Two performers from Synetic Theater in Arlington, Virginia, told the story of a traveling actor and his magical trunk of toys to students in the Lancaster Elementary School theater September 19. It was told in pantomime: a story full of laughs but no words.
In two separate shows, the actors took the school’s more than 600 students (PreK through 7th grade) and 36 students from Chesapeake Academy on a theatrical adventure that combined music, ballet, clowning, acrobatics, and audience participation to create a series of hilarious and uplifting sketches. The performance—“The Miraculous Magical Balloon”—was brought to Kilmarnock as part of the Arts for Youth Program of the Rappahannock Foundation for the Arts (RFA).
The show was performed by Stella Bunch and Vato Tsikurishvili, whose parents, Paata and Ira, performed it for the first time at the Kennedy Center, soon after emigrating from the former Soviet country of Georgia in 1995. In 2001, the company they founded—Synetic Theater—made its artistic debut with its first wordless Shakespeare production, “Hamlet…the Rest is Silence,” thrilling audiences with its athletic and high-voltage physical theater. Synetic’s innovative take on Hamlet earned three Helen Hayes Awards: Outstanding Resident Play, Outstanding Choreography, and Outstanding Director. With its classical repertoire, folktales, and devised works, Synetic has gone on to win 34 Helen Hayes Awards and 142 nominations.
Donna McGrath
“My students know when these shows are coming and they look forward to them. The shows make learning fun and engaging,” said Destiny Carter, LES choral director, general music teacher and the RFA board lead for the Arts for Youth Program. “Like other teachers here, I find it helps reinforce lessons in every subject. This is hands-on, experiential learning.”
LES Principal Keegan Walters cited additional payoffs. “Having a show like this early in the school year helps us in developing a school climate,” he said. “Having students of different ages together creates opportunities for role modeling by older students. We prep students for these shows and they are excited for them. Our expectations for respectful behavior are continuously reinforced. We have had a nice improvement in school attendance over the last two years and the RFA shows definitely help with that.”
Donna McGrath
Following the production, the actors talked with students during lively question and answer sessions. Asked how she moved and made her legs look like wood, Bunch, who joined Synetic’s teen training program at 16, replied, “I studied gymnastics and was a gymnast for several years. And we practice—a lot.” Tsikurishvili, who first performed with his parents when he was 4 or 5 years old, added: “When it looks like I am moving the doll’s body with strings, we are using music cues and counting together—1, 2, 3, 4, 5—to move our bodies. When we do it right, the magic appears. You don’t need to talk to communicate.”
For 2025-26, the RFA received grants to support the Arts for Youth Program from The River Counties Community Foundation, The Tidewater Foundation and the Mason & Lulu Cole Trust Fund. In addition, the RFA receives grant monies from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to support school performances.
