VAUDE_VISUALS

The show was a collection of performers that HAD to be at least 50 years old…IF not older!

The hostesses of the show were Karen McCarty and Deborah Kaufman.

Of course the IDEA for this foolish evenings festivities came from the mind of Jan Greenfield. (over 50 too!)

I had a chance to get to the theatre early and take a portrait of the hostesses.

Deborah Kaufman and Karen McCarty Host the Cabaret

They get the show on the road by dancing a number together to rev up the audience spirits.

Are you ready for the show to begin?

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First to start the show is Hilary Chaplain with her delightfully demented piece  THE DIVA.

Uh Oh…What show must go on?

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GORK (Michael Getlan)  the stage hand helps clean up the roses.

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The next act to appear in the cabaret comes from the wilds of Finland.

LILI’s HAIR AND BEAUTY PARLOR

Lily Sukula-Lindblom and audience member Bryce Kasson.

Innocent audience member gets her ‘makeover’ and responds!

The Final Picture for Hair and Beauty Parlor

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The ‘oldest mime in the world’ is Richmond Shepard.  He was there and performed a few comic mime pieces.

Comical stories with nice funny mimetic touches.

Richmond was an inspiration for many mime performers to follow.

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The show was not without disturbances. An act titled ‘Clifton’s Senior Moment’ turned out to be an impostor.

John Leo tried to get in on the show’s action but got pulled off soon.

Out you go impostor. Stay out of here!

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THE HOLE

Next up was the piece featuring Nancy Smithner(c), Therese Schorn (r) and Bernie Kramer(l).

It was a strange piece to say the least!

The young girl is being scolded by the grandmother for misbehaving.

After climbing down a ladder into ‘the hole’ they put on mask and play. They also pull out their tails.(?)

After playing they climb out of ‘the hole’ and back to the drawing room. Grandma reads them the bible.

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WILL SHAW sings ‘This Old Man’.

Very unique discussion of the lyrics during the song! lol

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JULIE GOELL performs ‘Feminity Tonight’.

Preparing a nice facial using uncommon ingredients.

A little egg on the nose is always good for the overall appearance.

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VASES with David Sharps

Not only is David an accomplished juggler and performer he also happens to be a captain of a sea vessel.

Karen and Deborah with signs.

David manipulates the small vase.

David with the very heavy and large chinese vase.

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BERNARD KRAMER performs “My Way”.

Singing Frank Sinatra’s  MY WAY as he proceeded to visually portray his ideas about his ‘way’.

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Mildred and Foo Foo

Here we had another example of a performer trying to ‘get in’ to the show even though he wasn’t qualified. (not 50+)

John Leo was remarkable in his never ending attempts to perform in the show.

(and his never ending array of wild and funny characters! Thanks for the hilarity JOHN)

The gig is over. They found out who you really are John Leo!

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THE AMAZING ZAKAHHR

featuring Michael Christensen

Michael has had a long revered career in the NY circus scene. Having performed in Europe with the one-ring circus’  he and juggling partner Paul Binder came back to NY in 1977 and created the BIG APPLE CIRCUS. Michael also created in 1986 the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. One of the first season’s of the BAC Michael performed his new act with his new character The Amazing Zakahhr.

Now many odd years later he shows us again his wonderfully creative and off beat mind in action.

“Carnavorium bloodius maximus, the Latin name of one of the most remarkable and vicious creatures of the animal kingdom, the Long Haired, Silverback, Soldier Mole! The Soldier Mole, capable of burrowing through solid granite, having no known predators, this mole reigns supreme in the vast arid wastelands of the middle east.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your safety please remain seated!

We now present

The Amazing Zakahrr

And his trained Soldier Mole, Githha!”

Karen and Deborah help Zakahhr get curtain away for the entrance of his trained mole.

His head to the ground to hear the rumblings of his trained mole.

Exasperated by the effort to keep the trained mole from causing havoc on stage.

His arm under the carpet means only one thing. He is performing the finale  ’grip of death’!

(he is taking a huge chance not to have his hand chewed off  by the mole Githha)

With a hand bloodied he comes out from beneath the rug ‘alive’.

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Final Curtain Call. All of the performers are ready for bed!

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On Friday September 3rd The NY Clown Theatre Festival got off to a great start with the Clown Parade. Beginning in Union Square and moving to The Brick  Theatre in Williamsburg where the festival is presented. More than 100 clowns and admirers moved through the streets of NY and into the L train station for their fun trip to Brooklyn. I have posted a good selection of photographs from that adventure.

John Towsen was present at the parade. John and his performing partner  Fred Yockers were the producers of the First NY Clown Theatre Festival back in the 1983. He was happy to see the tradition continue under the guidance of Audrey Crabtree cofounder with Eric Davis.

Audrey Crabtree muscling in to the picture.

Jeff Seal will be performing with his partner Chris Manley at the Festival

Lilli Sukula-Lindblom(l)  hangs on to Gabriela Munoz (c) and Sabine Choucair(r).

Gabriela and Sabine are perfoming at the festival in ‘Perhaps, Perhaps, Quizas.’

Jonathan Kaplan will be performing in the festival in ‘Le Fleur’.

Center in the platform is Audrey Crabtree giving advice to the passengers.

Nick Trotter as ‘Ferdinand the Magnificent’ taking a well deserved rest

Peter Musante is performing with Summer Shapiro in “Legs and All“.

Eric Davis -shooting photographs at the parade.

Butt Kapinski with a handcuffed friend looking proud.

Once the crowd arrived at The Brick Theatre it was only a matter of time until the ‘Pie Throwing Contest’ got started.

First the referee had to lay down the rules and then all hell broke lose!

If you want to see more Clown Theatre that will bring joy to your bones and laughter to your soul…

go here and buy some tickets to the shows!

FERDINAND SAYS “COME AND SEE SOME SHOWS!”

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I will be posting more photographs from each performance I shot in the upcoming weeks.

Stay tuned or subscribe in the upper right hand corner!

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All Photographs are © 2010 by Jim Moore

Mark Lonergan knows how to put together a good ‘variety show‘. He has  produced quite a few MOVE IT shows in the past plus his usual calendar of shows gives him a good ‘edge’ over the competition.

This MOVE IT show included some amazingly talented physical/variety performers.

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Starting the show off was a delightful “Oddotorium Puppet Freak Show”. Performed by J. E. Cross.

A pupppet  ’Coney Island’ type side show with the barker and the ‘main attraction.

J.E. Cross and The Cosmic Bicycle Theatre

J. E. Cross and his COSMIC BICYCLE THEATRE presented a beautiful “Puppet Freak Show”.

A very innovative puppet theatre company garnered with much attention which it surely deserves!

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The next act to perform was juggler/dancer Jen Slaw.

Combing the best movement with the grace of a beautiful juggler she made her work look effortless and charming.

Her act was simple, stunning, lyrical and and she is very talented.

Jen Slaw with Clubs

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One of producer Mark Lonergan’s favorite performers and  collaborator on some of Parallel Exit’s best shows is a charmingly gifted funny man Joel Jeske.

His stage presence is hysterical and he played the audience well with his JOEL JESKE TRIO.

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Book Kennison is one of my favorite unique comedic juggling acts.

He is a young man wit lots of talent and abilities.

Keep your eyes out for ‘Book Kennison‘. He is a rising star in the variety scene.

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Shana Solomon’s Phastasamic Physical Theatre

Performing their interpretation of Akira Kurosawa‘s film RAN

The six member company made use of corporeal talent and  unique physical discipline to interpret the essence of the film on stage without hardly any words and no scenery.

A great actor uses these skills before adding the voice.

I was very moved with the creative work that went into this piece.

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A playful duet James and JF came on stage walking cardboard dogs.

The piece was set in the future and included plenty of verbal banter and visual gags.

The comedy duet James and JF consist of  Emily James and Ishah Janssen-Faith.

Inventive, wild, sexy and off the wall funny!

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The Final performer for the evening was one of my favorite clowns. Chris Allison performing his wacky “CONEY ISLAND CHRIS“.

This act is so curious. He proclaims to have learned how to perform  ’sideshow’ feats in an online class.

What happens to him in front of the audience as he attempts to show off his new found skills can only be described as ‘hysterical’.

He was one of the finalist on “AMERICA’S GOT TALENT” and just returned from Germany where he performed in a revue of ‘Newcomers’ with all international artists.

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The evening would not be complete without a chat with the audience by Mark Lonergan.

SUPPORT THE VARIETY ARTS!

He knows how to make it happen. It is up to you…the audience to support it!

Watch out for the next MOVE IT show. They are SOLD OUT fast!

For additional information about Mark Longergan and/or Parallel Exit contact: Parallel Exit

(This is not a complete description of the show. Many of the performers did another turn.

I covered the parts I had room for!)

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS © 2010 Jim Moore

©2008 Dan Piraro

Every Sunday at 1pm and 4pm on a historical restored waterfront barge there is a show! WOW! What a show!

Ring Mistress and Artistic Director Karen E. Gersch

It is called Showboat Shazzam and every week there are new performers doing their amazing acts!

Pictured here is ballerina Lea McGowan and acrobat Rudi Macaggi.

You have a view of the Statue of Liberty and see an amazing show. Great for families and adults.

Here is a photograph and video from Will Shaw’s very funny act. He performed last weekend.

There are two more weekends to go in June. Make sure you go and see it before it ends for the year.

Upcoming acts include a trained flea circus, handbalancing act, jugglers, silk aerial act, comedy slack wire, contortion, magic and more!!

For more information and tickets go here: http://waterfrontmuseum.org/circus.htm

Today I photographed a wonderful parade. Not your normal one. This was a parade that was promoted as “The Greatest Smallest Parade”. And indeed it was! Floats made from small toys and plastic characters were mostly waiting in line to head out for the grand Parade.

The company GREAT SMALL WORKS produce an Annual International  TOY THEATRE FESTIVAL that happens at St. Ann’s each and every year. This is their 9th year! They have a Museum and start the festivities with a Greatest Smallest Parade.

One of the Smallest Floats!

The floats were varied. But most of the were very very small. It was a fun time for the families that just happened to be in Dumbo today. There was even a float that was a ‘cloud’.

When the parade reached it’s destination St. Ann’s Warehouse it just so happened that a charming japanese couple were getting married. So they joined in and made the parade ever more festive. They even had a brass band to accompany them for their fun.

A marriage ceremony that landed right in the middle of the parade.

Once all the floats were inside St. Ann’s they are on display for everyone to see. I liked this one alot.

A charming heartfelt float by Jane Gish. She also did one of a boat.

"I planted my feelings" float...

Go to the website (HERE) to see what shows are coming to St. Ann’s. They start this week and promise to bring a smile to your face.

And the band plays on!

Sometimes a show comes along that is so different that anything you have seen in a long time. Funny, original, intelligent, and physical comedy at it’s best. That show is titled “666“.It comes to NY from the Madrid based  group Yllana.

MAKE SURE YOU SEE THIS SHOW!

It may be that another show of this calibre will not hit NY for sometime. One of NY’s most ingenious performers ZERO BOY is currently appearing in this show.

It is an amazing roller coaster of laughter from sight gags and physical comedy par excellence!

I loved it! See it!

Raul Cano looks at his magazine with wild eyes!

Zero Boy, Lance Windish, Jeff LaGreca waiting to 'fry' the convict.

Tonight we saw the Golden Nose Awards Ceremony. IT was a festive evening with Golden Noses going to Eric Davis for “Clown of the Year’. The “Clown Organization of the Year” Golden Nose Award went to Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. Michael Christensen accepted the award. The Audience Choice award for Best Clown Act went to “Otto and Lewis” and the award was accepted by Brian Foley. His partner Matthew Duncan was in St. Louis getting married. The Audience Choice Best Clown Character went to Brett Alters for his – Squeeks the Clown.

Host and Producer Christopher Lueck leaves the stage a proud man!

Christopher Lueck (and Amanda Pekoe) have  produced the show for the past 4 years and has presented over 400 clown acts during that time. The entire clown community would come out for these shows which happened the 3rd Monday of every month. Christopher announced during the March show that he was going to not produce the show any more and the Golden Nose Awards Ceremony would be his last ‘hurrah’. It was a splendid evening with great performers and organizations getting their just awards. It will be missed!

Great Job Chris. We will Miss You!

Theatre Group Dzieci (djyeh-chee) an international experimental theatre ensemble (founded in NYC, 1997) dedicated to a search for the “sacred” through the medium of theatre.

It is a serious undertaking!

Using techniques garnered from his theatre masters Jerzy Grotowski, Eugenio Barba, ritual forms derived from Native American and Eastern spiritual disciplines, and an ethic based securely in his work in Humanistic Psychology,

Dzieci aims to create a theatre that is as equally engaged with personal transformation as it is with public presentation.Towards this aim, the ensemble balances its work on performance with work of service, through creative and therapeutic interaction in hospitals and a variety of institutional settings. Dzieci believes helping others generates a profound healing effect that not only serves the patient but also strengthens the ensemble’s work.

The word ‘Dzieci’ is the Polish word for Children.

Matt performed some wonderful solo pieces that I was fortunate enough to photograph. Here are few more images from his evening at The New York Downtown Clown Revue.

And from his hysterical piece

“Tango de la Coca Cola Classico”

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Ladies and Gentleman.

May I introduce you to Matt Mitler

The Clown Un_Masked

To get more information on Matt’s work with his company and his solo work you can go to the following web sites.

http://dziecitheatre.org/dzfiles/mission.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Mitler

All Photographs (Except Dzieci Group) © 2010 Jim R Moore

Leo Bassi’s New Neronian is an aggressive thesis on violence and control. At one point Bassi locked all the theater doors and threatened to burn down the theater. A very nervous audience played along with him – some to a larger degree than others. Bassi poured what smelled and looked like gasoline over the stage floor and about the set, than lit a flaming torch. He moved anxiously and intensely over the stage encouraging the audience to believe they were in imminent danger. He came out to the audience, threatened to burn one of the audience members, selected one and then backed off with an apology.

He apologized, not for intimidating the audience member, but for not burning his shirt, for the poor audience member would not – much later in his life – be able to pick up the burned shirt and show it to his grandson telling him about the time he had gone to a live performance and this crazy man Leo Bassi from Italy burned a hole in his shirt. It would be a lost moment for the audience member with his grandson. Maybe the audience member would have been part of a club of people from all over the world who had had their shirts burned by Bassi. In his golden years he would be elected president of the club. Bassi’s failure to burn his shirt took away this opportunity of prestige in old age. And so the evening went, in fiery forward lurching rhythm with Bassi challenging the audience’s perspective of truth, tolerance and totalitarianism[i]. Most in the audience were totally mesmerized by the Neo Fascist [Neo-Conservative] Nero look-alike character that demanded faith and fear and realized that Bassi was angry and fearful of the worldwide trend toward strong-arm governments. Others hated the show; some thinking Bassi was worshiping the Nero character for he did indeed walk the finest line between. But everyone loved watching Leo, shoulder in a cast, lie on his back, struggle to get a piano onto his feet and then juggle it for the feat that had placed him in the Guinness World Book of Records.

Michael Pedretti, Delighting the Senses, (Yardley,PA: Busting Boundaries, 2009)

Photograph of Leo Bassi © 2009 Jim R Moore – Leo Bassi Official Site. http://www.leobassi.com