Circus Photo Shoot 2013

This year Wrens friend (and now mine too!) David Clumpner, offered to take photos of us for fun. Wren, a self-proclaimed loather of such things (thought one might question and/or be surprised by his ongoing selfies for his blog), and a super thoughtful fellow, suggested David take circus photos of me for my website! What a great idea, and fun afternoon it was!

Juggling is serious business.

Balls.

 I was tickled by the whole process... and, obviously, this peacock feather.

We did manage to wrangle wren into a few shots... like these!

Thanks Dave Clumpner for your awesome skills, and Wren for gettin' me in on this.

Superhero Boy Band

A few weeks back the Super Hero Boy Band performed at the Cirque Lab in Bellingham. What a great show! "Seeds of Change is a jam-packed physical musical comedy ranging from boy band to rap to Tchaikovsky featuring spell-binding puppetry, high-energy dance, stop motion animation, special effects, and tonnes of delight." They encourage super-hero costumes, which makes for extra fun. I volunteered at the door and wanded down the men as part of the show. I just love these guys. Here's their great poster.

The three fellas all took David MacMurray Smith's Baby Clown class (Aaron Malkin and Islando Bocock - the two blondies in the poster - and I were in the same class) and also his Deep Clown (which I haven't taken YET). Alaistair Knowles and Aaron have a show coming up called James and Jamsie...

A show that come from a sketch they created out of the Poupon Parade (a show I was also in with them, Kat Single-Dain, Chris Stache, and Lisa Voth). It's coming up May 3rd and 4th in Vancouver. I should be awesome!

Teatro ZinZanni

I recently had the privilege to perform in Teatro ZinZanni's late night show. "An evening of scintillating entertainment featuring an all-lady cast (Sarah Sparrow, Lily Verlaine, Ben Delacreme (Drag Queen who had me laughing my mascara off!), Inga Ingenue, The Seattle Irish Dance Company, and Dos Fallopia - Lisa Koch and Peggy Platt, the outrageous comedy duo who produce an evening of wickedly funny commentary from a woman's point of view." I performed The Chair Dance. Here are a few fun pics.

The fun poster!

 The act (photos by John Cornicello)!

Sarah Sparrow and I backstage!

The entire evening was a blast. The organizer Tim Gonzalez-Wiler and his crew were so lovely and wonderful. I sure hope to play there again!

Spring Colophon Ad

I've been really enjoying creating ads for the Colophon. This ad for spring was pretty fun to put together. It's surprisingly rare that I get to make a moustache out of foamed milk, as I am not a coffee latte drinker. Nonetheless I found myself whipping up a cup from a friends espresso machine, and being quite impressed by the foams staying power.Wren, a bit more disgusted than impressed, did a fine job as photographer.

Dave (Colophon Bossman) suggested the idea of advertising for coffee and a muffin. I was stoked to come up with the "Hot Milk" title as a play on Got Milk. So come on into the Colophon for a latte and a muffin, and help support a wonderful, and also supportive, local business.

Fun with Moustaches!

One of my favorite things to receive is a message asking me to help someone with costuming... particularly facial costuming... most particularly, moustache costuming. Recently, my friend Katie asked if I could help her with a moustache fitting. Here were our nose-neighboring options (the staches I currently had in my stache).

This one here is typically know as the Fu Manchu moustache. A full, straight moustache that grows downward past the lips and on either side of the chin; and often, the tapered, pointed ends of the moustache hang past the jawline. The Fu Manchu is similar to the common horseshoe ("biker") moustache; the difference between the two types of moustache is that the Fu Manchu is grown only from the upper lip, whilst the sides remain clean shaven for the "Handlebar Mustache"

Both of these could be considered a Walrus moustache, which is characterized by whiskers that are thick, bushy, and droop over the mouth. The style resembles the whiskers of a walrus. Two notables are Mark Twain and Friedrich Nietzsche. Or a Chevron Moustache which is thick and wide, usually covering the top of the upper lip. Or the Hungairan Moustache.

A Handlebar Moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy and upwardly curved extremities. It is named for its resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a Spaghetti Moustache, because of its stereotypical association with Italian men. The Handlebar Club humorously describes the style as "a hirsute appendage of the upper lip and with graspable extremities". This could also be considered an English moustache. A style that is narrow, beginning at the middle of the upper lip the whiskers are very long and pulled to the side, slightly curled; the ends are pointed slightly upward; areas past the corner of the mouth must be shaved.

Both these could be considered a Natural, Handlebar, English, or Imperial.

The final was the large version of the "Handlebar/English/Natural/Imperial" Moustache. I had no idea how complicated recognizing and categorizing Moustache styles is! This was sure fun to research! And thanks to Katie for the opportunity for fun with Moustaches!

Deadman Wonderland Circus

This show was a collaboration featuring members of the Bellingham Circus Guild, the Lookout Arts Quarry , and the New Eccentrics. The inspiration for the theme of the show are the monsters and ghosts of Japanese Folklore - bakemono. It also includes varriations of different Japanexe performance arts including Butoh, Dogugaeshi, Bunraku, and Kamishibai.

Here is the ring act with Chipps, Kai, River and Jules.

 Artwork (I think) by Stefanie Lynn Mason.

 Chipps n' Jason during rehearsal.

 Chipps as Circus Bear...this and all costumes from the show were also made by Stefanie. Check out her blog, Un Petit Squab.

 Scene from the show with the two floating heads.

 Kai puppet.

 Stephanie has been training as an acrobat/contortionist. This is her and her partner Jason rehearsing for the show.

The show was quite delightful. It included shadow and hand-held puppetry, illusion, comedy, acrobatics, juggling, dance, costuming, and more. It was unique, creative and fun. I sure hope it happens again. =)