VAUDE_VISUALS

For more information on the Festival go here!

As he walks into the sunset and begins a new life Barry Lubin will be missed by many Big Apple Circus spectators!

I was fortunate enough to have captured some wonderful moments of Barry in the last several years.

Here they are!

Dancing Ringside with GRANDMA

Barry Lubin doing makeup for GRANDMA at the Big Apple Circus backstage

Still taken from a book project about GRANDMA in New York City

GRANDMA says “Always throw away your coffee cup tops”.

GRANDMA performing in the “Dream Big” Edition of Big Apple Circus 12/2011

I am currently editing an interview I did with Barry in 2009 about his work in the Big Apple Circus and clown.

Stay Tuned for the screening here at Vaudevisuals.

Thank You Barry for all the laughs, fun and performances!

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Hilary Chaplain in her one woman show A LIFE IN HER DAY.

Hilary Chaplain is a professional ‘funny woman’. Her show A LIFE IN THE DAY is an example of a well rehearsed,

clever, timed and executed with a wonderful sense of improv and contact with the audience.

Hilary with a mouth full of delicious marshmallows.

I was present at the last performance on Sunday Dec. 11th. She had run the show since Dec.8th and this was the last performance!

The afternoon show was attended well and the audience was there with her all the way.

She is a professional and has been performing as a solo artist for many years.

A romance with a twist and laughs all around.

Here is a video excerpt from the show.

Catch it when it comes back to your ‘neck of the woods’.

LaMaMa Presents

Clowns Full-Tilt: A Musings on Aesthetics

The cast was warming up for the show when I arrived at La Mama.

“Clowns Ex Machina is an all-women clown troupe.  Their newest full-length show, Clowns Full-Tilt (at LaMaMa in November) has nine women clowns, including creator and artistic director, Kendall Cornell”

Modern art has many ways of being created. Creating is a personal thing.

“Parts of Clowns Full-Tilt were based on famous works of art and other 2-D representations of women.   Three guesses about the masterpiece represented here.”

Comedic visual tableaux were a wonderful ongoing theme.

“The show was filled with many surprising revelations!”

Kendall Cornell in one of her poignant funny characters.

After recruiting an audience member to participate he turned on her with martial arts.

“The clowns gave a send-up to beauty products in high style.”

The Clowns ExMachina ensemble give their version of Chanel’s famous Egoiste commercial.”

A delightful visual tableaux with smoke rings made of cotton.

Kendall breaks out from behind the scenery with a plea.

The ‘confession line’ was a very sensitive and funny sequence.

Kendall Cornell and cast take a well deserved Curtain Call.

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Artists Statement by Kendall Cornell

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The Clowns Ex Machina are:

Amanda Barron, Carla T. Bosnjak, Kendall Cornell, Julie Kinkle, Michaela Lind,

Diana Lovrin, Lucia Rich, Maria Smushkovich, and Virginia Venk

Tickets and more information here.

Hilary Chaplain relaxing in the studio.

Performing her ‘Diva’ piece.

Performing her ‘Classically Trained Musician‘ piece.

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N.Y. Theatre Magazine Wrote:

“It will leave one helpless with laughter”

Time Out New York wrote:

“Chaplain manages to go beyond mere slapstick and develops a

sympathetic character that the audience can latch on to.”

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For more information on Hilary Chaplain click here!

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tinydangerousfun

In a ‘tiny’ basement at the Sycamore Bar there is a variety showcase that is quite ‘dangerous’ and really ‘fun’.

The show’s hosts are eccentric performer/clown John Leo and multi-talented (musician,juggler,comedian etc) Andy Sapora.

To start the show off they presented a young man who has been in South America studying clown for some time.

BRYCE PANIC (from Argentina)

With audience participatory music and eccentric dancing.

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A story teller that reveals some insane details about her babysitting experiences.

EMILY KENYON SCOTT

A babysitting story gone awry.

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Look what the hosts found in the back alley.

AUDREY CRABTREE

Wondering where her daddy is?

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A music piece with several complications.

OLIVIA LEHRMAN

Nice music stand.

Playing music can sure be a twisted thing sometimes!

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A few audience members were selected to become the ’13th Act’. They called themselves F*CK YOU GUYS!

They were given a scenario about ‘Btizy’s audition for Cirque du So Lame in Gemany

With wigs and costumes found in the cellar closet they performed their ‘masterpiece’.

Upon completing their performance they were  all given parting gifts.

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A regular at the Cabaret steps up to fill in a spot in the lineup with her borrowed uke.

TANYA SOLOMON

“AND she plays the uke? She’s the Eye of the Tiger.”

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ANDY SAPORA

Has he got blue balls?

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A contest was in store for the evenings festivities and who better to start it up.

SOPHIE NIMMANNIT

Assisted by Bryce and Jonathan. Audience contestants race to identify Sophie Ninmannit.

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John Leo and Andy Sapora ‘go fly a kite’.

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One of the delightful shows from the NY Clown Theatre Festival was “Legs & All“

The show has been extended and one half of the duo performed this physical comedy piece.

SUMMER SHAPIRO

‘dangerous with her balloon.’

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The hosts of the show reminiscing.

John Leo and Andy Sapora.

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The other half of ‘Legs & All’ duet did a piece with another partner.

PETER MUSANTE AND OLIVIA LEHRMAN

“When the Doves Cry” by incredibly expressive finger people.

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NEXT MONTH ON OCT 26th COME AND HAVE SOME ‘DANGEROUS FUN’.

This interview is with the creators and performers of the show CHANNEL ONE. Ishah Janssen-Faith and Emily James are the duo aka ‘James and JF‘. I had a few minutes before their show at The Brick to ask them a few questions about how the show came about and what their original idea was to create it. The show is part of the NY Clown Theatre Festival.

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CHANNEL ONE
This wild roller coaster of a show had me laughing so hard I found myself having trouble shooting the photographs.
It was broken down into sections. Each one was a ‘TV Show’ of sorts that takes place in the future.
I cannot comment on all the sections of the show except to say it was delightful, hysterical, intelligent and original.
I am posting the best images i have of the show for your perusal.

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Opening sequence of the show was really fun.

Karla’s Kitchen was a cooking show with flare and laughter.

Dancing on the cooking show. Wouldn’t that be fun!

Emily just had so much trouble getting her show to start.

Heidi’s show and she made you know it.

Another dance number – this time on Heidi’s show.

This is the show “He’s Your Man Now’.

Thinking about the issue at hand.

He is your man now!

Next up was a ‘healer’ show with Emily.

The duo had a funny show called THE MONO SISTERS.

Never able to complete anything due to their case of mono.

Curtain call for two very funny and talents women.

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Gabriela Munoz performed the piece called Perhaps, Perhaps, Quizas.

Here is an interview I did with her at Goods Restaurant across the street from The Brick Theatre.

Interview with Gabriela Munoz of ClownMeIn from Jim Moore on Vimeo.

When the lights come up on the character in PERHAPS, PERHAPS, QUIZAS we see her dressed in a wedding gown eating away at a cake.

Alone and thinking about a relationship.

She rolls out a roll of toilet paper and has a carpet to pretend to ‘walk the aisle’.

She found the man of her dreams in a willing audience member. (Adam Gertsacov)

He is ready, willing and able but she isn’t sure..for sure!

She knew it was coming all along. The perfect dream sometimes does not come true.

Who will be the ‘lucky’ gal?

A wonderful performance by Gabriela Munoz. Hope to see her in NY again soon!

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Heather Marie Annis and Amy Lee are

MORRO AND JASP

A HILARIOUS LOOK BACK AT THE BEST PERIOD OF YOUR LIFE!

The show is about two sisters going thru the day to day turmoil of a girl’s life in puberty together.

Here are a selection of photographs from the evenings performance.

It was a delightful romp thru these sister’s lives. Funny with very poignant moments.

A charming amount of audience interaction was on hand!

What is a sister without phone issues?

A secret life is revealed!

“This device must have been invented by a man”.

This audience member found out it has many uses.

A novel use of the sticky surface.

An innocent audience member gets subjected to the ‘makeover’.

The puberty age does have it’s consequences.

An audience member (Billy Dee Bedlam) becomes her Don Juan.

After a very trying experience discovering ‘puberty’. Whew!

The curtain call involved a friend who was involved in the production. It was his birthday!

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Many people helped make this show what it is but the main person responsible was Co-Artistic Director

Byron Laviolette

Byron Laviolette is a Canadian playwright, director, dramaturge and critic who has been involved in theatre making and production for the last 20 years. Highlights include the world première of Waiting for Gilgamesh: Scenes from Iraq; Theatre du Refuse’s five star run of The Hunt For Treasure in the Toronto Fringe and its remount in N.Y.C in 2007 with English Rose Productions; Morro and Jasp do Puberty with U.N.I.T. Productions as well as the Canadian Premiere of Reefer Madness at the Hart House Theatre in 2006.

Byron is currently completing a PhD degree in Theatre Studies at York University, working on a dissertation on Canadian Theatre History and his criticism can be read frequently in EYE WEEKLY.

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This show has been the recipient of many awards including:

Canadian Comedy Awards Nominee 2010

Best of Toronto Fringe Festival 2010

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Here is an interview I did with the Co-Directors at Goods Restaurant across the street from The Brick Theatre

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Morro and Jasp Interview by Jim Moore from Jim Moore on Vimeo.

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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