December 13, 2010

Faction of Fools

Faction of Fools Theatre Company celebrates Commedia dell’Arte in Washington, DC and around the world. We preserve and promote this Renaissance theatre style by both respecting its heritage and exploring its future. We embody the spirit of Commedia, which is traditional yet innovative, international yet familiar, and classical yet accessible. In our performances, actor training, international initiatives, and educational outreach, Commedia dell’Arte is theatre at its best: physical discipline, spontaneous imagination, collaborative energy, and joyous wonder.

www.factionoffools.org

Mandy Dalton

Mandy Dalton is a professional comic actress and clown. She has been performing professionally for over 29 years throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. Her education in clowning started at the Ringling Brothers Clown College (1982) and her training includes work at the Moscow Art Theater School and Cirque du Soleil. Her clown credits include work at the John F. Kennedy Center, Synetic Theatre’s “Black Out” series, The Central Intelligence Agency, Arena Stage, and the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission.

Rich Potter

Rich Potter has performed in 21 different countries, and is still welcome back in most of them. David Letterman called him "Inspirational." Tipper Gore merely thought he was "Fantastic." But what better way to describe this veteran of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Disneyland, Renaissance faires, corporate shows, arts festivals, and state & county fairs? His unique physical comedy combined with an ability to sound like an idiot in nearly a dozen languages has opened doors all over the world (poorly manufactured latches may also be responsible). His 2010 command performances at Catalunya, Spain's "Cabaret Cabron" inspired him to pitch in with Washington, DC's fledgling Clown Cabaret. Rich is a graduate of the Ringling Bros'. Clown College, Avner Eisenberg's Eccentric Performing course, and Spain's new Nouveau Clown Institute.

Karen Beriss

Karen Beriss has been a professional magician for over 15 years. Performing at trade shows around the world, her magic and dry sense of humor - combined with corporate messaging skills - have captured the eyes of the press including National Public Radio, Market Place and The Wall Street Journal.  She is super excited to have just joined the Big Apple Circus Clown Care program performing at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.  Karen is a regular at The Comedy Zone in Washington DC.  She trained in improv and acting with Second City in New York.  And she has performed for celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Kirstie Alley, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, the Washington Capitals and Robert Goulet.  Most recently she worked with Leon Redbone. Plus, Karen’s mom thinks Karen is funny – so it must be true.

www.swellmagic.com

Graham Pilato

Graham Pilato got his BA in Dramatic Arts at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and after a couple years as a high school English teacher in Southern Maryland ending in 2007, has returned to acting, having now appeared in several Baltimore and Washington D.C. area theatres, including with Fells Point Corner Theatre, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, Mobtown Players, the Maryland Renaissance Festival, Molotov Theatre, and Happenstance Theater. His background in experimental theatre and improv comedy prepared him for work with Faction of Fools, DC's Commedia dell'Arte theatre group, with which he appeared in “The House with Two Doors” and “Tales of Love and Sausages” in 2010. He is an Associate Artist with Faction of Fools and always looking for new places to be silly.

www.grahampilato.com

The Original Sideshow Geek

The Original Sideshow Geek performs unnatural acts of comedy with shattered glass, rusty nails, a staple gun, razor blades, bondage, a love of pop culture, and a rubber chicken in order to make the world safe for nerds, dorks, and loveable losers. Swami YoMahmi has performs regularly at Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, as well as festivals, conventions, and fairs, and has been featured in documentaries, magazines, news segments, and the books "Carny Sideshows" and "Weird Virginia". He is the founder and artistic director of Washington, DC's premiere sideshow troupe, Cheeky Monkey Sideshow.

Matthew Pauli

Matthew Pauli is a 1991 graduate of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and has been clowning ever since. He appears regularly at corporate events, street festivals, fairs and picnics and in his stage shows. His work as a clown has taken him around the U.S. and as far as Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Since 1999, he has been proud to be part of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Program, performing at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. For 6 years he toured with The Big Apple Circus sharing the role of Grandma with creator and International Clown Hall of Fame inductee Barry Lubin.

www.matthewpauli.net