Brick Theater Presents New York Clown Theatre Festival, 9/3-9/26

The Brick Theater, Inc., presenter of the first festival of Clown Theatre in New York in over 20 years in 2006, brings the festival back this fall as the 2010 New York Clown Theatre Festival, performing September 3-26 at The Brick Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This year's festival will feature diverse clown theatre artists from the Ukraine, Israel, Wales, Mexico, Canada, and across the United States from California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Chicago and New York City.

The festival will present 17 mainstage shows, 4 kid-friendly shows, 1 street show, and 5 cabarets, including a cabaret devoted to clowns over 50! The festival begins on September 3 with its traditional opening day parade from Union Square through the L line subway to Williamsburg, followed by an open-to-the-public pie fight at The Brick Theater! And it closes on September 26 with the traditional closing day Funeral, with clowns weeping and wailing in the streets of Williamsburg.

The NEW YORK CLOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL will run September 3-26 at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street, Brooklyn). Tickets ($15) are available online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

MAINSTAGE SHOWS:

CABARET BUFFON 4D
Korporacia Klounov Nastroenie
Odessa, Ukraine
Cabaret Buffon 4D is a chamber concert that gets ridiculous. Korporacia Klounov "Nastroenie" - a.k.a. Nastroenie Clown Corporation - bring you their dark and physical clowns from Odessa, Ukraine, who took their inspiration from work at the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona. A combination of music, dance and audience interaction, Cabaret Buffon 4D has been a long-running hit in Ukraine. 80 min.

CARMEN THE MOPERA
The Eccentric Company
Peaks Island, ME
The cleaning lady of the Royal Opera takes the stage in a zany romp through the sacred cows of opera. Using the contents of the utility closet, physical comedy and a superb mezzo soprano voice, the cleaning lady of the Royal Opera performs Bizet's Carmen like its never been done before! "Delicately executed physical comedy worthy of Chaplin himself" - Jack Helbig, Chicago Reader. 75 min.

CHANNEL ONE
James and JF
New York, NY
In a world where television has been abandoned, one lone television is found. One channel remains working. Channel One. A few lost souls are still out there, creating their own brand of quality entertainment. They're just not sure anyone's listening, or watching, or even has the capability to watch on a TV, 'cause these gems don't play on a computer. It's TV, baby. TV. And they're the only ones left. 60 min.

CIRKUS LUNA!
Theatre Group Dzieci
New York, NY
Hailing from East Molvenia, Cirkus Luna! may be the worst circus act ever to perform in public. There is nothing this family troupe does that comes even remotely close to demonstrating skill. Tightrope walkers chicken out, the lion weeps, and acrobats can't even do a forward roll. Festival veterans Theatre Group Dzieci bring their unique, hilarious, even creepy version of clown work back to The Brick. 45 min.

CLOWNS WITH GOWNS
Clowns with Gowns Productions
Blue Lake, CA
[Double-bill with Ferdinand the Magnificent!]
A day in the life of a trio of eccentric female clowns in "gowns," who take female rivalry to a surprising extreme with floating tea parties, unraveling skirts and increasingly large hairpieces. 25 min.

DIZ AND IZZY ASTER - VAUDEVILLE'S LATE BLOOMERS
Happenstance Theater
Rockville, MD
Slapstick meets the Borscht Belt, Gracie Allen meets Harpo Marx in Diz and Izzy Aster, a Vaudeville song and dance duo who bring their personal baggage to the stage! Singing cheery songs, playing ukulele and the saw, their harmonies from between the wars and the Great Depression will lift your heart from the economic doldrums. 30 min.

FERDINAND THE MAGNIFICENT!
Third Base!
Blue Lake, CA
[Double-bill with Clowns with Gowns]
A very strange character wearing a diaper and a shocking pink bodysuit produces a number of strange musical instruments, leading the audience through a hilarious, surreal world. 30 min.

HOW TO GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAMS: BY NOT REALLY TRYING
Zea Barker, aka Bony Lil
Chicago, IL
A clown show about throwing in the towel and refusing to do a clown show. Complete with a song-and-dance Pity Party, piles of grievances, an epic swan song, and a possibly groundbreaking use of projections. It was gonna be really great. Too bad no one will ever see it, because I quit. 45 min.

HULA HELL IS MISS SATURN
Miss Saturn
New York, NY
Miss Saturn pulls out all the stops in a variety show featuring physical comedy, singing and dancing, small hoops, big hoops, invisible hoops, and various attempts of breaking records of different sorts. 60 min.

THE LAST SHOW YOU'LL EVER SEE
Nomadic Theatre Co.
Portland, OR
The Last Show You'll Ever See features Sarah Liane Foster and her trombone as they face the possibility of impending apocalypse. Through fast-paced humor, offbeat text, virtuosic pantomime, and musical interludes, our intrepid heroine grapples with the endless possibilities of ending, before it's too late ... 75 min.

LEGS AND ALL
Summer Shapiro & Peter Musante
New York, NY
A man in an attic meets a woman in a box. As they lure one another into their worlds, their curiosity unfolds and exposes a hilarious, mind-bending, innovative allegory for the classic man-meets-woman story. Rooted in physical comedy and drenched in imaginative stage illusion, Legs & All is an inventive exploration of human loneliness set to an evocative tango-meets-bluegrass score. 60 min.

MANCHEGO: THE BIRTH OF CHEESE
Ambrose Martos
New York, NY
An innocent clown finds his darker, sexier (well, perhaps) side, and has to decide if he will let it take over his existence. Ambrose Martos has toured North America as a principal clown with Cirque du Soleil's "Quidam," performed in the award-winning Off-Broadway hit "SLAVA'S SNOWSHOW" and works often with Australia's Umbilical Brothers. He is a member of the physical comedy trio Happy Hour and hosts burlesque shows in New York City. ambrosemartos.com 45 min.

MEDIA LUNA CIRCUS THEATRE
Michal Halel Abulafia
Israel
A woman waiting for love invites the audience to her room and to her inner imaginary world, through clowning, juggling, music and dance. Michal Halel Abulafia of Israel performs Media Luna, a show first created and performed in San Cristobal de Las Casa in Chiapas, Mexico. Michal is a co-creator of Dahka Circus, an international circus that has traveled through Israel and Palestine with the message of laughter as a means for peace. 50 min.

MORRO AND JASP DO PUBERTY
UNIT Productions
Toronto, Canada
Morro and Jasp do Puberty explores the world of clown sisters Morro and Jasp racing head first into their bloodiest challenge yet. Jasp can't wait for puberty and fantasizes about boys and brand new bodily functions, while Morro awkwardly attempts to hide from the inevitable changes overtaking her. A hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival, earning double-five-star reviews and a "Best of the Fest" award, Morro and Jasp do Puberty follows the bumpy road to adulthood through a hilarious look back at the best period of your life. 60 min.

MS. PRETTY SMART, SECRET AGENT
Olivia Lehrman
New York, NY
[Double-bill with Perhaps, Perhaps, Quizás ...]
A one-woman clown show based on audience participation and live music played stupidly. Ms. Smart brings up four audience members who we discover are new secret agents on the Mission Improbable: a marriage proposal. Failing the mission and left to her own devices, she resorts to serenading the audience while playing piano behind her back, flipping upside-down, and tangling herself up while playing concertina, all to get that final guy (or gal) on one knee. 30 min.

NEON LIGHTS
Jeff Seal & Chris Manley
New York, NY
Jeff and Buttons have TONS of material and now they have their own show so this should be cinch. Jeff and Buttons combine clowning, acrobatics, "magic" and improv to bring you comedy the likes of which have not been seen since the "Golden Age" of Vaudeville comedy (1933-1935). Chris Manley is a member of "New Excitement" and "Zoltar: The Future Telling Machine". Jeff went to the Clown Conservatory and has appeared on The Late Show with Letterman. Both of them co-wrote and acted in Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir. 60 min.

PERHAPS, PERHAPS, QUIZÁS ...
Clown Me In
Mexico City, Mexico
[Double-bill with Ms. Pretty Smart, Secret Agent]
A bride-to-be in her bridal gown waits, hopes, looks for the right man. Will she find him in the audience? If not, there's more waiting to do for ... The One. Hailing from Mexico City, Gabriela Muñoz has toured throughout Mexico and the Middle East, bringing her simultaneously surreal and earthy clown characters to audiences ranging from large urban stages to refugee camps. 20 min.

OFF-SITE EVENTS:

BUTT KAPINSKI: STREET NOIR
F.O. Fire
New York, NY
Butt Kapinski, "pwivate eye," and the new Butt Kapinski Orchestra have developed a street show for Williamsburg! This clown-noir mystery will take the audience through the neighborhood around The Brick, following the "pwivate eye" and her team as they investigate an absowutely thwiwing case. Revel in the gorgeous experience of New York City, even when you're not a crackerjack p.i., even when you can't quite pronounce your own noir poetry, and even when your "case" falls apart at the seams. 30 min.

FAMILY SHOWS:

SEND IN THE ANGELS
CDDC Productions
Wales, UK
[Pre-show to all Family Shows]
Two angels appear to give love, comfort and relaxation to the audience. But it's not always easy to pull the reigns in, especially when you have the wind beneath your wings. 7 min.

A-DRESSING HISTORY
Fool's Academy
New York, NY
[For kids 7 & older]
Discover history through a new lens: your clothes! From penguin suits to jeans, tees, and kicks, we uncover the often-odd world of what covers you. Fool's Academy uses circus arts and comedy to make history tangible, literally, through your very own clothes. 50 min.

CONEY ISLAND CHRIS
Chris Allison
Naugatuck, CT
[For kids 12 & older]
Coney Island Chris has made it his mission to keep the age-old traditions of the sideshow alive! He will astound and entertain by demonstrating some of the most beloved and historical sideshow stunts ever presented, including sword swallowing, placing his hand in various animal traps that will slam shut on his exposed fingers, lying on a bed of nails, driving a 10-inch spike up his nose, stomach stapling and many more.....all with his special comedic twist! 45 min.

THE WOW SHOW
Have Vaude, Ville Travel Productions
Decatur, GA
[For kids 8 & under]
The joy of discovery is distilled through the eyes of an exuberant clown, an innocent who relies on his (admittedly limited) wits and the help of the audience to accomplish his list of tasks. He enters the theater, explores his environment, and generally makes a mess of things as he tells the story of a Prince, a Witch, and a Princess who loves broccoli. 40 min.

THE BRICK was founded in 2002 by Robert Honeywell and Michael Gardner. Formerly an auto-body shop, a yoga center, and various storage spaces, this brick-walled garage in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was completely refurbished as a state-of-the-art performance space. Since then, The Brick has launched, produced and presented hundreds of world-premiere stage works from New York emerging artists and theater-makers from around the globe. The theater company is a proud member of New York's burgeoning Indie Theater community and informal home to an ever-expanding family of artists and avid theatergoers. Winner of the New York Innovative Theatre Foundation's Caffé Cino Fellowship Award 2009 "for an Off-Off Broadway theatre company that consistently produces outstanding work."

Photo Credit: Brick Theater website