Clown Make Monster

500 CLOWN, the genius clown trio from Chicago, has a documentary coming out about their work (and about the making of their show 500 Clown Frankenstein. Title of the show CLOWN MAKE MONSTER.

Here's the description of the documentary:

What happens to a group of clowns in a theater company that push against authority when they believe that theater itself is the authority?

Popskull Video and Darryl Miller present Clown Make Monster, a documentary web series exploring the relationships between 500Clown ensemble members Molly, Adrian, and Paul as they take great physical and emotional risks to push their own boundaries as actors, performers and clowns. Revealed in multiple episodes, the filmmakers show the method and the madness behind creating improvised based clown theater spectacles where failure is used as a learning and narrative tool for both the clowns on stage and the audience in the seats. The web series gives an unprecedented behind the scenes look at the history of the group as they create their show “500Clown: Frankenstein”, the constant evolution of their shows as they push the boundaries of theatrical convention, and their drive to train, teach, and help others through their lives as Clown Performers.

Below is the Youtube teaser for the documentary, that will come out in October.

For more information, you can also visit http://www.clownmakemonster.com

Cirque du Soleil Anniversary DVD collection on sale TODAY

If you are like me, you have slowly over time collected Cirque du Soleil videos- mostly either at shows, or if you are cheap like me, you've taped them from Bravo (and/or TIVO'd them) Here's an opportunity to clear up a lot of your TIVO space!


On Sale Today NEW for just $58.99! 12 DVD's of Cirque-- that's around $5 per show. Definitely worth it.

I just ordered mine!

Here's the info:

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Cirque du Soleil's Anniversary Collection 1984-2005 is a 12-disc retrospective of the Canadian troupe's distinctive brand of performance, involving the fantastic feats of acrobatics and athleticism, balance and contortion; the single-ring techno circus; the multicolored lights and costumes; the abstract story lines of fantasy and self-discovery; the music that fuses rock, New Age, and various world influences; and the madcap clowns that prey on their live audiences. The programs included are La Magie Continue (1986); Cirque Reinvente (1989); Nouvelle Experience (1991); Saltimbanco (1994), the 1994 documentary retrospective A Baroque Odyssey; the Amsterdam-set Quidam (1999); Allegria (1999), the live Sydney show; the Chinese-influenced Dralion (2000), in its standard, non-Superbit release; the relatively short IMAX film Journey of Man (2002); Varekai (2002), from Toronto; La Nouba (2003), from Walt Disney World; and Midnight Sun, strikingly staged outdoors at the 2004 Montreal International Jazz Festival.

That's a lot of aerial feats, tricks, and tumbling, but the set is not designed to absorb in one sitting. Rather, viewers can sample both the simpler early shows and the stunning later performances that, with their 5.1 sound and widescreen pictures, are perfectly suited to home theaters. Compiling 12 previously released DVDs in space-saving Thinpaks at an economical price, the Anniversary Collection is nearly all the Cirque du Soleil you could ever want, but completists should note that the set does not include the feature film Allegria: An Enchanting Fable, the bonus disc of Varekai, the reality-TV show Fires Within, and the 13-part variety series Solstrom. --David Horiuchi

Product Description
This anniversary collection celebrates the achievements of the world renowned Cirque du Soleil. The collection includes 11 Cirque du Soleil productions plus a bonus DVD of Midnight Sun, a once-in-a-lifetime special event captured on DVD. The title within this colorful collection are: A Baroque Odyssey, Allegria, Cirque Reinvente, Dralion, Journey of Man, La Magie Continue, Nouvelle Experience, Quidam, Saltimbanco, Varekai, and La Nouba.

First Episode of The Bindlestiffs is up

Click the image to see the first episode.

It's really great and looks to tell the hard-scrabble story of the Bindlestiffs

http://thebindlestiffs.com/ep1.html

A& E Classic Comedy Clearance.

I've gotten a couple of classic physical comedy offers from A & E Entertainment. They're doing a clearance on some great stuff. I thought it would be of interest to some of my readers here.

DISCLAIMER: If you do click and buy any of this stuff, I'll get some small advertising cut... But don't let that deter you from getting some major deals on classic physical comedy DVD's. These are great, and I will probably own most of them before the month is out.

These offers are only good through 8/6/08, or until they sell out.

=============

Benny Hill: The Complete Collection DVD Set	DVD Availability: In Stock Ships to U.S. and Canada 6 DVD(s) / 48 Hrs 20 Min Closed Captioning: No Was: $149.95 Save $59.98(40%) On Sale: $89.97 CLICK TO BUY
The 16-Ton Monty Python DVD Megaset	DVD Availability: In Stock Ships to U.S. and Canada 16 DVD(s) / 1749+ Minutes Closed Captioning: No Was: $99.95 Save $39.98(40%) On Sale: $59.97 CLICK HERE TO BUY
Rowan Atkinson Live! DVD	DVD Availability: In Stock Ships to U.S. and Canada 1 DVD(s) / 55 Minutes Closed Captioning: No More Details Clearance, Save 50% ! Was: $19.95 Now: $10.00 CLICK HERE TO BUY
Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean DVD Set	DVD Availability: In Stock Ships to U.S. and Canada 3 DVD(s) / 350+ Minutes Closed Captioning: No $39.95 CLICK HERE TO BUY

Slapsticon- Virginia (July 17-20)

SLAPSTICON is a four-day, international film festival dedicated to classic motion picture comedy! This year, the sixth annual festival will be held from Thursday July 17, through Sunday July 20, at Arlington county's spacious Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre in Arlington, Virginia.

The 6th Annual SLAPSTICON will start off with a triple slap when "The 3 Stooges Rarities Show", begins on Thursday July 17 at 7:00pm. This never-before-seen compendium of home movies, TV clips and other Stooge ephemera (with a few classics thrown in) is not to be missed.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
W.C. Fields' first starring feature, Sally of the Sawdust (1925), directed by D.W. Griffith from Fields' Broadway hit, Poppy (Thursday, July 17 at 9:00 p.m.)

Buster Keaton's rarely screened The Silent Partner made for TV in 1955 and The Scribe (1966), a Canadian industrial film in which 70-year-old Buster walks on construction girders on a windy autumn day just months before his death. (Saturday July 19 at 2:00 p.m.).

Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath (1928) shows how silents could sizzle even before the talkies. Forgotten comedienne Dorothy Mackaill is ripe for a modern-day rediscovery, with Laurel & Hardy foil James ("Doh!") Finlayson in support. (Saturday July 19 at 8:00 p.m.).

The venue, Rosslyn Spectrum was originally built as a movie house in the early 1960's. The newly-renovated theater now has 387 cushioned theater seats - each with folding tables for note-taking critics, or for refreshments (which are allowed inside the theatre)!!

All silent films shown at SLAPSTICON feature LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT by accomplished musicians, Dr. Philip Carli, Ben Model and Andrew Simpson. Each utilize different styles and both have many years of experience in the art of silent film accompaniment.


SLAPSTICON Screenings will occur:
Thursday, July 17, 1:00 p.m. - 12:00 mid.
Friday, July 18 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 mid.
Sat., July 19, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 mid.
Sunday, July 20, 10:00am - 5:00pm.

COST: $99 for the full four-day festival; $30 per day; $16 half-day.

For more information about Slapstickon 2008 (including a registration form), visit www.slapsticon.org. You may also e-mail info@slapsticon.org or call 703-228-1841.

Safety Last, with Ben Model Riverdale, NY 1/26

Safety Last with Ben Model

Yes, it's Harold Lloyd in his iconic climb up the side of the 12-story Bolton Building, accompanied live by Ben Model, a silent film historian and accompanist for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1997 he founded "The Silent Clowns Film Series" with film historian Bruce Lawton. Ben composes all his own scores, and performs in a style that is both evocative of the silent era and also aware of a contemporary (and younger) audience's awareness of music and film scoring. Ben composes and improvises all his own scores, and performs in a style that is both evocative of the silent era and also aware of a contemporary (and younger) audience's awareness of music and film scoring. After each movie - come upstairs to our candle-lit cafe and enjoy complementary coffee, wine, and sweets before you go home for the evening.
Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 8:00 PM
Neuwirth Theatre
5625 Arlington Avenue
Bronx, NY 10471
Map & Directions
TICKETS ARE $12 and available online: http://www.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=121438

The Silent Clowns Film Series: NY

The Silent Clowns Film Series is New York's longest-running regularly-scheduled showcase for classic silent film comedy. Every show features live musical accompaniment by Ben Model and introduction and Q&A with film historian Bruce Lawton. Featured are the movies and shorts of Chaplin, Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Lloyd and more.


Programs are presented on alternating Sunday afternoons from October through April every year, and are geared to the classic film fan as well as to families. The Silent Clowns Film Series is dedicated to the memory of Walter Kerr, whose landmark book, "The Silent Clowns," was the inspiration for the series. See The Book on Amazon


The next films to be presented are on Sunday, November 18 at 2 pm, when they will produce their annual tribute to neglected comics.


On the bill:

The Would-Be Shriner ('12) (Mack Sennett)
She Landed A Big One ('14) (Mack Sennett, with Wallace Beery as "Sweedie," )
All Tied Up ('25),(the Three Fatties)
Anything Once ('27) (the Three Fatties, with Mabel Normand)
Pep Up ('29)( Cliff Bowes)
Blazing Away ('28) Lloyd Hamilton
[note: as these titles are very rare and hard to access on film, this program will utilize video projection]

Also, just added to the program is a 6-minute fragment of the lost 1915 Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle comedy short Fatty and the Broadway Stars. This tinted nitrate footage turned up in the collection of the National Library of Norway in 2006 and has been preserved. The footage is from reel 2 of the film and was out of order; the National Library provided a video to Ben Model and Steve Massa who then unscrambled the shots for them. This is the first public screening of this rare footage. [It will be shown at Slapsticon next summer, and
will be available for viewing on the Nationalbiblioteket's website later in 2008]

All shows are held at
The New-York Historical Society
170 Central Park West (betw W 76 & W 77 St)
Tickets: $8 all adults, $5 for kids, seniors and members
(gallery admission to the N-YHS is a separate fee)

For more information about the film series, visit their website listed below:
http://www.silentclowns.com

For more information about Ben Model, live accompanist and producer of the series, visit his website listed below:

http://www.silentfilmmusic.com

10/15: Original Clown Films in NY

October 15th at the Revue- SHORT CLOWN FILMS! This month the NY Downtown Clown Revue shows original short clown films. And they've got free popcorn!

The show starts at 8:00 pm at the Kraine Theater (85 E 4th St). Be sure to use discount code NOSE when buying tickets at Smarttix.com to save $5!



Films by the following local clown artists:
Happy Hour
Jeff Seal
Derek Scott
Kendall Cornell

To find out more, visit the ny downtown clown revue site at the website listed below:

http://www.newyorkdowntownclown.com/

Bozo on DVD

A 30 episode Bozo DVD is now out and available. It features the original syndicated Bozo, Frank Avruch, with shows from the 60's and early 70's. Each show also has a five minute Larry Harmon (the originator of Bozo) animated cartoon.

On the Amazon.com message boards, there's some grumblings from customers about the fact that the DVD does not feature Bob Bell(The Chicago-land Bozo) This is volume 1, and presumably the next volumes will feature Mr. Bell and other regional Bozos.

Also notable is that the originator of Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, Carol Spinney, is featured on this DVD set.

Thanks to Pat Cashin over at ClownAlley.net for pointing this release out.

Adam Gertsacov/ Acme Clown Company

THE ACME CLOWN COMPANY Uses Popular Theatrical Traditions To Amaze, Educate, And Entertain Audiences Of All Ages.

Specialities include puppetry, clowning, commedia dell'arte, circus skills, magic, melodrama, masks, and method acting.

They perform shows, teach workshops and residencies, and coach and direct physical comedy and clown routines.

The boss clown of the Acme Clown Company is Adam Gertsacov (the author of this blog).

Adam is the most educated clown in America (barring certain elected officials.) He wears many hats, including those of a professional clown, an author and publisher, a P.T. Barnum impersonator, a flea circus impresario,and the esteemed hat of the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland. Adam is the Festival Director for Bright Night Providence.

If you'd like to find out more about Adam's work, please visit his websites listed below:

Clown Shows and Classes http://www.acmeclown.com
An Authentic Victorian Flea Circus http://www.trainedfleas.com
P.T. Barnum Impersonation Show http://www.ptbarnum.org
House Renovation Blog About Yonkers http://www.yonked.com
Bright Night Providence http://www.brightnight.org