Footsbarn in London and Amsterdam -- and Katie Duck in A'Dam too!

London, United Kingdom
25 June to 04 July -- Sorry ! That's Life
at Victoria Park (in the Footsbarn Tent)
presented by Barbican in Association with Tower Hamlets Council



Amsterdam, Netherlands
09 July to 24 July Sorry ! That's Life
at Theater Carré


Sorry! That’s life: crazy, sometimes mysterious, musical, moving or dynamic, and full of humour. Language plays no role here. There are violinists, opera singers, gravediggers, clowns, horses, ducks, gypsies, children, dogs, goats, dead bodies, technical feats, vehicles and a grand finale...
The phenomenal Footsbarn Travelling Theatre, created in the 1970s, has always been a welcome guest in Amsterdam, eg. during the celebrated Festivals of Fools.

Theater Carré is across the "narrow bridge" over the River Amstel, and was most famous during my time in Amsterdam for being the scene of a magical concert by Van Morrison in the early 70's.


Katie Duck (above) and Alfredo Genovesi are doing performances from July 5 through 9 at Studio Seven in Amsterdam: (from her website)
This July 2010 she will collaborate with Alfredo Genovesi (electric guitar + electronics) as a musician and as part of the daily feedback and discussions.
Her warm-up and exercises emphasis how the eyes and the ears work in co ordination with movement, sound and exposure to gathered crowds altering our perception of time, space and emotions. Improvisation sessions revolve around the terms pause, flow, exit and presence as choices with discussions articulating play, memory, intuition and feelings.
Her aim is to provide a situation where artists can practice together and grow in confidence toward public performances with an objective to share her views about improvisation not being the antitheses of choreography or composition but rather the way the choreography and composition can be executed, that the mental connection to this practice can be accessed weather they are doing set or open framed performance pieces ...

Good Fortune for Frankfurters! Mir Caravan 2010

Ton Und Kirschen Wandertheater (Clay and Berries Touring Theater)

Perpetual Motion Machine
A fantastic material and movement Theater:
A wooden stake like a ship's mast rises into the sky.
Steel rings with ropes and two lamps are a simple large face. It moves the jaw to a broad borne aria. Demolished looking uniformed circling the structure at a run, call in foreign languages, and bring small and large figures into the game. In this production unfolds all the wealth that arises from the combination of the different cultural backgrounds of our actors and musicians. A theatrical moment that is not tied to a specific source text – a story that has the logic of dreams.

Mir Caravan 2010 stops in Frankfurt-on-Main, Germany June 18th to July 03.

My friends Margarete and Nelson in Perpetuum Mobile.
Ton & Kirschen are an offshoot of Footsbarn Theatre. Davy Johnson, his and Maggie Watkiss' daughter Daisy, and Margarete Biereye are performing on June 24, 2010 with the rest of their fine group -- they are just one of many companies touring with the Mir Caravan!

Check out their English-version Site.

In the Midnite Hour -- Mir Mir Mir!

From side to side on the photo (from the right) : Arnaud Gavroy (Deputy-mayor of Namur), Bernhard Bub (Company "Antagon TheaterAKTion"), Danièle Marty ("Compagnie du Hasard" and ICE Colectivo), Marcin Keszycki (Teatr Osmego Dnia), John Kilby (Company "Buchinger's Boot Marionettes" and ICE Colectivo), Slava Polunin, Jean-Guy Solnon (L'Artmada) and France Everard (Company "Les Arts Nomades")
The first weekend of Mir Caravan 2010 begins with a play by Václav Havel in Brno, Czech Republic.

From their website:

Décidés à mettre en lumière les changements intervenus depuis la chute du rideau de fer, à continuer de questionner les frontières et les idéologies et à mettre l’accent sur la nécessité du dialogue et de la coopération interculturels dans l’Europe du 21è siècle, les initiateurs de MIR Caravane 89 reprennent la route à travers un périple artistique qui reliera Brno, Francfort-sur-Main, Villeneuve lez Avignon, Namur et Moscou durant tout l’été 2010.

Un village itinérant qui réunira les 4 coins de l’Europe, la Russie et l’Afrique! Spectacles, rencontres, mini concerts, expos, performances et autres surprises seront au programme de chacune des étapes
Convoi exceptionnel  !
Babel Fish Translation:
Decided to clarify the changes occurred since the fall of the iron curtain, to continue to question the borders and the ideologies and to stress the need for the dialogue and the co-operation intercultural in Europe of the 21è century, the initiators of MIR Caravane 89 take again the road through an artistic tour which will connect Brno, Frankfurt-on-Hand, Villeneuve lez Avignon, Namur and Moscow during all of summer 2010.

An itinerant village which will join together the 4 corners of Europe, Russia and Africa! Spectacles, meetings, mini concerts, expos, performances and other surprised will be with the program of each stage. Heavy load!

They HAVE promised to send out English/Bilingual updates, and Elza Lacotte made a start on Facebook -- we'll wait for their other sites, but we'll also be laughing at Babel Fish in the meantime! Hmmm -- THIS one is fairly coherent (for Babel Fish):

Divadelní Svět Brno 2010 Czech Republic
From the 11 at June 19, 2010 IN COLLABORATION: with the Festival Theatre World Brno 2010

Theatre World Brno 2010! This international festival of theatre proposes many spectacles in the streets as on the scenes of the theatres of Brno. Spectacles, exposures and workshops for the children will strew these 5 day-events… and to finish in beauty, a procession-carnival “the Festival of the Masks”!
The event is inaugurated this year by Václav Havel.

For this weekend's schedule (in perfectly understandable French-language graphic form) GO HERE

My friends in Ton und Kirschen Wandertheater are playing Tuesday, June 15.
Details (in French) HERE

Katie Duck In Summer Land

(L to R) Alfredo Genovese and Katie Duck in the foreground performing Portraits -- speaking of which, Katie's daughter is participating in an "Open Studio" tour, if you find yourself in Amsterdam: June 5 Saturday and June 6 Sunday 12:00-18:00 Exhibition of Ilaria Honsinger as part of Open Ateliers Oud-West. Here's the flier.
June 6 Talka Milan Italy - Duck projects
Andy Keep (electronics) Merel Roozen, Vincent Cacialono (dance)
21:00 Triennale Bovisa

June 13 Sunday Wonderland
16:00 OT301 Amsterdam

July 2-3 Performance improvisation summer course
Studio Seven Amsterdam -- Duck Projects
21:00 3 euros entrance

Davey Norkett's Got MD Squared Up His Sleeve!

Sunday, June 6, 2010
Time: 4:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: The Schuim (bar restaurant)
Street: Spuistraat 189
City/Town: Amsterdam, Netherlands

Here's a MAP (As Miss Carolina might say):



There's that DAM Square just around the corner! (Love that stupid old joke.)
Nearby Amsterdam Historical Museum was one of my favorite spots to visit when I lived in that town -- it preserved an old block of homes that dated from before A'Dam became capital city of the rebellious Protestant Netherlands circa 1620.
(Actually, the lowlands were capriciously invaded by armies of the bloody Counter-Reformation before any rebellion occurred, but that's a whole other story.)

From Western Europe to Moscow and Back!

Muh-num-uh-NUNS! doo-doo-dee-DOO-DOO!
John Kilby (inset) laughs at Father Seamus & His Erotic Nunnery as they parade on the grounds of La Chaussée in 2006 atop the Velocycle.
John Kilby and Mir Caravan 2010 are about to embark on a tour into Russia!
Follow the action on their live-blogging site: http://www.mircaravan2010.eu/ (Under Construction)

It says: Été 2010... onze compagnies européennes de théâtre s’unissent pour une tournée événement qui les mènera de Namur à Moscou en passant par Brno, Francfort-sur-Main.... et Villeneuve-lès-Avignon !

Un village itinérant. Des spectacles et des rencontres aux accents multiples... Les artistes de MIR Caravan 2010 promènent sur les routes d’Europe l’âme et l’humeur d’une expérience artistique inédite. Un défi ambulant qui mêlera les publics, les regards, les envies, les rêves... Et si le théâtre et la création indépendante étaient LE ciment du puzzle européen ?

Translated via Babel Fish as: Summer 2010… eleven European companies of theatre are linked for a round event which will carry out them of Namur in Moscow while passing by Brno, Frankfurt-on-Hand…. and Villeneuve-the-Avignon!

An itinerant village. Spectacles and meetings with the multiple accents… The artists of MIR Caravan 2010 walk on the roads of Europe the heart and the mood of a new artistic experiment. A travelling challenge which will mix the public ones, the glances, the desires, dreams… And if the theatre and independent creation were cement of the European puzzle?


Hmmm -- I might request some live updates in English!

Learn more about Mir Caravan 2010 at:
http://ice.mircaravan2010.eu/

Facebook -- http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=117682574921259&ref=ts

(Both sites are in French!)

Outriders from Coney Island

Read the Unicycle NYC Bridge Tour Blog!
Keith "Bindlestiff" Nelson and his posse rode over 42 miles on unicycles last Sunday, sometimes accompanied by thousands of bicyclists doing the "Five Boroughs Ride."
Nelson's party crossed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge which connects Brooklyn and Staten Island as part of their weekly quest to cross all of NYC's two thousand-plus bridges.

Which Jango is Jango?

Jango runs the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona, Spain --
but is the institute actually producing CLONES?
From the Star Wars chapters of Wikipedia: Jango Fett ... serves as the genetic template for Boba Fett, all troops in the Clone Army, and subsequently the Imperial Stormtroopers of the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine.

Jango Fett was portrayed by Temuera Morrison in the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and the video games: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter, Star Wars: Battlefront II and Star Wars: Republic Commando, Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, in the PSP version of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and Lego Star Wars The Video Game. Bob Marshall portrayed Fett in a commercial but the voice was provided by an unknown actor ILM filmed for Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. Jeff Bennett portrayed Fett in the video games: Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns and Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter. Fett also makes a cameo appearance in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4. He was played by Andrew Chaikin in the video game Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron.
Fett also appears in the comic books Jango Fett, Jango Fett: Open Seasons, and the Toys "R" Us promotional comic Full of Surprises.
Jango Fett appeared in the Star Wars Adventures books: Jango Fett vs. The Razor Eaters, The Shape Shifter Strikes, and Warlords of Balmorra. The character was also in the Jedi Readers book Jango Fett: Bounty Hunter and in Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive and of course Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones by Patricia Wallace.

MAY The Force be with Katie Duck in Italy!

Digital reinterpretation of Katie's Profiles dance piece. Faux-projections from her website by Ilaria Honsinger.

May 7-10 workshop Milan, Italy
Talka - performance May 8
Talka is an improvising group -- check out their website.
(It's in Italian, strangely enough!)

On the Upwind Side of the Ash Cloud

Stuart Curtis (according to his Facebook page) will be appearing with Corvallis' own Hilltop Big Band this coming Saturday 4/24, 7:30-10:00 pm. Free dance lessons start at 6:45 pm. The event is a benefit for AHIC: A Home in the Community. This is a group that is promoting Partnering with Cohousing Communities to create subsidized rental opportunities for low-income adults with disabilities. See you there!

From AHIC's Website: Finding a house that feels like "home" can be difficult for anyone. For a person whose physical and financial resources are limited due to severe disabilities, it can be even harder. A Home In Community is a 501(c)3 status non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation. We help people with disabilities fulfill their dream of living in communities where they benefit from daily connections with others, while having opportunities to support and give back to the community where they live. We do this by: Educating communities and people living with disabilities about the benefits of living in community together. Providing information and support that makes it happen. Partnering with Cohousing Communities to create subsidized rental opportunities for low-income adults with disabilities.