Sun May 1, 2016
The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth!
SEE EVENT DETAILS
at Kinetic Arts Center
(see times)
After making audiences go bananas at the Edmonton and Vancouver Fringe Festivals in Canada, receiving a four-star review from Global News and the inaugural Artistic Risk Award in Vancouver, Charles the Chimp swings home to San Francisco. Don’t miss out as Ross Travis, San Francisco based, international performing Chinese pole acrobat, bouffon and current Kinetic Arts Center Artist-in-Residence, pairs up with Chelsey award-winning comedienne Amelia Van Brunt, (recently seen in Fou Fou Ha’s smash hit WHOA-MAN), as they go ape and fling this critically acclaimed show to the next limb.
Antic in a Drain and Kinetic Arts Center proudly present The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth. Prepare to be overwhelmed to flabbergastion as you see incredible feats of dexterity, sophistication and objectification unlike anything you’ve seen from our primate ancestors before. This isn’t your run of the mill animal show here, folks -- no sir, you are in for something special! Behold the brilliance of Maitresse Magnificent and Charles the Chimp as they enslave your sympathy in a frivolous display of crowd pleasing entertainments and skills including Chinese pole, hoop diving and audience interaction. Then let them captivate you with taboo acts of subjugation!
This original production combines the provocative humor of bouffon (a form of grotesque satirical physical theatre where characters on the outskirts of society use subversive humor and ecstatic play to highlight ignored or marginalized issues within society), the vulnerability of clown, audience interaction and spectacular acrobatic feats to explore the themes of captivity vs. freedom.
The primary question that the show sets out to explore is: What does captivity and objectification of animals do - not only to animals but to us as humans? And what are the repercussions and consequences of captivity?
"The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth challenges perceptions about primal and civilized behavior, freedom and captivity, and our often-forgotten relationship to primates. Ross has a captivating repertoire of circus skills and engages the audience in surprising ways. "
- Debórah Eliezer, Co-Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater
"The athleticism displayed in The Greatest Monkey Show on Earth is only matched by its insightful social commentary. Ross Travis uses human and animal relations to explore issues of imprisonment, agency, and coercion. The audience will laugh and scream with a smile, but as the lights go down they are left with haunting personal questions."
- Dillon Slagle, LMDA
The Greatest Monkey Show is the debut production of Antic in a Drain which was created in 2014 to develop characters and tell stories that use vulnerable humor, cutting satire, physical spectacle and unscripted audience interaction to ignite dialogue about social, political and personal issues. The Greatest Monkey Show, is a theatrical experience that springs from two years of research into North Korean animal shows, Monkey plays in the Noh tradition, Balinese monkey mask plays, a trip to Thailand to see actual animal shows, Shaun Monson’s film Earthlings, Ohnuki-Tierney’s book The Monkey as Mirror, the Chinese epic Journey to the West: The Monkey King and last but not least, Planet of the Apes.
Ross Travis is an award-winning actor and circus performer, most recently seen playing The Ponce in Panache with Firefly Theatre and Circus based out of Edmonton, Canada. Ross also recently created the role of Mutton in Salvage with Kinetic Arts Productions. Ross has worked with Circus Bella, Sweet Can Circus, We Players and Magic Theatre. Ross won a TITAN Award Grant for Actors in 2012 from Theatre Bay Area and was voted Artist to Watch in 2013 by the SF Weekly. For three years he was one half of Naked Empire Bouffon Company where his work on You Killed Hamlet, or Guilty Creatures Sitting At A Play, won the San Francisco Best of the Fringe Award, the Vancouver/Plank Magazine Talk of the Fringe Award, a nomination for Vancouver’s Georgia Straight Critic’s Pick Award, an Official Selection of the Toronto Festival of Clowns, and the 2012 Best Fusion Theatre Piece Stuey.
"An impossibly supple performer." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun
“Travis’ pole work made me think “how the hell is he doing that?” more than once.” - Mark Rudio, A Beast in the Jungle
"A comic marvel." - Lily Janiak, SF Weekly
show less
Antic in a Drain and Kinetic Arts Center proudly present The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth. Prepare to be overwhelmed to flabbergastion as you see incredible feats of dexterity, sophistication and objectification unlike anything you’ve seen from our primate ancestors before. This isn’t your run of the mill animal show here, folks -- no sir, you are in for something special! Behold the brilliance of Maitresse Magnificent and Charles the Chimp as they enslave your sympathy in a frivolous display of crowd pleasing entertainments and skills including Chinese pole, hoop diving and audience interaction. Then let them captivate you with taboo acts of subjugation!
This original production combines the provocative humor of bouffon (a form of grotesque satirical physical theatre where characters on the outskirts of society use subversive humor and ecstatic play to highlight ignored or marginalized issues within society), the vulnerability of clown, audience interaction and spectacular acrobatic feats to explore the themes of captivity vs. freedom.
The primary question that the show sets out to explore is: What does captivity and objectification of animals do - not only to animals but to us as humans? And what are the repercussions and consequences of captivity?
"The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth challenges perceptions about primal and civilized behavior, freedom and captivity, and our often-forgotten relationship to primates. Ross has a captivating repertoire of circus skills and engages the audience in surprising ways. "
- Debórah Eliezer, Co-Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater
"The athleticism displayed in The Greatest Monkey Show on Earth is only matched by its insightful social commentary. Ross Travis uses human and animal relations to explore issues of imprisonment, agency, and coercion. The audience will laugh and scream with a smile, but as the lights go down they are left with haunting personal questions."
- Dillon Slagle, LMDA
The Greatest Monkey Show is the debut production of Antic in a Drain which was created in 2014 to develop characters and tell stories that use vulnerable humor, cutting satire, physical spectacle and unscripted audience interaction to ignite dialogue about social, political and personal issues. The Greatest Monkey Show, is a theatrical experience that springs from two years of research into North Korean animal shows, Monkey plays in the Noh tradition, Balinese monkey mask plays, a trip to Thailand to see actual animal shows, Shaun Monson’s film Earthlings, Ohnuki-Tierney’s book The Monkey as Mirror, the Chinese epic Journey to the West: The Monkey King and last but not least, Planet of the Apes.
Ross Travis is an award-winning actor and circus performer, most recently seen playing The Ponce in Panache with Firefly Theatre and Circus based out of Edmonton, Canada. Ross also recently created the role of Mutton in Salvage with Kinetic Arts Productions. Ross has worked with Circus Bella, Sweet Can Circus, We Players and Magic Theatre. Ross won a TITAN Award Grant for Actors in 2012 from Theatre Bay Area and was voted Artist to Watch in 2013 by the SF Weekly. For three years he was one half of Naked Empire Bouffon Company where his work on You Killed Hamlet, or Guilty Creatures Sitting At A Play, won the San Francisco Best of the Fringe Award, the Vancouver/Plank Magazine Talk of the Fringe Award, a nomination for Vancouver’s Georgia Straight Critic’s Pick Award, an Official Selection of the Toronto Festival of Clowns, and the 2012 Best Fusion Theatre Piece Stuey.
"An impossibly supple performer." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun
“Travis’ pole work made me think “how the hell is he doing that?” more than once.” - Mark Rudio, A Beast in the Jungle
"A comic marvel." - Lily Janiak, SF Weekly
After making audiences go bananas at the Edmonton and Vancouver Fringe Festivals in Canada, receiving a four-star review from Global News and the inaugural Artistic Risk Award in Vancouver, Charles the Chimp swings home to San Francisco. Don’t miss out as Ross Travis, San Francisco based, international performing Chinese pole acrobat, bouffon and current Kinetic Arts Center Artist-in-Residence, pairs up with Chelsey award-winning comedienne Amelia Van Brunt, (recently seen in Fou Fou Ha’s smash hit WHOA-MAN), as they go ape and fling this critically acclaimed show to the next limb.
Antic in a Drain and Kinetic Arts Center proudly present The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth. Prepare to be overwhelmed to flabbergastion as you see incredible feats of dexterity, sophistication and objectification unlike anything you’ve seen from our primate ancestors before. This isn’t your run of the mill animal show here, folks -- no sir, you are in for something special! Behold the brilliance of Maitresse Magnificent and Charles the Chimp as they enslave your sympathy in a frivolous display of crowd pleasing entertainments and skills including Chinese pole, hoop diving and audience interaction. Then let them captivate you with taboo acts of subjugation!
This original production combines the provocative humor of bouffon (a form of grotesque satirical physical theatre where characters on the outskirts of society use subversive humor and ecstatic play to highlight ignored or marginalized issues within society), the vulnerability of clown, audience interaction and spectacular acrobatic feats to explore the themes of captivity vs. freedom.
The primary question that the show sets out to explore is: What does captivity and objectification of animals do - not only to animals but to us as humans? And what are the repercussions and consequences of captivity?
"The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth challenges perceptions about primal and civilized behavior, freedom and captivity, and our often-forgotten relationship to primates. Ross has a captivating repertoire of circus skills and engages the audience in surprising ways. "
- Debórah Eliezer, Co-Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater
"The athleticism displayed in The Greatest Monkey Show on Earth is only matched by its insightful social commentary. Ross Travis uses human and animal relations to explore issues of imprisonment, agency, and coercion. The audience will laugh and scream with a smile, but as the lights go down they are left with haunting personal questions."
- Dillon Slagle, LMDA
The Greatest Monkey Show is the debut production of Antic in a Drain which was created in 2014 to develop characters and tell stories that use vulnerable humor, cutting satire, physical spectacle and unscripted audience interaction to ignite dialogue about social, political and personal issues. The Greatest Monkey Show, is a theatrical experience that springs from two years of research into North Korean animal shows, Monkey plays in the Noh tradition, Balinese monkey mask plays, a trip to Thailand to see actual animal shows, Shaun Monson’s film Earthlings, Ohnuki-Tierney’s book The Monkey as Mirror, the Chinese epic Journey to the West: The Monkey King and last but not least, Planet of the Apes.
Ross Travis is an award-winning actor and circus performer, most recently seen playing The Ponce in Panache with Firefly Theatre and Circus based out of Edmonton, Canada. Ross also recently created the role of Mutton in Salvage with Kinetic Arts Productions. Ross has worked with Circus Bella, Sweet Can Circus, We Players and Magic Theatre. Ross won a TITAN Award Grant for Actors in 2012 from Theatre Bay Area and was voted Artist to Watch in 2013 by the SF Weekly. For three years he was one half of Naked Empire Bouffon Company where his work on You Killed Hamlet, or Guilty Creatures Sitting At A Play, won the San Francisco Best of the Fringe Award, the Vancouver/Plank Magazine Talk of the Fringe Award, a nomination for Vancouver’s Georgia Straight Critic’s Pick Award, an Official Selection of the Toronto Festival of Clowns, and the 2012 Best Fusion Theatre Piece Stuey.
"An impossibly supple performer." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun
“Travis’ pole work made me think “how the hell is he doing that?” more than once.” - Mark Rudio, A Beast in the Jungle
"A comic marvel." - Lily Janiak, SF Weekly
read more
Antic in a Drain and Kinetic Arts Center proudly present The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth. Prepare to be overwhelmed to flabbergastion as you see incredible feats of dexterity, sophistication and objectification unlike anything you’ve seen from our primate ancestors before. This isn’t your run of the mill animal show here, folks -- no sir, you are in for something special! Behold the brilliance of Maitresse Magnificent and Charles the Chimp as they enslave your sympathy in a frivolous display of crowd pleasing entertainments and skills including Chinese pole, hoop diving and audience interaction. Then let them captivate you with taboo acts of subjugation!
This original production combines the provocative humor of bouffon (a form of grotesque satirical physical theatre where characters on the outskirts of society use subversive humor and ecstatic play to highlight ignored or marginalized issues within society), the vulnerability of clown, audience interaction and spectacular acrobatic feats to explore the themes of captivity vs. freedom.
The primary question that the show sets out to explore is: What does captivity and objectification of animals do - not only to animals but to us as humans? And what are the repercussions and consequences of captivity?
"The Greatest Monkey Show On Earth challenges perceptions about primal and civilized behavior, freedom and captivity, and our often-forgotten relationship to primates. Ross has a captivating repertoire of circus skills and engages the audience in surprising ways. "
- Debórah Eliezer, Co-Artistic Director, foolsFURY Theater
"The athleticism displayed in The Greatest Monkey Show on Earth is only matched by its insightful social commentary. Ross Travis uses human and animal relations to explore issues of imprisonment, agency, and coercion. The audience will laugh and scream with a smile, but as the lights go down they are left with haunting personal questions."
- Dillon Slagle, LMDA
The Greatest Monkey Show is the debut production of Antic in a Drain which was created in 2014 to develop characters and tell stories that use vulnerable humor, cutting satire, physical spectacle and unscripted audience interaction to ignite dialogue about social, political and personal issues. The Greatest Monkey Show, is a theatrical experience that springs from two years of research into North Korean animal shows, Monkey plays in the Noh tradition, Balinese monkey mask plays, a trip to Thailand to see actual animal shows, Shaun Monson’s film Earthlings, Ohnuki-Tierney’s book The Monkey as Mirror, the Chinese epic Journey to the West: The Monkey King and last but not least, Planet of the Apes.
Ross Travis is an award-winning actor and circus performer, most recently seen playing The Ponce in Panache with Firefly Theatre and Circus based out of Edmonton, Canada. Ross also recently created the role of Mutton in Salvage with Kinetic Arts Productions. Ross has worked with Circus Bella, Sweet Can Circus, We Players and Magic Theatre. Ross won a TITAN Award Grant for Actors in 2012 from Theatre Bay Area and was voted Artist to Watch in 2013 by the SF Weekly. For three years he was one half of Naked Empire Bouffon Company where his work on You Killed Hamlet, or Guilty Creatures Sitting At A Play, won the San Francisco Best of the Fringe Award, the Vancouver/Plank Magazine Talk of the Fringe Award, a nomination for Vancouver’s Georgia Straight Critic’s Pick Award, an Official Selection of the Toronto Festival of Clowns, and the 2012 Best Fusion Theatre Piece Stuey.
"An impossibly supple performer." - Colin Maclean, Edmonton Sun
“Travis’ pole work made me think “how the hell is he doing that?” more than once.” - Mark Rudio, A Beast in the Jungle
"A comic marvel." - Lily Janiak, SF Weekly
show less
Date/Times:
Kinetic Arts Center
785 7th Street, Oakland, CA 94607
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