Other
Disciplines
Mump and Smoot - Two of the most original clowns in Canada.
Avner the Eccentric - A wonderful clown and performer.
Red Skelton The closest I've ever come to having a hero. He was funny, inspiring, and eloquent. When I first went to study mime in Paris I performed on the street to make money. I had only been performing for about a year and was scared stiff. As a confidence builder I performed old Red Skelton pantomimes. I have always aspired to have his same sense of joy in my clown character, "Etienne".
Sid Caesar Along with Red Skelton, Caesar is one of the greats.
Oliver Hosp - "Already as a child I was fascinated by the quiet magic of Pan Tau; the idea of the phantastic behind the facade of the ordinary. I want to open a door for my audience to a crazy world, a world upside down, absurd, bizarre, full of colourful comicality ."
Clown Royo- This is a site I found while surfing. It is in French with no description that I could paste in.
Les Nouveaux Nez -This site is in French.
Les Huiles Essentielles "-Les Huiles Essentielles sont une association loi 1901 crée en avril 1998 dont les buts sont :
Le Théâtre du Chapeau - "Le Theatre du Chapeau" is a performing group, based in France. Specializing in new clowns and street performances. We are in touch with today's trend of the new clown street arts."
Barto and Miss Take - These are two wonderful performers that I have seen perform several times. We have performed at the same festivals, Juste Pour Rire, Halifax International Street Performers Festival and, Charlottetown Festival of Lights. They are included in both the clown and physical theatre sections.
Leo Bassi - I first saw Leo Bassi only recently in John Turturro's wonderful film called, "Illuminata" which also stars Bill Irwin. His performance is terrific with a great love scene between him and Beverly D'Angelo. I just stumbled across his web site which unfortunately for all of us has not been updated recently. Enjoy.
Derevo - I first saw Derevo in London, England performing at the International Mime Festival. The production was called "Once" which was a wonderful, magnificent show. I found their web site which, like the company, is interesting and worth the visit.
Circus Web - Excellent site with links to many circuses.
Circus Smirkus - "Kids, join Circus Smirkus for a one- or two-week overnight camp with real circus pros. Learn the Science of Falling Down on purpose. Practice the Ancient Art of Pie Throwing. Go tumbling, ride unicycles, walk on a wire. You’re even encouraged to do tricks upside down and throw things around (that is, fly from a trapeze and learn to juggle)!"
Cirque du Soleil - I first saw Cirque in 1985 at Harbourfront in Toronto when they first began. I have seen several of their shows and they remain in a brilliant category all their own.
The Great Western Bricks and Earth Circus - ".is dedicated to the creation of a new performance form combining theatre, circus arts, and community involvement, entitled "Thircus". Thircus is thought provoking performance entertainment with heart! Thircus uses visual stimuli, music and comedy to carry a message of respect and value for life and creative expression."
Leo Bassi - I first saw Leo Bassi only recently in John Turturro's wonderful film called, "Illuminata" which also stars Bill Irwin. His performance is terrific with a great love scene between him and Beverly D'Angelo. I just stumbled across his web site which unfortunately for all of us has not been updated recently. Enjoy.
Radical Sheep - Home of the producers of "The Big Comfy Couch" and more. A fabulous puppet production company.
Big Nazo I saw Big Nazo while I was performing at the Montreal Just for Laughs Festival. They are a fabulous mask and full body puppet company that everyone needs to see at least once.
Maritime Marionettes "..has performed over 2000 shows for audiences across Canada since 1986. Traditional and original stories come to life with exquisitely made and skillfully manipulated wooden marionettes..."
Shakespeare
Marionettes - An
interesting site worth visiting.
Bali and Beyond "Bali & Beyond is a performing arts company inspired by the cultures of Indonesia. The Los Angeles based ensemble tours nationwide, featuring a variety of music, theater, and educational presentations."
Jim Henson "When I was young, my ambition ws to be one of the people who made a difference in this word. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here" -- Jim Henson
Puppeteers of America National Puppet Association of the U.S.
Horse+Bamboo Theatre - "Horse + Bamboo Theatre Company is based in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. We use masks, puppetry, and live music to create a distinctive, and intelligent, visual theatre. Founded by Bob Frith in 1978, Horse + Bamboo has its roots in the most ancient and universal of performing traditions - the magic folk theatre of puppetry, masks, transformations, and playful objects."
DNA - "Formed in 1994, Dynamic New Animation (DNA) is a theatre company with a rich history of touring productions for children and adults. Specialising in combining puppetry and visual theatre techniques with live performance, DNA offers a range of workshops and training that complements touring shows for arts centres, youth groups, schools and festivals."
Heart of the Beast -"Through performance, ceremony and teaching, In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre explores and celebrates the human experience and the wonders of the world's natural and cultural richness."
Living Daylights - This is a neat company I found while surfing. The following quote is from his stilt guy description. "A medieval Stiltwalker with a difference. Sir Lupin is a Knight in Armour who has lost his horse and so must be carried on the heads of his unfaithful peasants, Bleare and Bloutte. Standing nine feet high and wearing real metal armour- Sir Lupin astounds and delights the public in his quest for Shergar, while his peasants quietly mutter and occasionally revolt."
MARÍA PARRATO’S PUPPETS - This link not working as of July 20/05. "Looking back it seems that each member of the company remembers that the impulse, the illusion to enter into the magic world of puppets stemmed from watching the shows of the travelling puppeteers. These wandering artists who traveled from one village to the next, coinciding with the local public holidays, awoke in their infant public a desire to create for themselves their very own stories and characters, their own magic world. That is how, in the village of Cabezuela in Segovia, the group initially called Kiriki was created."
wayang kulit
"Wayang is a Javanese word
meaning "shadow" or "ghost" and is a theatrical performance of living actors (wayang
orang), three dimensional puppets (wayang golek) or shadow images projected
before a backlit screen (wayang kulit). The wayang kulit use two-dimensional
puppets chiseled by hand of buffalo or goat parchment; like paper dolls, but
with arms that swivel. A wayang kulit puppet is a stylized exaggeration of a
human shape."
Masks.org This link temporarily not working as of July 20/05. "...is an internet website serving the entire global community. We are dedicated to preserving our cultural heritages through archiving images of masks and masquerade. masks.org works worldwide with museums, libraries, educational institutions, communities, and individual artists..."
Noh Masks Interesting site about Japanese Noh masks.
THE MASK STUDIO "The Mask Studio features original theater masks and fine art masks, hand-made by artist Beckie Kravetz."
Torbjorn Alstrom Some beautiful masks including Commedia Dell' Arte from a Swedish mask maker. He has trained with Donato Sartori in Italy and Ida Bagus Anom in Bali.
Bill Blaikie Workshop organiser Coordinator BA Communication Theatre & Media. Charles Sturt University, Australia. This is an excellent site with step by step photo and video coverage. A must see for all teachers looking for mask making info!
Mask Arts Company "Stanley Allan Sherman specializes in designing, creating and crafting leather theatre masks and custom fitted clown noses for Theater, Opera, Dance, Teaching, Clowns and Wrestling."
Peter Jarvis - This is the web site of Peter Jarvis, one of the most innovative performers in Canada. He is also a talented mask maker who also teaches.
NAKUPELLE -...street theater is visual, skillful and lyrical. Add the clown's red nose and it suddenly becomes subversive, sub-lunatic, sublime. NAKUPELLE street theater has been acclaimed for creating worlds where even the most serious audience loosens up, laughing like children or staring in wonder."
Horse+Bamboo Theatre - "Horse + Bamboo Theatre Company is based in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. We use masks, puppetry, and live music to create a distinctive, and intelligent, visual theatre. Founded by Bob Frith in 1978, Horse + Bamboo has its roots in the most ancient and universal of performing traditions - the magic folk theatre of puppetry, masks, transformations, and playful objects."
Faustwork Mask Theater - "... Faustwork Mask Theater creates exquisite masks and compelling performances, inspiring audiences of all ages at performing arts centers, corporate events, schools and festivals throughout North America. Since 1983, Faustwork Mask Theater has traveled to 48 states in the US, throughout Canada, to Australia, Hong Kong, Italy and Germany."
Gateway Performance Productions - "...creates and produces performing arts productions for touring to theatres, festivals, museums, libraries, colleges, universities, schools and other community sites. The company specializes in mask theatre and mime and offers cultural arts programs such as The Aztec Dances of Mexico, The Gateway (Irish) Mummers and The Flamenco Dance of Spain as well as related workshops, classes, residencies and exhibits."
Masque Theatre Company - "Internationally known mask / movement company, MASQUE, performs original theatre pieces with special emphasis on the mask and puppet. The theatre company MASQUE, has performed on four continents for over a million people since 1980"
In The Heart Of The Beast - "In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (HOBT) uses the ancient tradition of puppet and mask theatre to explore issues, events and values of contemporary society. The theatre, which is internationally recognized for its artistry, is strongly grounded in the concerns of its home neighborhood, and in regional and global issues."
Arm Of The Sea Theater - "Arm-of-the-Sea is a performing ensemble that creates contemporary works of mask and puppet theater. For twenty years we’ve been developing a style of magical realism that swings freely between mythic realms and the concerns of daily existence. Our shows are large-scale live arts events, incorporating ancient, low-tech theatrical devices for shared enchantment and visual storytelling. They are expansive and multi-layered, illuminating the links between human communities and the life-support processes of this living planet. "
Dell' Arte "...is a unique organization devoted to the art of the actor/creator and to the development of "Theatre of Place." Since its incorporation as a non-profit organization in 1971, Dell'Arte has developed and sustained an internationally acclaimed touring ensemble, The Dell'Arte Company, a full-time professional training program, The Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre..."
Commedia Club This is a great club for anyone looking for information on Commedia Dell'arte or actors who love to perform it.
Antonio
Fava - "...is an
actor, theatre director, Maestro of the Commedia dell'Arte and of Comedy. He
directs the International School of the Comic Actor in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
He designs and makes leather masks for use in his School and Performances.
He teaches Commedia dell'Arte in school, universities and drama academies
throughout the world. His masks are on show in important museums and
cultural institutions. He is an international director. He is also
author of the book entitled La Maschera Comica nella Commedia dell'Arte,
published by Andromeda.
Kompani Komedi -This is a Swedish troupe that has produced several Commedia shows.
Task Maskers - "Task Maskers shares joy with others through mask theater. By creating, educating, and performing in mask, we seek to reach people and evolve them through laughter and pathos"
Theatret Thalia -"...is a professional, international touring theatre based in Århus, DK, which was formed in 1993 by actors who met at the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre in California, and who have toured together since 1991, both in and out of Denmark. Since their first performance with masks in 1995, they have quickly established themselves as Denmark’s leading professional mask performance troupe."
Fora Do Serio - This is an interesting site in Portuguese from Brazil worth visiting. The English translation does not seem to work. Note: When you enter the site will take up the entire screen and you need to press, alt-F4 to return to normal.
Meta-Physical Theatre - "Founded in 1987 by David Langlois, Meta-Physical Theatre devotes itself to creating, performing and touring physical theatre productions."
more to come ...
