Christopher Sawchyn has been an active member of the clown and physical- theater community for many years. Recently hosted The Lunacy Cabaret as his alter ego, glam rocker Steve Nugget. Co-created and appeared with THE SPECIALS for several seasons. Clown History: Mike Kennard’s The Hobbit (Globe Theatre) and The Hollow (Berkely St); Paulette Hallich’s Beyond Hope. Many characters have been birthed on The Sal & Sandy Show. Incredible bouffon training with Adam Lazarus. Second appearance on The Foolish Cabaret.

Performer – Bouffon Night

Most Recently: Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera (Toronto, NYC, San Francisco, Halifax), Artistic Director of SOLO-ICIOUS Solo Show Festival in Halifax, NS.

On Camera: Second Jen (TUM Productions), Cracked (CBC), Blind Date (Untitled Films), Issues (Insomniac Productions)

For Outside the March: Mr. Marmalade (SummerWorks ’11 & ’12 Remount), Oh the Humanity, and Other Good Intentions (Mitchell Cushman, Simon Bloom)

For NTS: Three Sixty (La Ronde) (Graham McLaren), Three Sisters (Jason Byrne), En Francais Comme En Anglais (Chris Abraham & Christian Lapointe), Everything in the Garden (Jennifer Tarver), King Lear (David Latham)

Etcetera: Recipient of Tullio Cedrashi Outstanding Graduate award, recipient of Best Emerging Artist award at NYC United Solo Festival, founding member of Outside the March Theatre Company.

Co-Writer and Co-director – Death Married My Daughter

Dean graduated for the University of Windsor with a BFA degree in Dramatic Arts in 1976 and immediately traveled to Paris, France to attend the School of Jacques Lecoq. In 1978 he created and performed his first clown show with Michele Smith and performed on the streets of Paris. Since then he has created, directed and performed in 40 Theatre Smith-Gilmour productions and performed in Toronto, across Canada and in 11 countries around the world. Theatre Smith-Gilmour has been nominated for 39 Dora Mavor Moore Awards and has won 9 times. Dean received 2 Dora Awards for best director, 2 for best actor, 2 for best production and one for best new play. In 2007, he went to Shanghai, China to create Lu Xun blossoms, the first ever Sino-Canadian co-production in theatre, which premiered in Shanghai and toured to Beijing, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Macau and had it’s Canadian premiere at the Luminato Festival in Toronto in 2011. In June 2007 he performed at the Meyerhold Theatre in Moscow, Russia when Chekhov’s shorts was invited to the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow. He co-wrote and co-directed SPENT in 2009, which premiered in Toronto, had a sold out run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011 and recently played at the Queen’s Theatre in Queens, New York. Dean is professor adjunct at York University and is a member of the teach staff at the Humber Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. He has taught at the University of Toronto, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, George Brown College, The National Theatre School, L.S.P.U. Hall in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Sault Youth Theatre, Chemnitz National Theatre, Germany, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Romania, Hong Kong Cultural Arts Centre, Portland State University in Portland, Oregon and the Shanghai Drama Academy. He has directed at George Brown College, Humber College, York University, University of Toronto, and University of Alberta. He has been invited twice to give Master Classes at the Magnetic North Festival and in 2006 he directed As You Like It by William Shakespeare at the University of Alberta. In 2008 Dean co-created and co-directed GRIMM inspired by stories from the Brothers Grimm with students from the graduating class at Humber College. He is presently performing in Toronto in Theatre Smith-Gilmour’s adaptation of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. Next year he will direct Maxim Gorky’s Summerfolk at Ryerson University and will co-direct The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky with Michele Smith at Humber College in Toronto.

Since his arrival in TO Miko has been involve in all kinds of artistics adventures, from dancing to clowing, and from teaching to coaching, with the fortune of playing with fantastic artists with diferent backgrounds, and craft powers. Currently he performsa combination of Butoh and Dance with Denise Fujiwara, teaches Salsa at Lula Lounge during the Sundays Cuban Brunch, and is a full time Social Youth Worker at the YMCA House.
Sent from my “contract free” BlackBerry® smartphone on the WIND network.

Deborah is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory and has her Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Theatre from York University. Selected theatrical credits include: Beyond the Moors, Les Belles Soeurs, The Town Meeting and Dr. Faustus. She performs as part of LadyBusiness Sketch and does improv with Disco Taxi. Most recently she co-wrote and acted in It’s a Wonderful Strife as a part of the Second City Conservatory program, and toured I’m Not Crying in the Bathroom with LadyBusiness to both the Edinburgh and Ottawa Fringe Festivals, where they won the Ottawa Fringe’s Outstanding Comedy Award. They will also perform in the Toronto and Montreal Sketch Comedy Festivals in 2013. Disco Taxi performs around Toronto and took part in the Big City Improv Festival and came second in The Ladder 2012 competition. She also writes offbeat comedic songs and character monologues in her spare time.

Performer – Red Nose District

Isaac Luy is an actor originally from Caracas, Venezuela. When he was 14 years old he started performing on stage with “Grupo Teatral Skena”, a theatre company with more tan 35 years of history in Venezuela.

As a clown he has had the chance to train with some of the most amazing teachers in the world. In France he trained with the late Carlo Colombaioni; in Spain he worked with Jango Edwards and The Rebel Clown Army; in Montreal with Francine Côté, James Keylon and Roch Jutras and in Toronto with Sue Morrison.

Since 2010 he has been actively involved in the clown scene in Toronto, perfoming several occasions in all the mayor venues: “Red Nose District”, “Lunacy Cabaret”, “Toronto Festival of Clowns” and “The Foolish Cabaret”.

His passion for the figure of the clown has lead him to dedicate full time to the study and exploration of the art form in the hopes of one day becoming a clown teacher too.

http://www.theexitshow.com

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1) Tell us a joke.

Que pasa cuando metes un huevo en el microondas?

Que te pisas el otro con la puerta!

2) Tell us about your show in the festival and why you’re doing it?

I got invited to the Red Nose District this year again! Last year we had suck a BLAST that it’s impossible for me to miss it! I’m working in Montreal right now, and I’m coming for one day just to be in the show! =D

3) Is your show clown, bouffon, character or something else entirely?

I’m a clown. Can’t speak for the rest of the crew!

4) What is your best clown experience? Either as a performer or a spectator?

As a performer: I had a really great experience working at Casa Loma: Carnivale with my lovely clown partner, Boobly. That gave us some really good opportunities to discover more of our clowns! As an spectator: Anytime I see a clown own the stage and just have fun

5) Your worst?

As a performer: Any chance I stop myself from doing clown! =( As an spectator: Too many. Not worth mentioning. Clown is not just putting on a nose and going on stage people!

6) Are there any public figures you consider to be clowns?  Why?

No true clowns come to mind. The ones that come to mind are “clowns” in the denigrating sense of the word.

7)  You’re a clown in a clown festival.  That carries a certain brand.  What’s wrong with you?

A brand? What? No entiendo lo que implica esta pregunta…

 Anything else…?

Can I say that I have my first solo clown show called EXIT!!! =D coming up this summer at the Toronto Fringe and you should totally come check it out?!?!  Oh… I guess I just did… >=D

Performer – Foolish Cabaret

John Beale is a Toronto based actor from Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. John is a graduate of the Philippe Gaulier International Theatre School in Paris and Dalhousie University in Halifax – Happy to be a part of the Toronto Clown Festival and The Foolish cabaret.

Rachelle Elie has been developing her unique vision of contemporary society for over fifteen years, beginning at Bishop’s University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  In Vancouver’s Studio 58 Professional Acting Program she found her strength in characters and physical theatre. Rachelle’s professional debut began with her first solo show, Bibi & Spid, which she created for the new writers’ festival Four Play at 58.

Tours with Axis Theatre and Theatre de la Seizieme, as well as performances with Vancouver Theatre Sports’ Mainstage Company rounded out her stay in Western Canada.. Rachelle’s experience with comedy continued with several performances at the Edmonton World Street Performers festival, headlining the Opening Night Gala for CBC TV. 

In Toronto Rachelle honed her performance skills in the city’s many stand-up comedy venues, touring across Canada, the USA and Australia, and appearing on She’s So Funny (Women’s Television Network) and Adventures in Comedy (The Comedy Network). Her comedy style has continued to evolve through work with master teachers Philippe Gaulier, Sue Morrison, Mike Kennard and Francine Cote.

Over the last ten years Rachelle has created and performed four original solo works across Canada and has been described as “…an exquisite performer” by SEE Magazine and “….frighteningly intelligent” by the Montreal Gazette. In 2008 Rachelle won an Oustanding Comedy Award at The Ottawa Fringe Festival for her show JOE: The Perfect Man.

When not performing Rachelle paints and continues her work as co-founder of a Kenyan artists’ collective. She lives in Toronto, where she is raising two boys, age ten and twelve, with her husband.

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Originally from Portugal, Mario is a graduate of the National Conservatory of Theatre in Lisbon and a postgraduate of the Gestalt Institute of Toronto. He was chosen to represent his university at the Belgrade International Festival of Theatre. In Canada, he has worked as an actor in various venues and recently travelled to Africa in the capacity of Art Therapist, as part of a campaign organized by Unicef. He now divides his time between teaching drama to children and working as a Gestalt psychotherapist in which he loves to incorporate the Art of Clown.

Performer – Foolish Cabaret

Suzanne graduated from the NTS acting program & Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre under the direction of Martha Henry. Member of the STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL acting company 2009-2010 seasons. Senior member of Afro-Brazilian percussion troupe MARACATU BAQUE DE BAMBA. Recently assisted on RARE (Soulpepper’s Winter at the Young Centre remount).

Some of her clown, bouffon & physical comedy teachers/coaches include Francine Cote, Helen Donnelly, Susanna Hamnet, Andriana Morales & Tiago Mafra, Roch Jutras, James Keylon, Edith Tankus, Adam Lazarus. Stay tuned for the much anticipated & highly controversial trilogy “Oreo & J Ro Ro’s CONQUEST FOR TRUE LOVE” co-written & performed with “duoffon” partner Sophia Walker.

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1) Tell us a joke.
Are you really requiring me to “be funny” on the spot?
Via toneless email?
Shouldn’t that be illegal?
Do people actually succeed at telling entertaining jokes without being corny or cutesie?
If so, can you put me in touch with them asap?
Obviously your request is too onerous for me at this very moment.

2) Tell us about your show in the festival and why you’re doing it?
Because I love performing at Helen Donnelly’s meticulously crafted & classy FOOlish cabarets where there’s always room for risk takers!

3) Is your show clown, bouffon, character or something else entirely?
BOUFFON solo act as S.T.U.P

4) What is your best clown experience? Either as a performer or a spectator?
Killing… as a performer.

5) Your worst?
Bombing… as a performer.

6) Are there any public figures you consider to be clowns?  Why?
Each and every public figure and even less public figures as well! The more the person takes themselves seriously the more the BOUFFON emerges. Our very own Rob Ford & Stephen Harper who would just happen to get along great with Russia’s very own Vladimir Putin for instance.

7)  You’re a clown in a clown festival.  That carries a certain brand.  What’s wrong with you?
The same thing that’s wrong with you and all individuals, but especially for us actors who dare to seek approval outside of ourselves through our art, publicly & professionally.

 Anything else…?
“As they say in Southern California… NAMASTE!”* 

*(I stole that line from AMIT VIRMANI director of Menstrual Man)