New York Clown Theatre Festival Review - Sunday, September 21st

Last week was full of seeing shows, which has meant a week of getting backed up on blogs. Let's chase it back to the beginning with the Sunday night line-up.

Locked Up

Two clowns, Tiny (Sophia Knox-Miller) and Tall (Cara McClendon), are trapped in a single cell, forced to find ways to keep themselves entertained. With the limited resources at hand, a piece of string, a spoon, their seats, they concoct games to play and worlds to explore. Much of the fun in the piece comes from the clowns switching from antagonizing to befriending each other. As one clown loses herself in a game, she fails to notice the injury she is causing to the other. However, these clowns are truly a team, as they share their fun, sorrow and eventually root for each other's much dreamed of escape.

As the clowns defined their confined space abstractly, and handled the sound effects for both the actual events occurring in their space, and those that occurred only in their minds, I found it occasionally confusing as to what I was supposed to believe was literally happening. One possible interpretation that I toyed around with was that the entire play was just one big imagined game. However, that scenario takes away from what I felt to be the most effective scene in the show. After a complex and imagined escape from prison involving thunderstorms, giant birds and a prolonged (possibly too long) period alone adrift in the ocean, the clowns found that they were really still in prison, this first escape was all imagined. The sadness of this realization breaks each clowns spirit, and while this part was not necessarily funny, I felt the clowns' vulnerability shine through. If not for that moment of tears, I do not think I would have been as invested in the clown's actual escape later.

All in all, I had fun watching these clowns mischievously giggle at their self-induced merriment, and would be eager to see more work from these two performers.

tinyDANGEROUS-POPCORN!

I had a lot of fun at this showcase of clown and physical comedy short films, mostly driven by the insane antics of the two hosts John Leo and Andy Sapora. Having never experienced one of their tinyDANGEROUSfun shows, it was hilarious to see their "Best Of" lineup of silly, stupid and sometimes scary stunts. I'm still surprised that after watching them juggle X-Acto blades and set their arms on fire, I was so easily suckered into joining them onstage with the offer of just a cookie (In my defense, it was a very tasty cookie). I was brought up to perform as part of their traditional "13th Act." Since this was a movie night, instead of performing an impromptu scene, we had to go outside and film an impromptu short film in the style of Kung Fu and Psychodrama; one shot. It was very satisfying to pull it off and get the immediate reaction of the audience's laughs.

There were some other great films shown that night. I loved Willie Jones: Trouble with Love, an extended black and white piece about a man and woman who literally bump into each other and fall for each other. They are pursued and their relationship challenged by the police, her father and a couple of no good henchmen. This was easily one of the best pieces of the night on all levels, style, acting, plot. However, some of the less stylistically clean pieces were just as funny. An extended Humor Seminar had everyone in stitches and repeating the tag-line into the next act. There were also some great musically driven films and a very funny modern clown piece with Jeff Seal chasing a laser pointer all across Brooklyn.

I am excited to catch tinyDANGEROUSfun in one of their regularly scheduled shows once they land a new theatre, with what I'm told will be "higher ceilings."