VAUDE_VISUALS

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.

Had fun at the Big Apple Circus and found Joel Jeske after the show chatting with BAC’s favorite grandma!

This past month there was a wonderful show which actually happens every month. The New York Downtown Clown Revue. When most people think about ‘clowns’ they have this image pop into their head.

Bozo the Clown

The American public has had almost no exposure to the true ‘european’ style clown. This Bozo image has been popularized by the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Circus and other American circus shows traveling the country for almost 100 years. Most graduates from the Ringling Brothers Clown College (no longer in existence) are required to wear a certain type of clown costume if they make it to the ranks of the Ringling Bros.& Barnum and Bailey Circus. The impression one gets is that this is either ‘family’ or ‘child’ entertainment. Unlike Europe where they have beautiful theatres devoted to serious ‘clown theatre’ where adults attend without the little ones in tow.  There is a tradition of ‘types’ of clown which goes as far back as the greeks. Author/historian/professor John Towsen could tell you more about ‘history’ of clowns in his wonderful blog and his book CLOWNS. In this interview with the trio Le Fromage Royal all three participants talk about their influences on this ‘new’ old skit.

Le Fromage Royal - ©2010 Jim Moore / All Rights Reserved

Joel Jeske, Christopher Lueck and Michael Richter of “Le Fromage Royal” .

Interview with the cast of Le Fromage Royal at the Krane Theatre, NYC

The evening wasn’t by any means just the Fromage Royal dudes.

Check out the NY Downtown Clown Revue BLOG to see.

I was delighted to be able to video tape Jango Edwards’ clown workshop at The Brick Theatre in Williamsburg. It was held Nov. 9th thru the 11th 2009 in association with Jef Johnson’s CLOWN LAB.  I have edited a short excerpt of the workshop and posted it here.  Jango hasn’t been in the US for over 27 years. He was delighted to teach both in New York and Baltimore. He has started the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona and will be having month long workshops there starting in March 2010. Many professional clowns and movement teachers will be doing workshops and performances. Jango started the FESTIVAL OF FOOLS in Amsterdam in 1975. Now Jango’s focus is on the NCI and teaching, performing worldwide. I will be working on the Jango Interview and post it here later next week.

Francis and Lotte Brunn joined Ringling Bros. show in 1948 when they first came to this country.  They worked the Ringling show for 2 seasons and then went to the Pollack Bros. Circus. Lotte met her future husband at the Pollack Bros. Circus in 1951 and then left Francis with the circus and went off to get married and start their own careers. Here is a picture of Lotte with Ringling clown Emmett Kelly. (Thanks to Michael Chirrick for this!)

Emmett Kelly and Lotte Brunn at Ringling circa 1949. (Photographer Unknown)

In this interview Michael Bongar explains his views on clown, theatre and his creation of the BongarBiz.com empire.

Christopher Lueck of the New York Downtown Clown Revue interviews Michael in the dressing room of the Kraine Theatre.

This monthly show is on the third Monday of every month and presents a wide variety of eccentric and comedic acts that all are derivative from clown. Michael has had years of performing experience and speaks of the art with knowledge and passion.

A couple for the New World Order

This is a variety show for all of you out there that need to see something NEW! The New York Downtown Clown Revue is presented every third Monday of the month at The Kraine Theater on East 4th St. in NYC’s fashionable Lower East Side.  For more information go to The New York Downtown Clown Revue site.