David Gaines comes to Baltimore with his extraordinary solo show 7 (x1) Samurai, for two performances only December 21st & 22nd at Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201.
7 (x1) Samurai is an hour-long, acrobatic, wordless, cartoon-styled solo rendition of Kurosawa's classic 3 hour epic film The Seven Samurai. It is breathtaking, memorable, and astonishingly funny.
Energetic, ridiculous, hilarious, and acrobatic, it is a thrilling demonstration of movement, gesture, rhythm, mask work (with two Kabuki inspired masks), vocalized sound effects, deft character portrayals, and a mischievous sense of humor. With just these tools, an epic and timeless story is brought to life on the wide screen of the audience's imagination.
David Gaines is an actor and director who specializes in movement, mask, commedia, and clown. He is a graduate of, and later professor of mask and movement at, the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France.
His first company was formed in London, England, The Moving Picture Mime Show, and was considered "the flagship of British mime" (The London Times). Over 10 years, it toured Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Asia to great acclaim.
Mr. Gaines has acted in plays from Waiting for Godot to The Brothers Karamazov, and taught at the University of Missouri, Kansas City Professional Actor Training Program. He now teaches at George Mason University, outside Washington, DC. He also works as a clown in Children's National Medical Center in Washington DC, for the company Healthy Humor.
He has directed in Paris and London, and co-wrote and directed two shows for YBY Theatre in Salzburg, Austria. Since returning to the U.S. he has written and performed two solo pieces:
7 (x1) Samurai is an hour-long, acrobatic, wordless, cartoon-styled solo rendition of Kurosawa's classic 3 hour epic film The Seven Samurai. It is breathtaking, memorable, and astonishingly funny.
Big Top is a spectacular circus comedy of danger and romance - like Popeye meets Chaplin in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. It is fast-paced, funny, poignant, and sweet.
These performances - the one, full of Samurai swordplay and Kabuki-inflected comedy, and the other full of charming characters, sweet romance, and a knife-fight on the high wire - have delighted audiences of all ages all across the U.S., and from Vancouver to Tel Aviv.
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