The "Little Ladies Little Gentlemen International Children's Theater Festival" organized by the General Directorate of State Theaters (ST) will kick off in Ankara on Tuesday, April 25.According to the statement released by the General Directorate of State Theaters, the festival, which will be held for the 13th time in Ankara by ST, aims to contribute to the art of theater, open the Turkish theater abroad and follow the developments abroad.The festival will continue until Sunday, April 30, during which 23 different plays will be staged, 15 from Turkey and 8 from abroad.World theaters to come to the capitalIn the festival, attended by thousands of little ladies and little gentlemen, there will be eight foreign groups from Italy, Russia, Spain, Kosovo, Chile, and Greece and 10 local groups from Turkey, staging 102 plays in 13 different scenes.The festival, attended by thousands of little ladies and little gentlemen, will include eight foreign groups from Italy, Russia, Spain, Kosovo, Chile, and Greece and 10 local groups from Turkey, staging 102 plays in 13 different scenes."Log House" and "Hana and Momo" from Italy, "Circus Mutabor" and "Mechanicus" from Russia, "Cuckoo Clock" from Spain, "This is Me" from Kosovo, "Micromundo" from Chile, and "Giraffe" from Greece will be staged at the festival this year.At the festival, which will include successful performances from ST and City Theaters, "Theater Machine," "Alice in Wonderland," "Storm," "My Dear Family," "Me and You" and "Friend" by Ankara State Theater; "War Flowers" by Istanbul State Theater; "Moonlight Circus" by İzmir State Theater; "İMBÖ" by Van State Theater; "Ali Baba and Forty Thieves" by Adana State Theater; "Treasure Island" by Trabzon State Theater; "Magic Circus" by Erzurum State Theater; "Little Black Fish" by Bursa State Theater; "My Beautiful Shoes" by Antalya State Theater; and "Hansel and Gretel" by Eskişehir Metropolitan Municipality Theater will be staged for the little art lovers.The festival will also feature puppet and shadow play performances, dance theater, opera and ballet, musical and workshop activities.Tales to be read to children treated at hospitalsBy Ankara ST, which aims to reach thousands of children with the "Little Ladies Little Gentlemen International Children's Theater Festival," "La Fontaine Tales" will be read and gifts will be given to the children who are treated at hospitals so that every child can experience the joy of the festival.With the "Reading Theater" project for visually handicapped children, the ST will perform the play "Who Ate Our Honey" within the scope of the festival. The play, which will be voiced by Ankara ST artists, aims to enrich the reading habits of children by also including physical effects from time to time.The "Step by Step Theater Event" to be organized in cooperation between the Child Protection Agency and Ankara ST will be held as another social responsibility project to be carried out within the scope of the festival. In the project, where the children will watch the rehearsals and the role-playing work performed by master artists on stage, the children will perform the mise en scene given by the director on stage with the artists.In addition, the play "Message to the World 2," adapted to the scene in association with Ankara ST and the Association of Children with Cerebral Palsy, will be presented to theater lovers within the scope of the festival.With the "Explore the Theater" activity, children will be given the opportunity to observe the process from the beginning of a play to the stage. Thus, the children will be able to witness the process of meeting the audience, and will be able to visit decor and costume workshops and other technical workshops.250,000 children have watched the festival so farThe "Little Ladies Little Gentlemen International Children's Theater Festival" has hosted 102 different foreign theater groups from 50 different countries over the last 12 years, as well as more than 1,000 local and foreign artists.At the festival, a total of 240 plays and 778 representations including the plays by private theaters, city theaters and state theaters have been staged, and 250,000 children have watched them so far.Detailed information about the festival program will be available at www.devtiyatro.gov.tr.