VAUDE_VISUALS

Here are a few visual highlights from this past weekends performance of THE ROTTEN PLANTAINS.
A collection of wild and wonderfully funny clowns that put together an evening of insanity and delightfully funny chaos.
Pictured below are the cast members that come from far and near!

Patrick de Valette - Paris/ Claudio Carneiro – San Paulo  / Julie Ferrier - Paris / Fred Blin – Paris

(Wayne Wilson and Daniel Passer – Not pictured – Will be in the next weeks shows!)

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Guest Artist this past weekend – Arnaud Maillard  &  Amy Gordon – Brooklyn NY

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Patrick de Valette and Fred Blin start the show off.

Patrick de Valette and Fred Blin acting out a fantasy.

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Julie Ferrier

Julie’s character is so wrapped up in her discussion of ‘art’.

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Claudio Carneiro

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Patrick de Valette

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Julie Ferrier

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Amy Gordon – GUEST ARTIST

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Arnaud Maillard – GUEST ARTIST

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Julie Ferrier roller skates herself atop of an innocent audience member in a wonderful routine.

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The Rotten Plantain’s cast take a bow!

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The show was an amazing, hysterical, collage of clowns on their day off!
IT will be running again at 45 Bleecker St Theatre starting on August 26th for 4 Performances ONLY!

Thur Aug 26th at 10:30

Fri Aug 27th at 10:30

Sat Aug 28th at 10:30

Sun Aug 29th at 7pm

Get your tickets HERE.

CIRCUS is a new six-hour series that takes you on an unforgettable trip with the legendary Big Apple Circus. From the big top to the “back lot,” explore a distinctive world with its own rules, lingo and no fixed address. Follow the diverse characters who make up the Big Apple family and find out what it really means to live life in the ring. Premieres in November, 2010. (PBS Press Release)

I mention this because my first posting of my new series CLOWN  UN_MASK was Glen Heroy.

http://vaudevisuals.com/2010/02/the-clown-un_masked-glen-heroy/

He has a terrific place in the documentary showing off all his delightful talent.

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

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

The February NY Downtown Clown Revue was GREAT! Lots of variety and enormous talent on stage.

We had Dave McKay from Toronto, Summer Shapiro from San Francisco and Peter Musante from the Blue Man Group. We had Claire Wedemeyer from Chicago and Rob Lok with his two estranged partners Christina Gelsome from Acrobuffos and Erin Schmahl.

If you click on the picture of the MC Christopher Lueck you can see all the photographs from the show.

Click on image for Gallery Launch!

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS © 2010 Jim Moore / ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

One of the most interesting performers that I have photographed recently is Glen Heroy. He is a cameleon! In one show he is Dame Edna and in another show he is Elton John.(along with many others.) He plays the spoons like nobody I know and is an amazingly funny clown. I ask Glen to work with me on a new project I am doing. THE CLOWN UNMASK. A photographic study of the eccentric clown performer as himself and in character.

I am posting 2 shots of him in character personas. I did a photograph of Glen in a nice quiet apt. with beautiful window light.I think the visuals tell the story about a very talented and extremely versatile performer.

Glen Heroy as Dame Edna at the 2007 New York Downtown Clown GOLDEN NOSE AWARDS

Glen Heroy relaxes with a smile!

He worked with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit for many years.  And has worked in the ring with The Big Apple Circus. Along with all his character performance work currently he also works with The Maestrosities. (The Coolest Band Ever!)

It is performers like Glen that inspired me to photograph clowns and eccentric performers in the first place. I look forward to seeing him again soon  on stage and off.