HOLDEN & ARTS ASSOCIATES
SHARING STORIES AND CREATING PARTNERSHIPS SINCE 1983
MOSS PIGLET
Produced by Windmill Theatre Co.
From Adelaide, Australia
Resources
About the Company
Tardigrades... perhaps you've heard of them? Small but mighty, they have withstood multiple extinction periods and can survive boiling as well as freezing temperatures. With a surprising cult following, some people call them ‘Water Bears’, and others call them ‘Moss Piglets’.
MOSS PIGLET is an explosive portrait of the world’s most resilient and curious critters. Taking young audiences from the jelly-filled petri dishes of scientific labs to extreme environments like the depths of a volcano, Arctic glaciers, the deep sea, and then the moon, this performance explores the mysteries of the wildly weird tardigrade. Playful and thrilling, this epic new work utilizes puppetry, green screens, dance and scientific research to show even the tiniest of things can be part of a giant adventure.
The production premiered in Australia in October 2024.
"[This] brilliant new production...is the perfect combination of theatre and science that will keep audience of any age enthralled" - a 5 star review from Glam Adelaide!
Windmill Theatre Co is supported by the Government of South Australia and the Australian Government through the Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.
Best for Grades: K-5th
Audience Size: Small to Medium Venues
MOSS PIGLET performance highlights
MOSS PIGLET development video
MOSS PIGLET promotional trailer
Curriculum Connections
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Fine Arts: Puppetry; Performance; Action-Genre, Live Feed and Video Projection; use of Scale in design.
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Science: Tardigrades and their habitats, reproduction, diet, and physical features; Extreme environments like volcanos, the Mariana Trench, and outer space; Observation methods and asking questions about the objects, patterns, and events in the environment around you; Experiments Hypothesis, and Predictions.
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Emotional/Social Development: Awareness, Relationship to the natural world around you; Curiosity; Problem Solving; Inventiveness; Resilience.
Outreach and Workshops
With advance notice, Windmill may be able to offer additional workshop or outreach opportunities and pre/post performance events. Please discuss this with the HAA agent during the booking process.
Sensory Friendly Performances
MOSS PIGLET is available as a “sensory friendly” or “relaxed” performance if arranged with the company in advance and with specific direction as to what adjustments are necessary for your venue.
Minimum Technical Requirements
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Load In Time: 10 hours (with pre-rig)
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LOAD IN CREW (Subject to venue minimum crewing requirements)
3 x Stage Crew
2 x Lighting
1 x Sound
2 x AV
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PERFORMANCE CREW
1 x Lighting Technician
1 x Sound Technician
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Min. Stage Size: 31.5ft width x 21.5ft depth x 16.5ft height
Wing Space needed: 15 ft wide x 16.5 ft deep
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Load Out Time: 4 hours
Artistic Team
Director, Co-Creator: Clare Watson
Co-Creator: Elena Carapetis
Performer, Co-Creator: Gareth Davies
Lighting Designer: Chris Petridis, Richard Vabre
Designer: Meg Wilson
Composer, Sound Designer: Luke Smiles
Touring company will include 2 performers, 1 stage manager, and 2 technicians, TBD.
Critical Acclaim
"★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Windmill Theatre Company’s brilliant new production Moss Piglet is the perfect combination of theatre and science that will keep audiences of any age enthralled…" Glam Adelaide
"Their physicality and sleek comedic timing, paired with clever sound design, means the audience is immediately hooked and stays that way..." InReview
"★ ★ ★ ★ ½ Insightful and thoroughly entertaining, Moss Piglet is a beautiful and timely reminder that one does not need to be large to be strong. A must see for the whole family." ArtsHub
"This is theatre that transcends the usual collection of theatrical elements—lighting, sound, costumes, and set—truly extending the theatre experience into our contemporary time. " Fifty+SA
"Windmill Theatre Co. have outdone themselves with Moss Piglet..." Kiddo Mag
Company Background
Past Tours: Grug, Grug and the Rainbow, Big Bad Wolf, Beep, & Hiccup
Based in Adelaide, Australia, Windmill Theatre Company has a global reputation as a leading producer of theatre for children, teenagers, and families. They bring artists together to uncover and ignite stories that are burning to be told. Each year they perform in their hometown, and tour across Australia and around the world.
To date, the company has performed to over 750,000 people in over 190 cities across 30 countries.
Windmill has previously traveled to North America for tours of Plop (2012), Grug (2013), Big Bad Wolf (2016), and Grug and the Rainbow (2017), Beep (2018) and Hiccup (2023). Windmill’s co-production with State Theatre Company South Australia, Pinocchio, performed at the New Victory Theatre in New York in 2015. Windmill Theatre Company are a Creative Partner on the smash-hit stage show, Bluey’s Big Play, a stage adaptation of the global television sensation.
In 2016, Windmill released their first feature film, Girl Asleep, which won multiple awards and was acclaimed by critics and audiences alike. In 2017, they announced the launch of Windmill Pictures, a new arm of the company dedicated to developing screen projects from our live theatre repertoire. In 2022, Windmill Pictures premiered Series 1 of its debut children’s television series, Beep and Mort, with Series 2 in 2023.
For more information, please visit the company’s website.
Gallery of Past Productions
