Press
"...scattershot, ribald and exhilarating...."
Andy Webster, The New
York Times
full article (PDF)
"500 Clown Frankenstein is evidence of the way
comedy results from pain and aggression-the situation escalates
to outrageou lengths, driving audience laughter to the point
of tears; then the piece brilliantly turns on a dime. Then,
the ugliness of the situation shows its real face and we
realize that we too have taken pleasure at someone's intense
suffering-we are implicated."
Jason Jacobs, nytheatre.com
full article (PDF)
"There's pathos behind the pratfalls and real drama
underscores the well-conceived, broadly comic and carefully
choreographed productions. Together, it makes for smart,
rollicking, highly-entertaining theater that distills Shakespeare's
tragedy and Shelley's gothic novel down to their essentials."
Barbara Vitello, The
Daily Herald
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..
links
to individual artist biographies
Repertory
full repertory info
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.
offerings
Downloads
and Links
Website: 500
Clown
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