Friday, October 30, 2009

SPOOKAPALOOZA (Chicago)

Speaking of the Midnight Circus, I nearly forgot that they are doing their annual set of Halloween Free shows in Daley Plaza again this year.  This year the show is called SpookaPalooza!


They've been doing it all week, so you've missed a lot of shows, but there's 7 shows you can still see.  The cast features a rotating round of Chicago variety performers, clowns, and eccentrics doing really fun stuff in Daley Plaza.  The show is completely free.  I caught it a couple of years ago and had a great time.

FRIDAY OCT 30: 11:30am, 12:45pm, 2pm, 5:30pm
SATURDAY, OCT 31: 11:30am, 12:45pm, 2pm

More about the Midnight Circus

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Chicagoist is featuring interviews with clowns


The Chicagoist, an online news blog, is featuring interviews with clowns all this week, in honor of Halloween.

The series, called FACE YOUR FEARS, is intended to get to know people behind the greasepaint.

It's pretty good, as far as it goes, but nearly all of the clowns interviewed are Primarily Birthday Party clowns and not circus clowns.  Who knows, maybe Jeff Jenkins of the Midnight Circus  is the last person interviewed (their Friday interview has not yet come out).  That might give this a little balance.

UPDATE:  They balanced it in a different way-- the fifth interview was with LezBobo the Clown, who does more alternative clowning.  I've updated this post to reflect that.



Here's links to the interviews:



LezBobo The Clown


READ THE INTERVIEW


Website for more information.











Kooky Da Klown

READ THE INTERVIEW

 Websites:  Clowns For Hire and Kooky's Myspace.










Patricia "Dimples The Clown" Koopmann

READ THE INTERVIEW

Website for More Info










Don "Tricky the Clown" Bothwell

READ THE INTERVIEW


 Website for more info

















Mirelle "Twinkles the Classy Clown" Gross

READ THE INTERVIEW

Website for more info

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Jango Edwards 3 day intensive workshop Nov 9-11 (NY)

Jango Edwards Clown Workshop Nov 9–11

Jef Johnson's Clown Lab and Nouveau Clown Institute present:
Clown: Formulas and Theory
With Jango Edwards

Jango Edwards is one of the founding fathers of the Nouveau Clown Movement. This is a rare opportunity to study with one of the world's great teachers. Jango was last here in 1982. The work he has done in Europe is the basis for much of the world scene these days.

About the Instructor:
Jango Edwards has dedicated his life to the study of comedy and the art of clown; not a job but a life style.

His first company, The Friends Roadshow, formed in London with Nola Rae, exploded into a theatrical community with bases in London, Amsterdam, and Detroit. Over 400 members from around the world have actively participated.

In 1975, after moving to Amsterdam, he gave birth to the internationally renowned Festival of Fools, which continued annually until 1984 and became the world's first comedy convention of the Nouveau Clowns. It set the foundation and form for a new trend in comic festivals, an annual gathering of a clown tribe, where all performed, taught, and exchanged the secrets to a new direction and the rebirth of an all but lost tradition.

During the 1980s and '90s he had a performing tour schedule of more than 200 performances per year. In theaters, concert halls, stadiums, music clubs, open-air festivals, and venues as diverse as an amphitheater in the Sahara desert, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Ronald McDonald Comedy Awards, the International Banking Conference of Switzerland, a nudist beach, half-time at a football match, the Olympic Village in Barcelona, and a bathroom at the Majestic Hotel in Cannes. His devout fans include Salvador Dali, The Queen of Holland, the Chancellor of Germany, Catherine Denueve, Fedrico Fellini, Francis Ford Copola, Xaviera Hollander, and the Rolling Stones, to name but a few.

In 2004 he moved to Barcelona and at the International Forum Festival he created The Fools Militia, a team of clown actors to create large scale clown performances and animations.

From this he developed a special World Clown Theater Series at the Almazen Theater where each week international clown artists present their productions and where every Saturday night he writes, directs, and performs with selected guest artists at the Cabaret Cabron. During the first two years of Cabaret Cabron and with the cooperation of over 100 clown artists he wrote, directed, and performed ove 100 different productions.

He is artistic director of Monsters of Comedy Festival in Rome and runs training programs for Clinic Clowns, Clown Doctors, and Doctors with Red Noses.

In October of 2009, he launched the Nouveau Clown Institute.

CircusNYC When:
November 9, 10, 11
12–6pm each day

Where:
The Brick Theater
575 Metropolitan Ave.
(between Union Ave. and Lorimer St.)
Brooklyn, NY 11211
bricktheater.com

Cost:
$200; Space is limited. Reserve your place with a non-refundable deposit of $100
(PayPal accepted)

Contact/Enrollment:
Jef Johnson
jefjohnson@nyclown.com

Monday, October 26, 2009

Dick Van Dyke on Slapstick

Thanks to Drew Richardson, Dramatic Fool for pointing this out -- a hilarious mini-lecture about how slapstick is no longer funny, and then Mr. D.V.D. proceeds to schlap the shtick all over it.

This is an object lesson in how to build a physical routine where the audience know what's coming, but they can't help themselves from laughing anyway.



Friday, September 25, 2009

Clown Axioms at La Mama (NY)

Clowns ex Machina is Kendall Cornell's continuation of her work with groups of female clowns. (which started as Kendall Cornell's Soon-to-Be-World-Famous Women's Clown Troupe)

Clown Axioms is a show of 12 women clowns that "create a poetic yet preposterous world" Expect some interesting takes on female stereotypes, and by extension female clown stereotypes.
Last July they did a workshop showing, and now they are doing an expanded show.

the show features a number of clowns, including:
Amanda Barron, Christine Bodwitch, Kendall Cornell, Melinda Ferraraccio, Kathie Horejsi, Emily James, Ishah Janssen-Faith, Mona Le Roy, Judi Lewis Ockler, Julie Pulmettaz, Maria Smushkovich, and Virginia Venk.

where: The CLUB at La MaMa ETC 74 A east 4th St. (between Bowery and 2nd Avenue)
cost: Tickets $15 $10 student tickets with valid I.D.
call: Box office: 212-475-7710
when:

Friday, October 9th at 10pm
Saturday, October 10th at 10pm
Sunday, October 11th at 5.30pm
Friday, October 16th at 10 pm
Saturday, October 17th at 10pm
Sunday, October 18th at 5.30pm

Find out more: clownsexmachina.com, www.lamama.org
(and by the way, I know I'm being incredibly un p.c.-- but www.clownsexmachine.com is available.

Possibly Kendall and Co. should snatch that up before someone else does and uses it for their own nefarious purposes. Clown porn could be a big business! and works pretty contrary to the whole ClownsExMachina.com theme.)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Obit: Frank Santos, R-Rated Hypnotist, Dies

Courtesy of the Providence Journal

Comedy hypnotist Frank Santos, 60, remembered

6:20 PM Tue, Sep 22, 2009 |
Donita Naylor

SMHYPNO2MBM.JPGProvidence Journal file photo / Mary Beth Meehan
In this 1998 file photo, hypnotized 10th-grader Jacqueline Papa tells Frank Santos that her tongue is hopelessly stuck to her lower lip.


CUMBERLAND, R.I. -- Frank Santos, who billed himself as the R-rated hypnotist and always had a following, died Tuesday morning in his sleep, his son by the same name confirmed Tuesday. He was 60.

Rhode Island magician Bruce Kalver said he sold Santos his first book on hypnosis, for $2, when Kalver had a magic shop in the 80s. "Two months later he was booked at Periwinkles," Kalver said Tuesday.

It wasn't quite that quick. Santos was working at Big G Supermarkets and saw a hypnotist perform at a company party, Michael Janusonis reported in a story about the entertainer in 1990. Santos took classes in hypnotism, opened a hypnosis center in Cumberland and put together an act, which quickly packed rooms.

"We all started doing comedy at the old Periwinkle's at the old Arcade," comedian Charlie Hall said Tuesday. Although Santos had a following that jammed the club, "the genius of Frank was that he knew that he wasn't the star of the show." Audiences loved seeing their friends on stage, singing as if they were Madonna or Mick Jagger. "He got people to laugh at themselves," Hall said.

Hall said he never really believed in hypnosis before working with Santos. "But to see these body builders from Johnston coming out of the men's room wearing nothing but pantyhose made me a believer," Hall said. "I guess it worked."

Hall remembers Santos as "the sweetest guy in the world. He never had any ego," even though his "was the biggest money-making act in New England"

Comedian Frank O'Donnell also opened for Santos at Periwinkles in the 1980s and has performed with him every Friday night for the last year at Twin River's Catch a Rising Star Comedy Club. He said he's done close to 100 shows with Santos and "I've never seen the same show twice." The two Franks performed at colleges together, as recently as two Fridays ago at Tufts.

The news hit hard at Catch a Rising Star. "We're all really shaken by it," said their boss, Jim Wright, general manager for the company's five comedy clubs. "Fank spent his life bringing out the inner performer in each of us," Wright said Tuesday. "His was a singular and unique talent that touched countless lives, and we are all blessed to claim him as one of Rhode Island's favorite sons. He will be truly missed. "

Wright also said Santos was the busiest performer he's ever known, often performing an 8 p.m. show in Saugus, Mass., and "driving 80 miles an hour" to make the 10:15 show at Twin River.

For many years Santos was a regular at The Riviera in Las Vegas, where Steve Schirripa of Sopranos fame booked him two or three times a year. "Frank was a very dear friend of mine," a saddened Schirripa said Tuesday from the airport in Los Angeles. When Schirripa had book signings in Rhode Island, Santos would always come see him, and when Santos traveled to Las Vegas, Santos would bring food from Providence "and coffee syrup for my kids when they were little."

"He was very liked," Schirripa said.

Wright said he doesn't know what they'll do with Santos' regular Friday night spot, or who will perform on New Year's Eve, for which Santos was already booked. He said he's thinking about a remembrance in Santos' honor.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Silent Clowns Film Series Fall/Winter 2009 (NY)

THE SILENT CLOWNS FILM SERIES
MEETS "THESE TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES" HEAD-ON...
WITH SLAPSTICK SALUTES TO
FOLKS JUST TRYING TO GET BY!

( NOTE NEW THEATER LOCATION!!)

The Silent Clowns Film Series has become the place for film buffs and families to go to see classic silent comedy films. Presenting its programs on Sunday afternoons from fall to spring the series has offered hundreds of classic film fans and young people all over the tri-state region the chance to see Chaplin, Keaton, and everyone in-between. All shows feature live piano accompaniment by Ben Model.

The Silent Clowns' Fall / Winter 2009 season tips its hats (all of them) the slapstick art of survival with five programs of classic silent comedy shorts and features helmed by the likes of: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Our Gang, Ben Turpin, Charley Chase, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Harry Langdon. All this culminates in a December showing of Laurel & Hardy silents where the audience will vote online for their faves to be screened.


The Silent Clowns Film Series is held at
THE ARCLIGHT THEATRE
152 WEST 71st STREET, betw B'way and Columbus)
Subway: 1, 2 or 3 W72. or C to W72
Tickets are
$10.00 all adults and $5.00 for kids and seniors.
Live piano accompaniment by Ben Model
Tickets are sold at the door. For more information visit www.silentclowns.com or call 212-712-SCFS.




THE SILENT CLOWNS FILM SERIES
2009 FALL/WINTER SCHEDULE

All programs feature live musical accompaniment by Ben Model.


Sunday, October 11 at 2pm
Comedy on the Bum
- or -
The Elegance of Indigence
Tramps (a.k.a. “Knights of the Road”) were popular comic characters on stage, in comic strips, and in early films. While Charlie Chaplin used it for his regular screen persona, most of the other big name comics spent some time cinematically "on the bum". Today’s down-and-outers include Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in Fatty's New Role ('15), Charlie Chaplin’s Easy Street ('17), Harold Lloyd in From Hand To Mouth ('19 ), Buster Keaton’s The Goat ('21), and Fiddlesticks ('27) with Harry Langdon.

Sunday, October 25 at 2pm
Harold Lloyd in "Dr. Jack" (1922)
Remembered today as the "third genius" of silent comedy, Harold Lloyd was always first at the box office.Dr. Jack ('22), although not as well known as Grandma's Boy ('22) or The Freshman ('25), is equally funny and presents Harold as a country doctor who uses scares and thrills to help a young rich girl get rid of parasitic doctors. Also on this Halloween program is Buster Keaton surrounded by eerie goings-on inThe Haunted House ('21).

Sunday, November 8 at 2pm
Slapstick Show-Biz Part One:
Stagecraft Shenanigans
Since most of the silent film comedians came from the stage, it was only natural that they would use their theatre background and experiences for comic material. Tough company managers, over-ripe melodramas and fly-by-night theatre troupes are some of the subjects at hand today in the Thanhouser company’s The Soap Suds Star (215), Charlie Chaplin’s The Property Man ('14), The Play House ('21) with Buster Keaton, Charley Chase’s Bromo and Juliet ('26), and Lupino Lane in Drama Deluxe ('27).

Sunday, November 22 at 2pm
Slapstick Show-Biz Part Two:
Chaos on the Set
The second part of our Show-Biz programs finds our silent clowns poking fun at themselves and their style of filmmaking. Nothing could be simpler or handier (not to mention cheaper) than using their own studios as background for slapstick antics, which today gives us precious behind-the-scenes glimpses of where and how these films were made. On the bill is Everett True Breaks into the Movies ('16), Charlie Chaplin’s Behind the Screen ('16), Hey There ('18) with Harold Lloyd, Our Gang’s Dogs of War ('23), and The Daredevil ('23) starring Ben Turpin.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Sunday, December 6 at 2pm

Laurel & Hardy: U-Pick 'Em!

*Audience Favorites*

After years of solo work, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy came together at the Hal Roach Studio in 1927.In their comedies human foibles and the frustrations of everyday life were magnified a hundred times over. Now you have the opportunity to select which of their silent shorts you’d like to see. Vote online on our website, and the four finalists will be screened at this show! Visit our website to go to the voting page.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Fettucini Brothers in China... and Blogging!

In the next couple of weeks (Sept 28-Oct. 9), the Fettucini Brothers (Mike Heidtman & Steve Langley, otherwise known as Alfresco and Alfredo) will be going to Hangzhou China to participate in the Golden Week Events there.

The Hangzhouians are crazy for American clowns, and over the last couple of years there have been lots of festivals there chockful of American clowns.

There are lots of performers going. Here's a list of them (per their blog)





Stage Performers

Seth Bloom

Christina Gelsone

Matthew Duncan

Brian Foley

Mike Richter

Keith "Bindlestiff" Nelson

Andrew Scharff

Bryan Fulton

Mike Smith

Mark Lohr

Steve Langley

Mike Heidtman

Ron Hoffman

Julie Pasqual

Josh Eldeman

Anatoly Valiev

Nadezda Andreeva


Balloon Artists

Micha de Haan

Christopher Charlot

Suzanne Harring

Todd Nuefield

Strollers/Street Performers

Lara Heidtman Smith

Brad Bodary

Michael Sabb

Irene Fong

Cheryl Schrueffer

Mitchell Yosheda

Raquel “Rocky” Giberstein

Chelsea Conklin

Aaron Watkins

Chris Shelton

Margaret Carr

Alice Farley

Rachel Ann Whitman

Sharon Livardo Du Maine

Martin Ewen

Reuben Haller

Ted Lawerence

Charalambos “Harry” Mavromichalis

Paul Michalec


Face Painters

Liz Bolick

Derrick Little

Patricia Russell


Mike & Steve will be blogging about their experiences and posting lots of photographs at the blog listed below.

Make sure to check in and follow their adventures-- I'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

Blog: http://web.mac.com/fettucinibrothers/iWeb/China%20II/Blog/Blog.html
Fettucini Brothers Website: http://www.fettucinibrothers.com/

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Kill Me Loudly Opens Tomorow!

Tomorrow!

Fools on Fire presents

Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir

Sept 16-20, 23-25 at 8pm

Triskelion Arts, Williamsburg

118 N. 11th between Berry and Wythe, 3rd Floor

A brutal comedy about desire, betrayal and murder. Done by clowns.


KILL ME LOUDLY.

Very Good Intentions. Very Bad Clowns.

It's a nice, intimate theater,
KML_5 df.jpg

This just in!

After the show, go to the cast party at The Gibson on the corner of N. 11th and Bedford.

Show your program at the bar and get 2$ off drinks all night long!

L Magazine calls KML one of the

kml.jpg

KILL ME LOUDLY is created by the company and directed by Eric Davis (Cirque Du Soleil, Red Bastard, NYIT-award winning Bouffon Glass Menajoree). The show has been workshopped at Clemente Soto Vele and the Brick Theater's Clown Theatre Festival in 2008, and at the Celebration Barn and Amherst College's Ko Festival in 2009.

Fools On Fire makes dark, idiotic comedy for dark, idiotic times. For full show and company info visit www.foolsonfire.org

Monday, September 07, 2009

All of Seinfeld for $100!

Every once in a while Amazon comes out with a deal that is too good to resist, this is such a deal.

NOTE: This is now $140! It's still a pretty good deal, but obviously $100 is better!

Every episode of Seinfeld for $100 . While it's not clowning per se, there are great archetypes at work here, and the physical work of Michael Richards and his myriad jitters, sputters, spewers, and oh yes, can we mention his door entrances?

This is one of the funniest television shows ever, and you have the opportunity to own it all for less than $100. What are you waiting for?

Friday, August 28, 2009

If a Clown: poem by Stephen Dunn

One of my favorite poets, Stephen Dunn, has a poem in the New Yorker titled "If A Clown" It gets into a lot of issues about fear of clowns, the magic of clowns, and a certain amount of the silly/hokey/crazy stuff you might do while dressed in white paint. Quite simply, this clown could have been me (although I rarely do birthday parties...)

In the comments feel free to write a poem in response-- if we get a good one, we'll send it into the New Yorker.

If a Clown
by Stephen Dunn
August 24, 2009
newyorker.com


If a clown came out of the woods,

a standard-looking clown with oversized

polka-dot clothes, floppy shoes,

a red, bulbous nose, and you saw him

on the edge of your property,

there'd be nothing funny about that,

would there? A bear might be preferable,

especially if black and berry-driven.

And if this clown began waving his hands

with those big white gloves

that clowns wear, and you realized

he wanted your attention, had something

apparently urgent to tell you,

would you pivot and run from him,

or stay put, as my friend did, who seemed

to understand here was a clown

who didn't know where he was,

a clown without a context?

What could be sadder, my friend thought,

than a clown in need of a context?

If then the clown said to you

that he was on his way to a kid's

birthday party, his car had broken down,

and he needed a ride, would you give

him one? Or would the connection

between the comic and the appalling,

as it pertained to clowns, be suddenly so clear

that you'd be paralyzed by it?

And if you were the clown, and my friend

hesitated, as he did, would you make

a sad face, and with an enormous finger

wipe away an imaginary tear? How far

would you trust your art? I can tell you

it worked. Most of the guests had gone

when my friend and the clown drove up,

and the family was angry. But the clown

twisted a balloon into the shape of a bird

and gave it to the kid, who smiled,

let it rise to the ceiling. If you were the kid,

the birthday boy, what from then on

would be your relationship with disappointment?

With joy? Whom would you blame or extoll?

If a Clown: newyorker.com

Thursday, August 27, 2009

CWB Fundraiser this evening! (NY)

Fantastic photos - Inspiring Stories - Exciting Entertainment
Photo & video presentation of CWB projects to Thailand, Cambodia and Haiti together with a benefit party for further Haiti trips and upcoming project in Indonesia! MC'd by the ever-funny (and usually bald) Brian Foley of Circus Bambouk.


Type:
Network:
Global
Price:
Suggested Donation $10-30 sliding scale
Date:
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Time:
7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location:
At the Center for Remembering & Sharing
Street:
123 4th Avenue (13th St)
City/Town:
Manhattan, NY


Phone:
9178043362
Email:

Description

Photo and video presentation of Anna Zastrow's trip to Thailand and Cambodia, and of Olivia Lehrman's CWB team expedition to Haiti.

Come experience what we’ve been up to and see the kids in action!

Contribute to the upcoming project: Clowning with youngsters in Indonesia!

Here’s your chance to get in on the game and be part of a wonderful humanitarian venture.

In November Anna will travel to Indonesia to join Clowns Without Borders partner Dan Roberts, and, together with an Indonesian musician, we will bring laughter and excitement to kids in homeless shelters, community centers and schools in Jakarta and in the Aceh region, where many children are suffering psychological trauma from the 2004 tsunami and years of civil strife.

Clowns Without Borders is also working on making further trips to Haiti possible and to establish an ongoing presence there, where children are enduring extreme poverty.

* * * * *
THE EVENT:

Laugh! Eat! Drink! Mingle! Have fun!
• Join us on a photographic journey
• Enjoy fun(ny) entertainment with special guest
• Bid on fabulous items in our Silent Auction: (Cambodian silk, Thai massage, Haitian rum, and more)

Scrumptious scones from Alice's Teacup and refreshing brew from Singha Beer! and more

* * * * *
CLOWNS WITHOUT BORDERS offers laughter to relieve the suffering of all persons, especially children, who live in areas of crisis including refugee camps, conflict zones and territories in situations of emergency.
We bring levity, contemporary clown/circus oriented performances and workshops into communities so that they can celebrate together and forget for a moment the tensions that darken their daily lives.

For more information: http://www.clownswithoutborders.org
or
http://www.lokamaer.org/lokahumana

+ + + + + + +
IF YOU CAN'T COME, PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A DONATION! Go to http://www.clownswithoutborders.org and click on Support Us! Please mark your donation Indo/Haiti.
THANK YOU!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Vote For Coney Island Chris! Tonight! Vote Often!

UPDATE: THE NUMBER TO VOTE FOR CHRIS:

1-866-602-4807

My good friend and hilarious clown Coney Island Chris (former Ringling Clown Chris Allison, and current head of Cirque du Jour) will be on Americas Got Talent this Tuesday 8/25/2009. (That's tonight!)

http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/contestants/chris.shtml#bio

Please vote for him. You can vote up to 10 times per phone number, but you must watch the show to know which # to vote for him at.

Link to voting procedure: http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/vote/rules.shtml

More about Chris: http://www.coneyislandchris.com

Monday, August 24, 2009

Benefit for Fools On Fire Sat. Aug. 29 (NY)

Fools On Fire presents
The-Good-Time-Watch-Your-Back Show:
A Gritty Cabaret at Dead Herring
3 aerialists.
ridiculous comedy.
tantalizing burlesque.
rousing music.
cheap drinks.
dance breaks.
optional dress code: apocalypse-chic.
All this for $10

141 S. 5th Street between Bedford and Berry
L train to Bedford
THIS SATURDAY: AUGUST 29th 2009
Doors at 8pm, show at 8:30pm


www.foolsonfire.org for more info.

Friday, August 21, 2009

A full on, stuck in the box, walking in place, Marcel Marceau, "Pantomime-Blanche," mime class

A full on, stuck in the box, walking in place, Marcel Marceau, "Pantomime-Blanche," mime class. Taught by Clown Conservatory grad Jeff Seal. For more about Jeff, visit our previous post about him.

http://www.houseofyes.org/events/

Night School: Beginning Pantomime with Jeff Seal!

August 25th

$5-15 sliding scale donation.

9pm-11pm

@ House of Yes

This class will give you the basics of "pantomime blanche" or
white-faced illusion-based mime. Students will learn exercises
involving fixed-point, isolation, resistance and the other building
blocks of pantomime and physical acting in general. These skills can
help a performer more effectively communicate his/her ideas and
emotions with an audience through clear and precise physical
articulation. They are useful for any performer from an improviser to
an aerialist.

--
http://www.houseofyes.org/events/
House of Yes
342 Maujer St.
Between Waterbury and Morgan Ave.
L Train to Grand St.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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

Friday, August 07, 2009

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.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Guy LaLiberte (Cirque du Soleil founder) is from outerspace!

Actually, he's just GOING to outer space-- as part of a tourist moon mission.

Read the article here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090723/ap_on_sc/us_space_shuttle

And here's a little excerpt for you:

Circus performer's flight preview steals NASA show
By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer-- Thu Jul 23,2009 4:42 pm ET

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A former stiltwalker and fire-eater stole NASA's show Thursday, saying he'll be "like a kid in a candy store" experimenting with zero-gravity tricks on his upcoming tourist trip to the international space station.

Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is shelling out a reported $35 million for his round-trip ticket aboard a Russian spacecraft. He will rocket into orbit from Kazakhstan at the end of September with a professional astronaut and cosmonaut, and spend more than a week at the space station.

At a news conference in Houston, as 13 people circled overhead on the shuttle-station complex, Laliberte was bombarded with questions from journalists, most of them gathered in his home country of Canada.

"As you know, I'm not a scientist. I'm not a doctor. I'm not an engineer. I'm an artist. I'm a creator, and I'll try to do and accomplish this mission with my creativity and what life has given me as a tool," said the Quebec billionaire, who turns 50 in September.

Laliberte assured reporters that he will not play with any fire in space — for obvious reasons. But he hopes to try some acrobatics in weightlessness and may teach his crewmates a card trick or two.

"I don't know how we'll be using stilts up there," he said. "But I think there are a couple little things, hopefully, that I have learned in my career of street entertainer that I will try to apply up there."

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upcoming Helen Donnelly Workshops (Canada)

Find out more about Helen's work in a previous clownlink.

She'll be teaching a few upcoming classes in Canada.

August 10-14, Haliburton, Ontario

Clown: the discovery of your persona
Suitable for actors and non-actors alike, adults only.
This 5-day workshop is a level one approach to theatrical clown for students with limited or no clown experience. Drawing on various approaches, we uncover your clown persona through the use of the world’s smallest mask-- the clown nose. Both character and costume will be explored.

www.haliburtonschoolofthearts.ca
to register

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September/October:
Discover Your Clown
Suitable for actors and non-actors alike, adults only.

This 6-night workshop is a level one approach to theatrical clown for students with limited or no clown experience. Drawing on various approaches, we uncover your clown persona through the use of the world’s smallest mask-- the clown nose. Both character and costume will be explored.


6 Monday nights September 14, 21, 28, October 5, 19, 26 6-9:30pm
$255 ($204 for Equity actors)
Labspace Studio, 2A Pape Ave Toronto, Canada
Limit: 12 students
to register, email: info@helendonnelly.com

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Develop Your Clown

This level 2 clown class is a continuation of the work from “Discover Your Clown”. Students will further develop their clown persona, using rhythm, movement and verbal/non-verbal communication. Duo and group work will be explored. A short presentation will give the opportunity to prepare and play in front of peers.

Prerequisite: “Discover Your Clown” or an equivalent class

6 Wednesday nights September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21 6-9:30pm
$255 ($204 for Equity actors)
Labspace Studio, 2A Pape Ave Toronto, Canada
Limit: 12 students
to register, email: info@helendonnelly.com

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Hotel Bananas - This week at the Flea Theatre (NY)

Hotel Bananas

The NY Goofs
July 23 – 25
Clowns check in but they don’t check out

at the Flea Theater, 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church Streets)

An evening of raucous laughter with the New York Goofs

America’s Got Clowns, Season Two, proves exactly what the title says, that America has some rocking physical comedians. New York Goof co-founders Dick Monday & Tiffany Riley bring together their Clown School faculty and professional clowns to create a hilarious show. Expect to see eccentric dance, musical entrees, bad magic, feats of tossing and manipulation (juggling), Godly and unGodly characters, and a lot of very physical comedy.

The New York Goofs have presented three original clown theater productions at The Flea over the last ten years.

The performances are July 23 – 25 at 7pm. Tickets may be purchased by visiting the Flea website here

More information about the goofs at http://nygoofs.com/