I’d say that Mark Gindick had me at “hello” with his one-man comedy performance Wing-Man (directed by Barry Lubin) but he actually never said “hello”.  In fact, he didn’t say anything.  For a solid hour Mark Gindick doesn’t really say a word  but as surely as he arrives on the scene with a rose and a heart-shaped box of candy there’s no mistaking that he’s there to win your heart.  And frankly, were I not happily married I’d readily have given my heart (and a kiss – but more on that in a minute) to this man as easily as I gave him my laughter — because Mark Gindick just happens to be that engaging, magnetic and sweet.  And frankly, if anyone deserves your love, it’s him.

Ultimately every performer – be it clown, comedian, singer or Shakespearean actor – is looking for love when they walk out into the spotlight.  The love will come back to them in a few different forms  … the audience will applaud or laugh or cheer or sing along but that’s all just different ways of showing their love and acceptance.  The way the performer asks for that love is usually cloaked behind a script, a song, a story … but it’s still there. Gindick’s Wing-Man, however, cuts closer to the bone.  When Mark takes the stage he makes no pretense that he is there for any other reason than to acquire your love which – you can just tell – he will cherish and nurture.  He goes about winning your heart by making you laugh.  Over and over and over again.

It’s odd to see a performer, especially one billed as a clown, who can pluck at your core so exquisitely while making you laugh so powerfully.  Yet Gindick does it – solidly – from the moment he steps onto the stage till the moment he retreats – wrapped in bubble wrap having just done a tap dancing routine that sounded like a 21-gun salute thanks to the pop-pop-pop of the audience gamely popping along on their own sheets of bubble wrap.

The piece begins as Gindick -in pure clown style – pulls a kissing booth from a suitcase and goes about setting it up.  He adds some sultry bosa nova music to entice the would-be paramour, then leans back and waits.  And waits … and, well, you get the picture.

Soon enough he finds a radio station offering something to aid his pursuit and within moments a case of BAD-ASS arrives – full of everything he needs to get the girl.  It’s full of amazing bad-ass things (just opening the lid produces a flash of disco lights) which he immediately puts on.  A leather jacket, goggles … this kit means business.   The pocket of the jacket is filled with further bad-ass things: scissors (for running with), pop rocks and coke  (for mixing together … AND SWALLOWING!) Oh, this clown will stop at nothing to create the full effect.

Bit after bit shows off Gindick’s extraordinary talent at not only physical comedy but his broad range of styles.  One moment he’s playing furious air guitar, the next he’s channeling Gene Kelly.  Throughout it all he’s telling a story so richly textured that you’re actually saying “awwww” through your laughter, you’re on his side but he’s so hapless that you can’t help finding the humor in the situation … and of course that’s becuase you’re supposed to be finding it.  This is, after all, a clown’s story.

Director Barry Lubin spoke with me earlier about Wing-Man and explained his process when directing this piece; he said of Gindick “Mark is a sweet, wonderful, naturally funny, naturally loving and lovely guy. He makes himself vulnerable each time he is in front of an audience not because he manufactures that vulnerability, but because it is real. Mark wants our love and we love him for that”.  It’s clear that Lubin used Gindick’s natural earnestness to bring this piece to even higher levels; allowing the organic vulnerability to create space for the laughter.  And while that space is large, it is quickly filled … you barely have time to catch your breath before the laughter bubbles up again.

Eventually the various scenes lead to a satisfying conclusion in which Gindick pulls out all the stops (and the previously mention bubble wrap) and dances up a storm.  If you’re looking for a man who will make you laugh, entertain you and steal your heart look no further than Wing-Man.

Just two shows – last night and tonight.  I highly recommend you get over to The Brick and see this while you can.

~~~

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Related Posts:

• Mark Gindick Explains The Serious Business Of Clowning Around
• Barry Lubin: From Grandma To Wing-Man
• Neon Lights – Brighter Than The Sun … And Twice As Funny (Amuse Bouche – NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• Morro And Jasp GONE WILD – No More Stops Left To Pull Out (Amuse Bouche NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• VCR Love – Where Do You Go When You’re Alone?

Barry Lubin as Grandma

I’ve known Grandma The Clown for as long as I’ve known the Big Apple Circus.  Grandma is as much a part of that circus arena as the sawdust and the trapeze rigging.  But it wasn’t until I saw the PBS documentary CIRCUS that I got to know Barry Lubin – the man underneath the gray wig and pearls.  Meeting Barry Lubin through the six part series was a wonderful way to see exactly how much work goes into making people laugh year after year.  It’s no easy job, and the life of a clown is serious business.

Last week I spoke with Mark Gindick about Wing-Man which opens tonight and plays this weekend as part of The Brick’s Amuse Bouche 2011: A NY Clown Theatre Festival Hors d’Oeuvre.   Today I follow up that interview by speaking with Barry, who directed the show.  I’m thrilled that he was able to share his story with us and give us a glimpse into his world.  Read on to find out what it takes to be Mark’s Wing-Man, how Barry makes a 20,000 person venue feel intimate, and how getting out of his own way is when the magic happens.  

For those who enjoyed the PBS documentary “Circus” – many people were fortunate enough to watch as you and Mark Gindick formed a strong creative team, and worked on new routines together. As one of those people who enjoyed that documentary I’m thrilled to see you come together for “Wing-Man”. Tell me how meeting each other at The Big Apple Circus changed your creative paths.

BL: Actually I met Mark when he attended Clown College where he was a student and I was an instructor. Then we became friends. I saw Mark doing a performance of his show, “How to Be a Man” at SUNY Purchase and I was immediately drawn to this theater piece and in fact asked Mark if I could be a part of it in some way, on the creative end. That began a collaboration which led to the Big Apple Circus offering him the part of Grandma for the 2001/2002 tour. Just to clarify, Grandma is my creation, and since 2001 the Big Apple Circus and I collaborate on a licensing deal in which another performer does the tour once the show closes at Lincoln Center. Mark was the very first licensee and remains to this day the go-to guy to play Grandma. In fact, a few years ago Mark’s mother asked me if I was going to hire Mark again to play Grandma. She said, “He does you better than you.” Once Mark was offered a role in the Big Apple Circus as himself, it was a natural progression, and our great pleasure to work together on various clown pieces in the show which was a part of the PBS Special, and again this past season.

You’ve created an iconic Circus Clown – Grandma. Now you’re directing Mark – someone who you’ve worked closely in the Big Apple Circus. As your creative circle widens do you see yourself mentoring other young and gifted talents? Directing more shows? Moving on to other levels of stagecraft? What excites and delights you about the future?

I am so pleased to have collaborated with Mark on Wing-Man. I would rather call myself a collaborator than director in this production. I believe Mark and I think alike, comedy-wise and that makes it relatively easy to throw ideas back and forth with each other’s routines. I love to work with other clowns, and I do plan to mentor and direct clowning much more once I retire from the Big Apple Circus. I have had the pleasure already of working with some amazing talent, and I certainly hope to continue. It is important, in my thinking, to pass along what I know, and also what I don’t know after all these years in this profession.

There’s got to be a different energy coming from a theatre audience as there is from a circus audience. What are the challenges of putting together a dynamic show in each environment? What works in the big tent that doesn’t work on the smaller stage? Or is it relatively the same?

A clown, like any other performer, must adapt to the venue, the environment, the gig. It is what makes live entertainment for clowns so exciting, and also at times, so difficult. I just did a theatrical circus in a beautiful opera house, which holds 250 people for Circus Sarasota. It was such a pleasure to appear in that intimate a setting, and to work in a very different way than the theater in the round style of Big Apple Circus. It can be daunting to have people so close, but after figuring it out, it became a daily pleasure to work this way. It was a simple concept show, with four very talented acts on a relatively small stage, and one transvestite clown, and a host. I turned the opera house into my very own playground. Right now I am in rehearsals for the Big Apple Circus, and it is time to turn that into my very own playground. It is harder to play in the round, and it is very different to play further away from the audience. Just like I did when I was on Ringling, I cut down that distance whenever possible by working in the audience. It is amazing, but I have found it to be true, that you can effectively communicate with everyone in a 20,000-seat arena. I learned that I could do that while watching David Larible when he was performing with Ringling, and I knew I had to try it solo after having done it when I started my career as part of “clown alley” on Ringling. Clowning requires adapting to each environment. The bottom line is, this little opera house in Florida, the Big Apple Circus, and Madison Square Garden can all qualify as my own personal playground. Not all material works the same in each of those venues, but my character must resonate with the audience or it won’t work in any of those places.

Bad acting is painful to sit through, but bad clowning is positively mortifying for an audience. There is a fine line between brilliant clowning and someone just making a fool out of themselves – and some performers unfortunately never catch on. You and Mark are very successful at not only putting a crowd at ease but winning them over. Tell me how you know when you’ve found that “sweet spot” in a routine – when you know you’ve hit on something that will bring the crowd to its feet.

Thank you for the very kind words and the kudos. Mark and I are successful at winning over audiences because we’ve spent a certain amount of time not knowing how, but wanting to accomplish this very badly. Failure is the best teacher, and desire and ambition and love gets you past the pain that comes with failure. I can tell you what I know about Mark, because it is far easier than analyzing what makes me successful. Mark is a sweet, wonderful, naturally funny, naturally loving and lovely guy. He makes himself vulnerable each time he is in front of an audience not because he manufactures that vulnerability, but because it is real. Mark wants our love and we love him for that. What I have learned through experience, and I am still in the process of learning, is that if I bring a sense of fun, a true love of the audience, and a lot of desire to make them laugh, I will eventually find my way to that end. If I am present, make real contact, and perform in what I call a relaxed state of concentration, wonderful things have the possibility of happening. Sometimes, the biggest key is staying out of my own way in order to create moments to which the audience responds most effectively. If I pay attention to the audience, I will know if they are responding well, and I will be equally aware of the times they are not responding well. But those especially magical moments, and they can be elusive, the ones where the audience is laughing like crazy, those are the moments I live for. It takes a combination of trial and error, of lots of experience, of being truly present, of making real contact, luck, and getting out of my own way to allow the magic to happen. And love.

Finally, what do you look forward to most about being part of “Amuse Bouche”?

I am honored to be a tiny part of the Festival, and I can’t wait to hear how the audience receives Wing-Man. Unfortunately, or rather fortunately, I have a gig which prevents me from seeing Mark perform in September. It is the Big Apple Circus, my home for 25 seasons, and this will be my final season.

Barry, thank you for giving so much of yourself these past 25 seasons; you are truly one of the best in the business and New York has been lucky to have you as part of the Big Apple Circus!  I can’t wait to see Wing-Man tonight, not only to see Mark perform but to see your touches behind the piece.  I am truly honored that you gave us this interview and I hope that as your career takes you on new paths you check in with us again so that we can follow up with you!

For the rest of you, if you’d like to catch Wing-Man come out to:

~~~

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Related Posts:

• Mark Gindick Explains The Serious Business Of Clowning Around
• Wing-Man Soars (Amuse Bouche – NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• CHALK: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Naked Brazilian – 5 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2012 Planet Connections Festivity)

Mark Gindick in Wing-Man (Photo by Florence Montmare)

If you were lucky enough to catch the PBS documentary Circus then you’ve already met Mark Gindick whose antics as a Big Apple Circus clown were prominently featured in that six-part mini series which followed the lives of the performers and crew during their 2008 season.  Or, you may have been lucky enough to see Mark perform live as he captured Big Apple Circus audiences with his delightful Singing In The Rain routine alongside Grandma The Clown (Barry Lubin).

Of course, you may have caught any one of a number of Mark’s other great performances with Big Apple Circus or The New York Goofs.   He’s also no stranger to The Brick’s Amuse Bouche having performed in their 2009 festival.  He now returns to The Brick for this season’s Amuse Bouche as creator and performer of Wing-Man, a show directed by Barry Lubin.  I was lucky enough to chat with these two very talented men to find out what it took to get Wing-Man off the ground.

Today I kick off the two part series with Mark.  Read on to find out how he fell into clowning, what set him on the path that changed his life, and what he’s most excited about for this year’s Amuse Bouche …

For those who enjoyed the PBS documentary Circus – many people were fortunate enough to watch as you and Barry Lubin met, formed a strong creative team, and worked on new routines together. As one of those people who enjoyed that documentary I’m thrilled to see you come together for “Wing-Man”. Tell me how meeting each other at The Big Apple Circus changed your creative paths.

MG: I’ve known Barry for a long time. It started as me going to the Big Apple Circus as a kid for many years, watching and admiring him. Then I met Barry at Clown College. I didn’t work with him much there as it just didn’t turn out that way but then Barry saw a show I did called How To Be A Man, and this is where we really hit it off. He saw it and gave me so many amazing notes, that I wish I came up with those ideas myself! From there I started studying with and working with Barry to play Grandma on the summer season of Big Apple Circus. Five years later, I got to work WITH Barry in the ring and it changed my life! We came up with this Singing in the Rain piece and it felt like we were completing each other sentences while we were working on the piece, and everything just magically came together. This is what I always look forward to when working with Barry. It’s rare to find someone that you just trust so emphatically that you feel comfortable trying anything! It is a real gift for a clown to be able to risk, and risk big!

Comedy is so broad, from stand up, to physical comedy, to the understated comedy of people like Larry David. Tell me how you discovered which type of “funny” you were – and what you did to hone your craft? In other words – when did you realize you were a true clown?

I started studying film at SUNY Purchase Film Conservatory. I wanted to be a filmmaker. I was raised on Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers so I wanted to put those physical comedy techniques into my film-making. I took time off from film school to go to the Ringling Brothers Clown College to learn those techniques but with no intention in actually become a clown myself. But when I went to clown college I was bit by the bug. Clowning chose me, not the other way around. My years of martial arts, watching the Big Apple Circus, watching the greats like Charlie Chaplin, just all came together into a perfect storm and I became a clown!

There’s got to be a different energy coming from a theatre audience as there is from a circus audience. What are the challenges of putting together a dynamic show in each environment? What works in the big tent that doesn’t work on the smaller stage? Or is it relatively the same?

I find on stage since you are not playing in a round you can play everything subtler.

Bad acting is painful to sit through, but bad clowning is positively mortifying for an audience. There is a fine line between brilliant clowning and someone just making a fool out of themselves – and some performers unfortunately never catch on. You (and Barry) are both very successful at not only putting a crowd at ease but winning them over. Tell me how you know when you’ve found that “sweet spot” in a routine – when you know you’ve hit on something that will bring the crowd to its feet.

You don’t know the sweet spot until the audience has told you you’ve hit the sweet spot. There are many times where I find something very funny in rehearsal and the audience hates it and other times when I don’t think something is going to work and someone I trust says, try it anyway, kicking and screaming I try it anyway and it kills. Truth is I never know when something is going to not just work OK, but kill, so you try everything, and you know it works when they audience goes crazy, and you say in the back of your head, “ah ha! I will do that again tomorrow!”

Finally, what do you look forward to most about being part of “Amuse Bouche“?

There are two things that I look forward to about this festival. First, you get to share this awesome art form of clowning with other clowns from different disciplines learning and sharing with each other. Just gets me charged up. Second, I’ve worked with groups, (happyclowns.com, nygoofs.com,bigapplecircus.org) and partners (Grandma, Joel Jeske, Katty Braggos) before but this show finally gives me the opportunity to try something solo, something I’ve always wanted to try and see if I can pull it off…Lets hope I can…!

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Mark, I’m very much looking forward to watching you perform up close and personal in Wing-Man next week!  It will be exciting to see you do what you do best from just a few rows away.

For the rest of you, don’t miss the second part of this interview where I ask Barry Lubin, director of Wing-Man to tell me what it was like to collaborate with Mark for this production.  Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out this and all the other great shows of Amuse Bouche!

~~~

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Related Posts:

• Barry Lubin: From Grandma To Wing-Man
• Wing-Man Soars (Amuse Bouche – NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman: 10 Things To Know About The Show Before You Go (2016 FRIGID NEW YORK FESTIVAL)
• Neon Lights – Brighter Than The Sun … And Twice As Funny (Amuse Bouche – NY Clown Theatre Festival)
• Morro And Jasp GONE WILD – No More Stops Left To Pull Out (Amuse Bouche NY Clown Theatre Festival)