Press
"Elephant Deal never fails to command our
attention. Fournier's vaudeville/Weill score grounds us
at the intersection of truth and fiction, engagement and
entertainment. And the ensemble's live-wire connection to
its audience, rendering the perforance both polished and
infinitely malleable, only enhances the show's rough-and-tumble,
invigorating interrogation of identity."
Kris Vire, Time Out Chicago
>full article (PDF)
"an incredibly smart piece of work... under
the direction of Leslie Buxbaum Danzig, that players...
achieved not only a new level of physical subtletly and
precision but emotional authenticity."
Tony Adler, Chicago Reader
>full article (PDF)
"At the heart of what [500 Clown] the non-profit
company does is to get the audience to be an active player
in a spontaneous moment."
Margo O'Hara, Grapers
Block
>full
article (PDF)
"500 Clown's 'The Elephant Deal' is a wonky,
Brecht-inspired cabaret... a lovely, death-defying mess...
Bring someone who doesn't like theater and whatch them change
their mind."
Lisa Buscani, New City
Stage
>full
article (PDF)
>additional
press
Description
500 Clown
uses circus arts, improvisation, and action-based performance
to produce theater that catapults the performers into extreme
physical and emotioinal risk. Performances shift the audience
from passive to active observers, creating a charged environment
celebrating the unpredictable power of the moment.
>more
info
500
Clown Biography
500 Clown Macbeth premiered at Charybdis,
a gutted bowling alley on Chicago's Northwest side in the
fall of 2000. Recognizing that they had an underground sensation
on their hands as well as one of those collaborations you
wait for all your life, creators Adrian Danzig, Leslie Danzig,
Paul Kalina and Dan Reilly decided to journey on, adding
Molly Brennan to the mix. Alternating between performing
and rehearsing, 500 Clown works on its shows over years
with broad and fine-tuned strokes. The clowns, director
and designer actively incorporate feedback from audiences,
valuing actual rather than intended communication with audiences.
>to
individual artist biographies
Repertory
500 Clown Macbeth (60 min. no intermission)
500 Clown's
Macbeth is an unpredictable
and hilarious deconstruction of Shakespeare's classic. Three
clowns descend upon a stage to perform the Scottish play,
and infected by ambition, they compete for the title role.
Ripping through the fourth wall, the clowns generate a charged
environment in which the audience is left to wonder what was
planned and what was created for the first time before their
very eyes.
500 Clown Frankenstein (60 min. no
intermission)
Three clowns embark on a madcap
journey to construct Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory. Stymied
by elaborate and exaggerated period costumes, the clowns are
propelled into acrobatic feats in an extended battle with
an unruly table. Comic mayhem takes a sharp turn to a devastating
climax when one clown is forced to play the role of the creature
and suffer abuse and abandonment. Clown make monster.
500 Clown Christmas (60 min. no intermission)
Diving into the dark and light
sides of the all-consuming consumer-driven yet still surprisingly
touching Christmas season, three clowns and a three-piece
band throw a celebration to make Dicken's Fezziwig proud,
complete with a holiday toast, gift-giving, and original live
music written by the incisive John Fournier.
Educational Offerings
500 Clown teaches workshops in Risk, Clown, Physical Comedy,
Improvisation, Adaptation, and Devising Performance. 500 Clown
has taught at advanced theater programs, conservatories, universities,
high schools and grammar schools throughout the U.S. 500 Clown
will gladly design workshops for the specific interests and
backgrounds of participants.
>more info
Downloads
and Links
500
Clown
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