Artist-In-Residence Nov. 9

The 2011 Artist In Residence Program at the Elizabeth Lee Black School concludes with a performance open to the community on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 10:30 a.m. in the Barber National Institute Gym. The play, The Wings of the Butterfly? was written by students and international artist Clarabelle Van Niekerk. The public is invited to attend.

The play tells the story of Timmy, a little boy who is fascinated by the iridescent wings of a butterfly and follows it through a fantasy rain forest. As he ventures through the rain forest, he encounters a variety of exotic animals such as poison dart frogs, an orangutan, an anaconda and an okapi (a cross between a giraffe and a zebra).

Since the school year began, Van Niekerk has been working with 31 students to create colorful posters of the forest creatures that will be used in the play. To set the scene, students also made large panels to decorate the stage.

This project was made possible in part through funds provided by the ArtsErie Arts in Education Partnership, a division of the PA Council on the Arts, and the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Foundation.