Ten Questions. Ten Answers. And one Big Surprise in the audience …

The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman

produced by Flights of Fantasy East

Step right up and witness a fantastical circus sideshow! In the dusty desert of Arizona, Myrtle Corbin, The Four-Legged Woman, meets her match. This experimental musical reveals the wonders of performing and navigates what it means to be “other.”

Show  Info:

• Thu Feb 18, 2016 | 7:10PM
• Sat Feb 20, 2016 | 6:40PM
• Mon Feb 22, 2016 | 8:50PM
• Sat Feb 27, 2016 | 1:40PM
• Wed Mar 02, 2016 | 8:50PM

Kraine Theater New York, NY $10/$12

Answers by Madeline Wall (Director)
Lily Ali-Oshatz (Book, Music, and Lyrics)

1. Forget the PR version. When you’re talking to your friends, how do you explain this show to them?
Maddie: I have always wanted to direct a project about different kinds of bodies, and this show really hits all the bases. It’s my favorite thing.
Lily: It’s the love story of Myrtle Corbin, the one and only four-legged woman, so it’s bound to be different, weird, and extraordinary!

2. Here’s a scenario: After the show some audience members go have a drink.  What’s the part of the show you hope they’re discussing?
Maddie: Honestly, I hope they’re talking about the sweeter moments. It’s a very dark show, but there’s also a lot of joy and I hope that people leave remembering the beautiful parts. Also the music. I know that’s what will be with people after they’ve left.
Lily: I want people to be questioning how they view bodies, in terms of race, gender, and size. This show is all about the performance and presentation of identities. I hope that people are forced to think more deeply about how these identities intersect, both for the characters and for themselves. Oswald’s final scene with Myrtle really encapsulates this idea.

3. What drives your show – character, theme or plot?
Maddie: Character. But maybe theme. Dammit, Lily! The characters are so influenced by the actors. But if we had to do this with a whole different cast, the show would still be about love and bodies.
Lily: Definitely character. We had a very extensive casting process and I did a lot of rewrites once we found our troupe of actors.

4. In rehearsals, read-thrus, or prior incarnations, what’s the one thing someone said about the show so far that made you (or the team) the most proud?
Maddie: One of the panelists at Musical Theatre Factory in New York when we workshopped there last October said that the work of the team was “like honey, complex and sweet.” I love that this show is a challenge because of the way it’s written as well as the subject matter. It’s about something very complicated.
Lily: People leave remembering the music which is so crazy to me because it’s an a cappella musical! For a long time I was afraid that everyone would hate that it doesn’t use any instruments besides voices, but I felt very encouraged after the Musical Theatre Factory workshop because everyone was really onboard.

5. If money and resources (and even reality) were no object what is the most lavish, luxurious, pointless prop, costume, effect – anything – that you would spend money on for this show?
Maddie: Ugh. Well I went to school for film so even when I’m blocking for a black box theatre, I’m visualizing a three ring circus in the desert of Arizona. I think one of the key elements of the show is actually the large setting. The cast should be able to hear coyotes howling in the distance. So yes. I guess coyotes.
Lily: A real circus tent and midway!!! And a rotating stage because we have a whole onstage/offstage element to the blocking. And smell-o-vision! The audience should smell the “air heavy with carmel treats” that the ringmaster sings about.

6. What’s the one thing you’re looking forward to regarding the FRIGID Festival itself (seeing other shows?  meeting other folks)?
Maddie: All of the above! I’m just so excited that I’m getting to do exactly what I want. The fact that I’m in New York making theatre is such a crazy reality. It feels like I’ve won something.
Lily: The glass of wine after we open. No! Kidding. I want to hear from everyone about how this show affects them. We are definitely using this as a learning opportunity. And I’m very excited to meet the other artists at the festival and see how they’re using their experience at Frigid.

7. Is there a scene, a moment, a gesture … anything at all in the show that you anticipate may get a completely different reaction depending on the audience that night?
Maddie: OH YEAH. Let’s just say it’s the fall of the “Four-Legged” woman.
Lily: For sure. The legs. That moment can go so many ways.

8. What’s your favorite line from the show?
Maddie: I just love all of them so much! When Myrtle and the whole cast sing about being “Born as someone special.”
Lily: “The light was dark one night in Arizona. The brittle stardust sunk down low.” Those are the first lyrics I wrote for the show and it all springs from that first moment of stillness.

9. What’s the last thing you usually do before the beginning of a show?
Maddie: I get really calm because it’s out of my hands at that point.
Lily: I look at the cast, smile and play the first pitch.

10. You scan the audience and you see a face that stops you dead in your tracks – who is it? And why are you shocked?
Maddie: Zefferelli, because he never responded to my emails.
Lily: Oskar Eustis? Artistic Director of The Public?! Why yes, I am surprised that you and your team would like to bring Extraordinary Fall to the Public. No no, drinks tonight would be fine.

Maddie, Lily, you may not have smell-o-vision in your show but this interview made me smell the midway! I can already feel the vibe of the show – sounds like this is something that would make Franco Zeffirelli and Oskar Eustis crave the front row seat of the center ring!

Thanks for answering our questions, Maddie and Lily!

The rest of you – don’t forget to check out The Extraordinary Fall of the Four-Legged Woman.

 -*-*-

Horse Trade Theater Group will present the 10th Annual FRIGID New York Festival at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4^th Street between 2^nd Avenue and Bowery) and UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1^st Avenue and Avenue A) February 16-March 6. All shows run 60 minutes, or less. Tickets are available for purchase in advance at http://www.horsetrade.info/  

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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:

~~~

.

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…!

~~~

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!

~~~

.

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)