Returning to the New Vic May 6 – 15 In a stunning display of enchanting artistry, Carlo Colla & Sons Marionette Company (Sleeping Beauty, New Vic 2013) will tell  the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. It is a cautionary tale of a town overrun by greed, corruption and rats.  The show will make its  U.S. Premiere from May 6 […]
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My good friend (and noted beloved curmudgeon) Trav S.D. has gotten up in arms about the short shrift that Harold Lloyd has received among silent film comedians. Â He waxed(Â hmmm… what’s the opposite of rhapsodic? Â ( I think it might be philippic) ) on Facebook about the lack of love for Harold Lloyd. Apparently Keaton and Chaplin outnumber his google search […]
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Julie Goell is a well-known performer and teacher of comedy and physical theatre, (and the wife of renowned Eccentric Avner.) Â She has written a book about clowning and performing. Â The book, entitled Life In A Clownhouse is part teaching manual, part memoir, Â and all about her and Avner’s theories of performance and clowning. I have taken a couple of classes […]
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Often what remains of the work of the clown are sawdust and memories and maybe old playbills. Such is the case of Frank “Slivers” Oakley. Â He was one of the top American circus clowns of the early 20th century. He performed an unheard of 15 minute solo baseball routine with the Ringling Circus that made him one of the premier […]
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Hilary Chaplain’s Physical Comedy Intensive Apr 2-3 Â What makes it funny? What makes it repeatable? How do we approach writing the funny? These are great questions that any clown should be able to answer about their work. (And even if you can’t answer these questions, you should at the very least be asking them.) Hilary Chaplain will teach another of […]
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Today is the last day to watch Simon McBurney (director of Theatre Complicite) perform his amazing solo show The Encounter. UPDATE: Â It looks like they took this private. Â It is no longer available. Sorry if you missed it. Â It was great! Here’s the youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghc-DM1TVWU The show sold out at the Barbican in London, and they streamed the show […]
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This isn’t quite clown, but it’s all wonderful, and it’s fan-fiction/music taken to extremes. Musician Christopher Graham released a parody album of Jesus Christ Superstar as performed by the Muppets.  Entitled Muppet Christ Superstar, the album has many (but not all) of the songs from the Andrew Lloyd Weber Musical. The usual characters are in place, almost as you would […]
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This just in: TONIGHT Some of NY’s premier physical comedians are planning a special living room show (in the penthouse suite of a fancy hotel) to honor Dr. Seuss. Doors open at 10, open bar and snacks until midnight, and the performance starts just before the witching hour. The show features Hilary Chaplain, Mik Kuhlman, Peter Daniel Straus, Mark Ettinger, […]
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Even clowns have heroes.  For Malic White and Molly Brennan, the two performers/partners/lovers who are the chief instigators of the highly personal, very adult clown/rock music cabaret PopWaits, those heroes are seminal punker Iggy Pop (hero of Malic) and protean gravel-throated ultra-cool cabaret singer/music creator Tom Waits (hero of Molly) Both performers suffer from depression and use their heroes as creative jumping […]
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This weekend is the last weekend for Gale LaJoye’s magical and wonderful show Snowflake, which is performing at the Chicago Children’s Theatre through February 14. I saw this show in 2000 and it was wonderful then, and based on the videos I’ve seen, it’s only gotten better. This is the 25th anniversary of Snowflake being performed by LaJoye (I featured […]
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A new show is opening up at the Neo Futurarium in Andersonville, which features clowns, rock and roll, audience participation, and depression. Â It also features local brilliant performers Malic White and Molly Brennan. Do you really need to know anymore? Â Just buy your ticket now! If you need to know more, here you go: POP WAITSÂ Â IS AN ATHLETIC, […]
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Hilary Chaplain is giving a workshop in NY Jan 30 and 31, and it would behoove you to attend.  She’s a very funny clown with an excellent eye, and she will definitely improve your work if you let her. She’s been teaching and performing at workshops and festivals around the world, and now she’s giving a class in NYC. Here’s her […]
Read moreThe Bindlestiff Family Cirkus rides again in a one wheeled extravaganza as the producer of the NYC Unicycle Festival. This 4 day event which celebrates one wheeled riding and the related skills is one of the only events of its kind, and its certainly the largest in NY. Â The main part of the festival takes place on idyllic Governor’s Island, […]
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Cirque du Soleil’s 35th show: Kurios, Cabinet of Curiousities will come to Chicago’s United Center August 6-Sept 20, 2015. The show, which will be performed under a tent in the United Center’s Parking lot, will mark the first time in 4 years that Cirque has come to Chicago. Based on the idea of a nineteenth century curio cabinet (also known […]
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Tiny Performers To Entertain in Chicago Parks ============================== SUMMARY: WHAT: Acme Miniature Flea Circus in the Chicago Park District WHERE: July 16 6:30 pm Paschen Park (1932 W. Lunt Street) WHERE: July 18 2:00 pm Pulaski Park (1419 W. Blackhawk Street) COST: FREE! (seating limited, please arrive early) MORE INFO: http://www.palaceofwonders.com MORE INFO: http://www.trainedfleas.com PUBLICITY PHOTOS: Press Images of the […]
Read moreMy son and I went to go see the Lookingglass production of Moby Dick. Â It’s an adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic whale of a novel. Â The show runs through August 28 at their downtown Chicago location. The show is beautifully done and realized. Â This is the second Lookingglass show we’ve seen, and they do an amazing job of integrating circus […]
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