
October 25 (Sat) - 26 (Sun), Gumi Video Media Center

Gumi Cultural Foundation in North Gyeongsang Province (CEO Lee Hanseok) announced that the “2025 National Theater Our Neighborhood Small Theater FESTIVAL” (hereinafter referred to as “Our Neighborhood Small Theater”), a performing arts festival for children and youth, will be held at the Gumi Video Media Center and surrounding areas over two days, October 25 and 26.

Hosted by the National Theater Company of Korea and produced by the National Theater Company’s Institute for Children and Youth Theater, this festival is a collaboration between the Gumi Cultural Foundation and Ajujageun Theater Playground. It will take place in only two locations nationwide.

2025 National Theater Our Neighborhood Small Theater FESTIVAL Poster / Provided by Gumi City

“Our Neighborhood Small Theater,” to be held in Gumi this year, was first introduced in 2019 through the planning of the National Theater Company’s Institute for Children and Youth Theater, aiming to provide children and youth with more direct opportunities to experience performing arts.

Rather than simply restaging outstanding performances from Seoul in regional areas, the festival has evolved to collaborate with local cultural artists and partners, reflecting the unique characteristics of each region, in line with the philosophy that “where there is a performance, there is a stage.”

This year, a variety of performances such as “Seed Story,” “Pets,” “Eummagaenggaeng Puppet Theater,” and “Spring Summer Fall Winter Seumseumseum” are set to inspire the audience’s emotions.

The “Very Small Theater,” a performance designed for just one person, will also meet audiences throughout the festival space. In these intimate shows, where one audience member and one actor interact for three to seven minutes, everyday themes such as light, shadows, puppets, and play are reimagined through artistic imagination, leading the audience into a unique world of fantasy.

Six works-including “Marlo’s Workshop,” “Starry Night,” “In Search of the Rabbit,” “Chapeau the Fairy in the Hat,” “Hidden Picture Hunt,” and “Becoming the Light”-will deliver unforgettable experiences through sensory direction within simple structures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.