Coppelia Project: A Clown Ballet in 3 Acts

Heidi Stubblefield, actor/creator, is the creator and director of The Coppelia Project: a clown ballet in three acts, which was a commission by Accessible Arts. It was produced at the Kansas City Fringe Festival and had extended runs at the Off Center Theatre and Lawrence Arts Center.

She is a Kansas City, Kansas native. She received undergraduate training in Theatre at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, KS and went on to further study Physical Theatre and Ensemble Theatre at the Dell' Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, California. Heidi has performed with many theatre companies in the KC area, including the Kansas City Rep, Unicorn Theatre, Coterie Theatre, American Heartland Theatre, and Actor's Theatre of Kansas City. She has toured nationally with the Lawrence-based company Seem-to-Be Players. As a creator of original work she has created works for Princess Squid Productions, Byrd Productions, and the Coterie Theatre.

Heidi has also featured as an Emerging Artist by the Kansas City Star for her work with Arts in Prison, Inc., where she works with adult and juvenile inmates to write and perform original shows.

Heidi doesn't seem to have a website, but if you know of one for her, please post it here!

Finding Your Funny Bone! by Nancy Gold

In 1991, I traveled to Philadelphia to the International Clown Congress.  There I met a number of other clowns, many of whom I continue to be friendly with to this day (I also met a guy who was from Rhode Island, and we had a number of friends in common, but strangely had never met-- and we've worked on a number of projects together, including 3 original circuses and a large-scale festival.  But that's a different story!)

While I was there, I took workshops with Bolek Polivka and Fred Curchack.  I also met Ctibor Turba, who intrigued me enough that in 1992, I went to Czechoslovakia to study with him.

One of the people I met there was Nancy Gold, a clown teacher and performer from San Francisco.  She was taking Turba's week long workshop, (which was opposite my Polivka/Curchak classes)  and I asked for (and received) her meticulous notes about the class.  I think I gave her my much less meticulous notes about Polivka and Curchak back too. I got a much better bargain out of the deal.

Lo and behold, she's got a recent book out, Finding Your Funny Bone!, about learning physical comedy for actors.  Nancy has been teaching at A.C.T. and Berkeley Rep for a number of years, and has compacted all of her teaching into this book.  I haven't delved into the book yet, (she's promised me a review copy though, and when I get it, I will review it right here.)

 The little that I've seen of the book from her website, it looks like it's going to be very good.  Nancy writes and teaches with a lot of enthusiasm, and the excerpts from the book show it clearly.

If you've read the book, feel free to write a comment and tell us what you think about it.

WEBSITE:  http://www.findingyourfunnybone.com
BUY THE BOOK ON AMAZON.COM:  Finding Your Funny Bone!

ICHOF Names Greg DeSanto Executive Director

Couldn't happen to a nicer (or more deserving) guy.  Greg was one of my instructors at Clown College, and I've seen him a few times, including the couple of days that I was researching in Baraboo.  He's a very funny clown, and a historian and collector-- with one of the largest collections of clown video in the world (perhaps with a close second with Pat Cashin)  Anyway this is a great development, and will hopefully continue to advance the field of clowning.

 

---

 

INTERNATIONAL CLOWN HALL OF FAME AND RESEARCH CENTER SENDS IN THE CLOWNS–AND BRINGS MUCH MORE – TO BARABOO

World’s Foremost Organization Dedicated To The Preservation Of The Art, Craft And History Of Clowning Names Greg DeSanto Executive Director

Baraboo, WI (January 18, 2010) – A bright addition to Baraboo’s unique circus heritage was revealed today as The International Clown Hall of Fame and Research Center announced the opening of its new headquarters in America’s Circus City.


Internationally renowned for its research and involvement in the art, craft and history of clowning, the ICHOF boasts the world’s most wide-ranging collection of clown artifacts and memorabilia, including wardrobe and props from many of the most famous names in clowning history.


“We are delighted to send in the clowns – and send them to Baraboo, back home where they belong,” said Greg DeSanto, recently named the ICHOF’s Executive Director. Himself a celebrated clown and circus historian, DeSanto, a Baraboo resident, performed at the Circus World Museum for over seven years. He’s also been featured in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, the Big Apple Circus and other major shows around the world.


As we expand our presence in Baraboo, we hope that scholars and historians and the public at large will experience our fascinating exhibits and extensive archives,” DeSanto says.


Founded in Delevan, WI in 1986, the ICHOF was created as a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, honoring and supporting the international art of clowning. The first and only group of its kind, it provides both rich research opportunities and educational outreach, along with the world’s largest collection of artifacts and collections concerning the art of clowning.


In 1988, the ICHOF began enshrining international artists who have enhanced and advanced the art of the clown. Since then, sixty-one performers have been inducted into the Hall, including Red Skelton, Lou Jacobs, Emmett Kelly, Otto Griebling, Felix Adler, Barry Lubin, Bobby Kaye, Jimmy Williams, Frosty Little, Steve Smith, Grock, Charlie Chaplin and Bill Irwin. The prestigious Lifetime of Laughter achievement award is also presented annually.


Fulfilling its commitment to community outreach, the Hall’s Caring Clown program provides therapeutic humor for children and their families at the Milwaukee’s Children’s Hospital. With Long Term Laughter Care, the ICHOF brings fun and comfort to residents at skilled nursing facilities and assisted living centers.


“We are honored to join the Circus World Museum and the Al Ringling Theater as key spokes in Barboo’s celebrated wheel of circus history,” adds DeSanto. “We welcome residents and visitors alike to join us in our ongoing efforts to promote and preserve the grand and glorious history of hilarity.”

Flaming Idiots at New Victory now through January 3- Discounts!

I saw this show today, in the midst of my wacky craziness.

(One of my very good friends is their stage manager.)

The show is delightful- funny, quickwitted, and well-done.  The Idiots are legendary on the RenFaire circuit, and this show shows them off quite well.  Still going after 20 years-- their show is even more finely honed.

Some jugglers are about juggling, but these jugglers are about comedy.  In fact, if you are a juggling aficianado, you might be disappointed.  Not that there isn't some great juggling in the show, because there is.  But the juggling is stuff you've seen before (admittedly, very well done)

It's the comedy that makes this show great (and at $12, a steal)

This is the first time I've seen pedological leger-de-main, and it's simply beautifully done and handled. And hilarious.  (You want mayonaise with that?)

And they get a nine year old girl to kick the droppers of a complicated passing routine in the shins.  Very funny.

Go see it, you won't be sorry.

To get your discount:

For a limited time only, Playbill® Members can save 20% with code PBIdiots1700.

THREE EASY WAYS TO SAVE

1) Click here to visit NewVictory.org

2) Call 646-223-3010 and mention code PBIdiots1700.

3) Show this offer to the New Victory box office.
209 W 42nd Street, just west of Broadway
Box office hours: Sun & Mon: 11am - 5pm | Tue - Sat: 12pm - 7pm

Troy Wunderle directing Ringling clowns.

'Incredibly serious work'

Local man trains Ringling Brothers clowns

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN

CircusSmirkus artistic director Troy Wunderle of Cambridgeport gets a kissfrom his daughter Ariana Wunderle during the Circus Smirkus performancein Brattleboro. (Reformer file photo)

CAMBRIDGEPORT - There is a lot of pressure in being one of the most important clowns in the country. For the past month, Rockingham resident and Circus Smirkus artistic director Troy Wunderle has been in Tampa, Fla., training two groups of clowns for the upcoming season of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Wunderle, 36, was invited to go to Florida and even though he was already busy with Circus Smirkus, as well as with his own company, Wunderle's Big Top Adventures, he could not pass up the opportunity to work with Ringling Brothers.
"Clowning is incredibly serious work," Wunderle said while taking a break from his 12-hour work days. "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey have been producing the best American clowns for generations and this was a golden opportunity. There are very high expectations. There is a lot of weight on my shoulders."
Wunderle graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1995 and has been working with Circus Smirkus for 13 years.
Although at this point he is a seasoned performer, and professional clown, Wunderle admits that the time he has spent over the last three weeks has been very intense.
Along with working with the young clowns, Wunderle has also been responsible for developing all of the routines. He is in constant communication with costume designers, makeup artists and prop specialists, along with pyrotechnic experts, sound engineers and circus producers.
He went to Florida with the intention of developing the main show that Ringling Brothers will take across the country next year, and last week he accepted the offer to also develop the clowns for a secondary show that is performed in smaller venues around the country.
To further challenge his sense of humor, and every clown needs a sense of humor, Wunderle is working with aspiring clowns who speak six different languages, and his crew in the smaller circus is from Italy and does not speak a word of English.
And though he is being pushed and challenged, Wunderle said he would most likely return if he is invited.
"As far as clowning is concerned, this is the pinnacle," he said. "One person gets to be the director of clowning for Ringling Brothers. This is what I love."
The call from Ringling Brothers came out of the blue, Wunderle said.
After graduating from the Clown College, he kept in contact with circus producers and invited them to Vermont to see Circus Smirkus.
He did not apply for the position, and was not even sure he would be able to fit it into his schedule. When the offer came, he could not turn it down.
"The ideal candidate for this job is not just someone who is funny," said David Kiser, director of talent for Ringling. "We look for someone with excellent communication skills, someone who can communicate not just with performers but with the entire creative team. We found that in Troy."
Once the circus starts touring, Wunderle's work will be mostly over.
All of his work is compacted into about a month and he expect to be home just in time to direct Circus Smirkus performers at First Night in Burlington on Dec. 31.
He will hand over the day-to-day responsibilities at Ringling Brothers to the boss clown, and will also be around to answer questions.
If there is a major problem while on tour, Wunderle might be asked to fly to wherever the circus is set up.
Along with the creative satisfaction of designing a full show, Wunderle said it has been special for him to work with young entertainers who are just entering the world of clowning.
Wunderle graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art, and got into clowning after enrolling in the Ringling Brothers Clown College.
His decision to pursue a life of clowning has taken him across the country, and world, and now he is helping other clowns as they begin their careers.
"In my opinion, clowning is one of the hardest disciplines in the circus and now I am working with the best of the best," he said before finishing his interview and getting back to work. "This is the ring where I started my career and it's great to come back and be able to give back to the next generation of clowns."

Very funny Bud LIght Clown Commercial

Thanks to Johnny Xod and Django Edwards for bringing this to my attention.

Physical Limits in Technical 3 and 4 ball juggling

I'm not generally a big fan of technical juggling, but this video is pretty astounding.

Suzanne Santos Clown Character Workshop Dec. 5/6 (SF)

Character Clowning and Clowning in Ensemble Workshop
with Suzanne Santos
At the Flying Actor Studio

December 5th and 6th, Saturday and Sunday
10 am – 5 pm both days, with a 30 minute lunch break

$125

This 2 day intensive clown workshop is for anyone who wants to furtherdevelop a clown character that has already been in performance, or for birthing a new clown persona. We will work solo, as well as in duos and trios, using exercises emphasizing appetites, hierarchy, presence and play.
Most importantly, we will work on how you are funny by incorporating mask technique, improvisation, physical expression, and commedia dell arte.

Please come prepared with at least one costume, a red nose, a lunch and a notebook.

The Flying Actor Studio is located at 40 First Street, 3rd Floor in San Francisco. Walking distance from Montgomery and Embarcadero stations.

For questions or to register for the class please email or call:
suzsantos@gmail.com or 818-414-1967

Suzanne Santos is in her second year performing with San Francisco's Pickle Family Circus School Tour in over 40 Alameda County Schools. She has also been seen with her original clown piece "The Damsel's Demise" at the New York Clown
Festival (Brick) and FOOLSFury Festival (Traveling Jewish Theatre).

Suzanne is also a company member of 108 Productions, with whom she performed and toured Terrence McNally's "Corpus Christi" internationally (Zephyr Theatre, LA; Bedlam Theatre, Edinburgh; Voice Factory, SF; Smock Alley, Dublin) and off-Broadway (Rattlestick Theatre) for the last 3 years.

Suzanne is the resident circus teaching artist of San Francisco Arts
Education Project, where she teaches at ARTSummer and San Francisco public schools. Suzanne is the lead Clown Therapist at Edgewood Center for Children and Families. She also has taught the Circus Apprentice Program at the Circus Center. She has worked with Dell'Arte International since 2005 as a Stage Manager ("Flock", "Circo Stupendo") and Assistant Director for Dell'Arte Youth Academy (2006, 2008). Summer of 2009, she was Director of the Youth Academy. As a teaching artist and clown therapist, she gets to inspire a diverse population of students while forwarding the social circus movement for positive community change.

Suzanne holds a BA in Theatre from George Fox University, an MA in Theatrical Clowning from New College of California's Experimental Performance Institute, and is a graduate of Clown Conservatory (2007) and Dell'Arte International (2005).

For more information about Suzanne's work, visit her website listed below:

http://www.suzsantos.com

If the Nose Fits...

Great article about Stanley Allen Sherman and his clown nose making career.

READ THE ARTICLE

Find out more about Stanley Allen Sherman at his website listed below:

http://www.maskarts.com/

There's also a YouTube video:

Inside Out (Cirkus Cirkör at BAM- NY) Nov 12-15

Part of the 2009 Next Wave Festival
Cirkus Cirkör
Live music by Irya's Playground
Directed By Tilde Björfors

"...A magical breathtaking performance...a powerful inter-disciplinary work of art..." —Skånska Dagbladet (Sweden)

The human body unfolds as a surreal rock and roll fantasy in Inside Out, Swedish troupe Cirkus Cirkör's phantasmagoric journey into the outer reaches of inner life. Accompanied onstage by dub-punk-new wave-electro-inspired band Irya's Playground and featuring a mix of highly skilled acrobatics, musical theater, and spectacle, Inside Out boggles the mind by way of the body. Actors and acrobats course through veins, explode through space like uncoiled strands of DNA, and lunge across synapses to become the body electric. Don't miss this if you have the chance to see it.


Nov 12 & 13 at 7:30pm
Nov 14 at 2 & 7:30pm
Nov 15 at 3pm
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House
110min with intermission
Tickets: $25, 45, 60
In English
Appropriate for ages 5 & up

Splinterhead Clown Noses in Union Square November 7 (NY)

Splinterheads Takes Union Square

Saturday Nov 7, 2009

at Union Square Park:

In support of the upcoming independent film, Splinterheads, Come get down with the clowns in Union Square Park on Saturday 11/7/2009!

They are handing out over 3000 RED NOSES to create one of the most unique iconic New York photograph that Union Square has ever seen.

Where: Union Square Park South, facing the DSW store sign
When: 4:30 PM (and not a minute later!)
What: don your nose, raise you hands and look into the sky for the coolest aerial photo Union Square has ever seen!


There are a couple of ways to get your nose.

1pm-5pm "Joey The Clown", the rudest dunking clown in the business, will be set up on 13th street between 4th and Broadway accompanied by a carnival atmosphere with fans, cast and filmmakers, and carnival attractions. Come and show off your Yankees pitching skills and try and drown the clown. Free noses will be handed out from 1pm-4pm.


Splinterheads will be playing at the Regal Union Square Theater
Noses will also be handed out at the 11:50am and 2:20pm showings.

*2:20pm - Chris McDonald and Lea Thompson will give a Q and A

See the trailer at: http://www.splinterheads.com and buy tickets at http://www.Fandango.com

Call for Female Clown Shows- 2010 Festival (Austria)

Clownin, the biennial Austrian women’s clown festival ( I really like it in German- Clownfrauen Festival) will hold its third festival at the Kosmos Theater in Vienna, Austria from November 26-December 4, 2010.

 It is one of two other international women's clown festivals (in Andorra and Rio)

Following the big success of their 2006 & 2008 festivals , they wish to continue to promote international exchange between artists, and display the full diversity of women clowns.  They also expect to host workshops, panels, and promote theory, pedagogy, and a healthy dose of networking as well.

They are looking for shows played mainly or only by women clowns for an adult audience- shows for children or only acrobatic presentations wil not be accepted.

They'll choose about 12 evening shows and several short numbers (for the Opening and Cabaret-Program).






Applications are due March 31st, 2010

The curators for this festival are Pamela Schartner, Gaby Pfluegl and Kosmos Theater artistic director Barbara Klein.

For more information or an application
Contact: info@clownin.at

Website:http://www.www.clownin.at/

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.)

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 | Permalink
Donita Naylor

Providence 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.

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.

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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.

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/