Creators: Jan Henderson, Anna Bado, Adam Keefe and Christine Lesiak
Directed by: Jan Henderson
Assistant Director: Anna Bado
Rocket: Adam Keefe
Sheshells: Christine Lesiak
Stage Manager: Anna Bado
Doll Construction: Geri Dittrich
Photography: Marc-Julien Objois
Poster Art: Matthew Schuurman
Voila Music: Kevin Kornelson & Robert Clinton
Administration: Faye Stollery
By Stanley Allan Sherman
© copyright September 10, 2012
Fools for Love from Canada, is a not to be missed Show in the 2012 New York Clown Theater Festival. From the first two Clown Theater Festivals in the 1980’s most of the shows were a series of bits put together and presented on a stage. There were maybe two or three shows that were really Clown Theater dealing with one theme with a beginning, middle and end. Now in 2012 we are having more shows that are really hitting this new world of Clown Theater. Fools for Love is a real theater piece about trying to find love and not realizing it is right in front of you. Only this play is in clown so the truths are right in your face and we are able to laugh with them. Each clown has their toy lover they substitute for real love in their lonely time. For Rocket it is a Barbie doll, which he does many things with often ending stuffing Barbie down into his crotch. Sheshells has a wonderful about four-foot rag style custom-made doll, which she has tea with, proper lady like encounters and more.
There are a few sessions where our two clowns are reading the personals looking for the right lover. They are clever, people relate and are fun. They even slipped in a few of today’s political funny points. The fact that they read the personals more than once is fine and it get better each time they search the personals. Rocket and Sheshells both move very well and their action is well directed. At one point they are in the basement of their apartment building. Their lights have gone out and they are looking for the fuse box. The flashlight shadows and light play is wonderful. At one point Rocket’s shadow of a large hand looks like it is picking Sheshells. Sheshells at one point plays catch with the light, just a beautiful image.
These clowns felt comfortable enough where they sometime referred and played with the audience. Audience interaction was joyful. Sheshells is pulling a folding chair over her head and it goes all the way down and she climbs out of the chair. As many people know in the front row at most the shows is Mr. Jim Moore famous photographer of New York clowns since the 1970’s http://www.vaudevisuals.com. Jim is shooting the chair going over Sheshells head and shoulders. This chair is really tight going over her shoulders, down her back and breast, getting each arm free, all this squeezing results in creating clown cleavage. She calmly, looks at Jim who shooting lot of photos of this difficult moment and says, “Lot of pictures of this!” Sheshells played and uses the facts her clown cleavage was there and Jim Moore was shooting it. It was a wonderful gift, which Sheshells takes full advantage of, using it to heighten the life of this lovely show. Of course the person laughing the hardest was Jim Moore.
There is real drama and laughs throughout the Fools for Love, which is well directed by Jan Henderson and developed by this creative team. The lonely frustration time of these two clowns are very lonely and frustrated. The absolute fear and drama of taking just a clown friendship and crossing that threshold to clown love is brilliantly played.
Fools for Love only has one more performance at the NY Clown Theater Festival, Monday night September 10 at 7:00 PM. Fools for Love is a show you do not want to miss.
The New York Clown Theater Festival runs through Sept. 30th at the Brick Theater http://www.bricktheater.com