Not All Clowns are Bozos II: Clown Harder

January 14-16, 2010

Theatre Off Jackson

In January 2010, the clowns came back -- funnier, sweeter, stupider. Clownier. Proving that clowns aren't just for kids. We put together another evening of theatrical clowning for grown-ups with some of the region's best. Created to delight, move and, maybe make the audience wish they'd brought a spare pair cuz these physical comedians were pee-your-pants funny.

Our second year of Not All Clowns Are Bozos brought back some favorites and many new faces! Portland clown Sarah Liane Foster returned once again, trombone in hand, this time bringing her wonderfully funny Gustav Holst tribute "Mars." Jack StockLynn also returned once again from Portland with clowning partner Smitty Amabilis. Together they used their amazing acrobatic skills in an effort to tame a lion! Linda Severt returned, having aged 40 years for "At the Home of the Retired Circus Performer," where she did her best to recreate a ukulele performance from her youth. Ear to the Ground's duo of Chickee and Boom-Boom also shared with us two more of their wonderful, classic, routines, which for lack of a better phrase must be called dance. We were joined by several new faces! Luke Sayler and Garth Brewe gave us Bentley and Richie who together make their best to perform "The SHOW!!" Xan Scott and Joy Easley brought us the dark comedic genius of "Upper Eastside Suicide"; just how many ways are there for a clown to attempt suicide! Christopher Bange joined us for a delightful smorgasbord of magic. From umbrellas to ropes to mysterious round red sponges, his trunk was bursting at the seams. Sachie Miawa joined us in an attempt to celebrate a birthday, but due to a communication barrier, we're still not sure what she wanted us to do. Finally, Jens Wazel's Frankie did his best to help us keep the show moving, by getting the sets ready for all the other acts and keeping people where they needed to be.

Review

Seattle Times review

Performer Bios

Christopher Bange (Magical Mr. Fuzzy) is a magician, clown, and actor from Seattle, WA. He received his BA in Theater from Western Washington University and studied at Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theater. He acts, creates, and produces his own plays in addition to performing magic in the greater Seattle area. Chris has created original plays such as Is This Your Duck?, The Red Nose, and Have You Seen My Dog? at the Seattle Fringe Festival. He independently produced and toured nationally and internationally The Case of the Vanishing Crown Jewel: A Ziplock Holmes Mystery, The Excursionists, The Medicine Show, and More Bange for Your Buck! Chris first became interested in magic at age 9 thanks to his aunt and has been hooked ever since. Chris has received many awards for his magic act including The NW Magic Jamboree Best Comedy Magic Award and The Peter Rolston Comedy Award. www.thebaggypants.com

Garth Brewe (The SHOW!!) is excited to appear in Not All Clowns Are Bozos. A graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, he was most recently seen playing Mr. Bingley as a guest artist in Holy Names Academy's Pride and Prejudice. Recent productions include directing the premiere of Zack Hewell's Rocket and the Clitandre in The Doctor in Spite of Himself, both at Cornish. This is Richie and Bentley's third chapter of The SHOW!

Judah Joy Easley (Upper Eastside Suicide) received her degree in Theatre and Psychology from James Madison University, graduating magna cum laude. Joy also spent a semester abroad in London where she had the honor to be one of the first people to act on the newly reconstructed Globe Theatre stage. She continued her training at Freehold Theatre, and served as a board member there in 2008. She co-founded Freehold Theatre's Ordinary Heroes Project at the Washington Corrections Center for Women and is the sponsor for the Wiccan Circle at WCCW. Favorite past roles include Sandy in Birth, Kate in The Taming of the Shrew, Pompey in Measure for Measure, Corie in Barefoot in the Park, and May in Fool for Love. In addition to acting, designing, directing, producing, and teaching, she can also be seen performing with the bellydance troupe Rakhshanda.

Sarah Liane Foster (Mars) studied physical theatre and clowning at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, at the Celebration Barn Theatre, and with Giovanni Fusetti. She creates, performs, and teaches clown and physical theatre in Portland, around the United States, and internationally. She has created six original shows with the Nomadic Theatre Co in Portland and has been an active Clowns Without Borders performer since 2005. Her most recent theatrical project is her solo clown show, The Last Show You'll Ever See, an apocalyptic piece featuring herself and a trombone. She enjoys walking on stilts, eating ice cream, and wrestling.

Cecelia Frye (Chickee & Boom-Boom) has performed locally at On the Boards, Annex Theatre, Open Circle, Consolidated Works, ACT, Eclectic Theater Company and Seattle Public Theatre, and has worked as an award-winning director/performance coach with companies locally and nationally. She trained in NY with Ted Forlow (of The Actor's Studio), at Freehold Theatre-lab Studio and at Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre. She was also a founding member of Ardeo Theatre Project and a member of Big Apple Circus Clown Care(R) at Children's Hospital in Seattle for 4 years.

Sachie Mikawa (Birthday Surprise) is a Seattle-based performer/creator. She most recently appeared in The Community Theatre production of Neil LaBute's Wrecks at Balagan Theatre. Sachie's clown piece Birthday Surprise has been shown at Spin the Bottle at Annex Theatre, Unicycle Theatre Collective's MonoLodge 3 at Theatre Off Jackson, and Freehold Theatre's Studio Series. Sachie is currently working on an original work Kawayui with Le Frenchword.

Valerie Moseley (Chickee & Boom-Boom) has been seen on many Seattle stages as an actor and musical director, and has received rave reviews for her work as a tap dancer and pianist. She has performed with local companies such as Bainbridge Performing Arts Center, The Baggy Pants, Annex, Open Circle Theatre, Greenstage, and ExitTheatre. One of her favorite roles is that of Mary Beth Baird in the final year of Owen Meany's Christmas Pageant with Book-It Repertory Theatre, where she also played the role of the piano-playing, tap-dancing 346-year old elf in Red Ranger Came Calling. California credits include the Dell'Arte Players Company and Shakespeare Santa Cruz. As Artistic Director of Ear to the Ground, she has spearheaded, directed, and performed in The Zero Project, and of course, created and performs as Boom-Boom.

Luke Sayler (The SHOW!!) is thrilled to be performing on the Theatre Off Jackson stage for the first time. Luke developed Bently the clown over two years at Cornish College of the Arts, where he received his BFA in acting and directing and playwriting. Bently and Richie'sThe SHOW!! premiered in 2007. Last year they were also seen making an admirable attempt at the roles of Romeo and Mercutio (respectively) in a clown production of Romeo and Juliet. Luke has most recently been seen in Revenge and Sorrow in Thebes at Stone Soup and Mutiny at Mahring at Do-North Theatre. Luke is from Olympia WA. HEY HI!

Alexandra Scott (Upper Eastside Suicide) recently graduated from Naropa's MFA program in Lecoq Based Actor Created Theatre at London International School of Performing Arts. At the end of the 2 year intense program in an major metropolitan city, the red nose was introduced and Xan found her calling. Clowning followed her around and humbled her in the most unusual moments in her daily life! Now back in Seattle, she is working again with Freehold and team teaching at the Women's prison. Xan is in the beginning stages of starting a theatre company to support women in leadership roles of writing, directing and producing.

Linda Severt (At the Home for Retired Circus Performers) has been performing her unique blend of music and circus arts for a long, long time. She has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, Teatro Zinzanni, has toured from Shanghai to Winnipeg, and was a member of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care(R) for 7 years. Linda is positively tickled pink to be part of the show again this year and honored to be working with such a fine and talented group of people. Giant hugs and kisses to Ear to the Ground and Theatre Off Jackson for wrangling and presenting all of us kooks.

Jack StockLynn and Smitty Amabilis (Lion Tamer) run Collective of Geniuses, a Portland based organization dedicated to supporting emerging queer, trans, womyn, and minority artists. They have been performing together as an acrobatic duo, the CoG Acrobats, for the past year. Jack performed two pieces that he and Smitty created in last year's Not All Clowns Are Bozos and they are very happy to be returning -- this time as a duo! Jack holds a BFA in theatre from Cornish and now performs and teaches aerial dance. They both train with the incredible Stefan Furst. Jack introduced Smitty to the world of the Personal Clown and Circus Arts such as acrobatics, while Smitty gave Jack a grounding sense of moment and perspective. They live in Portland with their aspiring circus dog, Abbi, and like to eat vegetables. Jack and Smitty will produce a queer Vaudeville, Queers(heart)Geeks, this spring in Portland. www.collectiveofgeniuses.org

Jens Wazel (Frankie on the Job) has been performing physical theatre around Seattle for over 10 years. He studied movement and clown at Freehold, with UMO Ensemble, and with Philippe Gaulier, among others. Jens has most recently been seen in Ooo La La and Lullaby Moon with Lucia Neare's Theatrical Wonders and with Salt Horse in Man On The Beach at On the Boards' 2009 Northwest New Works Festival (an evening-length version will premiere in February.) Jens teaches free-form improvised Soul Motion dance classes. www.soulmotionseattle.com

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