BY LUCIA MAURO
Not only has the experimental clown-based company 500 Clown dared to utter the name of Shakespeare’s doomed Scottish king in a theatre, they’ve done it while dangling from a shaky platform several stories up or taking head-first dives into precariously placed scenery. In the process of deconstructing actors’ superstitions, the creators of the sleeper hit 500 Clown Macbeth have somehow tapped into the paradoxical essence of human fear and blind ambition.
Their major groundbreaking performance work–featuring dangerous stunts and brilliantly crafted non-verbals as three clowns attempt to perform the famous titular tragedy, only to fail as they plunge deeper into the abyss of greed–continues to have a life. It also inspired its artists to form their own for-profit company and codify the 500 Clown Technique. It uses circus arts, improvisation and action-based performances to produce theatre that catapults the performers into extreme physical and emotional risk. The work shifts the audience from passive to active observers and creates a charged environment that celebrates the unpredictable power of the moment.
The rapid-fire success story of this boundary-smashing Chicago ensemble is as intriguing as its simultaneously cerebral and cranium-cracking style.
500 Clown debuted under the name "F" in a performance of 500 Clown Macbeth starring Adrian Danzig, Paul Kalina and David Engel (with set design/construction by Dan Reilly) at Charybdis in the fall of 2000. Engel, who now lives in New York, soon left the troupe. However, Molly Brennan–a Factory Theatre ensemble member–saw the show and felt it was one of the most liberating experiences of her life. Her passion for physical theatre convinced Danzig and Kalina to bring her on as the new third clown in their dark vaudevillian version of Macbeth–more akin to Beckett, Fellini and Buster Keaton than Ringling Bros. The following spring, 500 Clown Macbeth headlined the first annual "City of Fools" festival at Chopin Theatre.
That was the first time I saw this fearless trio perform. Their synergy–not to mention their shrieks and seemingly out-of-body experiences–was so intense, it practically coagulated like the thick splotches of stage blood flooding the theatre. They also managed to "perform" during a previous interview/photo shoot in sub-freezing temperatures in a junkyard–bolting across heaps of rubble clad in plaid skirts and sporting red-painted ears.
A commitment to addressing timeless issues underlies their maniacal energy, and they manage to reveal human foibles through their characters’ artfully orchestrated failures.
After taking 500 Clown Macbeth on tour to New York, New Hampshire and Maryland, the troupe remounted the show this past spring at Chopin Theatre–raising the stakes even higher (from Danzig and Kalina taking real swings at each other on a high, narrow ledge to Danzig igniting more than 200 firecrackers on his crotch to create a complex-crescendo sonic explosion). They also had a chance to more clearly define their performance energies after working with French-Israeli clown artist Ami Hattab.
They taught workshops in clown, circus arts, physical comedy, improvisation, mask, adaptation, and devising performance from text and non-text sources. And, this time around, the show attracted a huge following and sparked interest from producers across the country.
But the members of 500 Clown–which include Danzig, Kalina, Brennan, Reilly, directors Leslie Buxbaum and Jon Sherman and stage manager Laura Glenn–are taking things one step at a time. They recently incorporated as 500 Clown (a name originally coined by Kalina and one that stuck with audiences) and are developing a new physical piece, 500 Clown Frankenstein (based on Mary Shelley’s novel), scheduled to premiere next year. The troupe also will perform as part of Performing Arts Chicago’s "Studio Series" in the spring.
"We’re using classic texts to reflect our human values," says Danzig, also a founding member of Redmoon Theatre. "But we’re brushing up against the text. The text is a fountain shooting us with ideas."
While brainstorming about 500 Clown Frankenstein, Kalina–extensively trained in physical theatre, clowning, fight choreography and mask making–ponders the book’s immediacy.
"I would like to explore the idea of personal responsibility," he shares, "and look at what we’ve created as a society and how that applies to the current state of our world."
He continues, "I want to see how these stories are relevant today. With Macbeth, we addressed how blind ambition fractures and isolates you. But we’re not out there to bludgeon–that’s the great power of the clown. Clowning is about evoking emotion. Laughter is just one color. The clown explores fear, anger, sorrow and joy.
"Theatre has become so passive. We’re a society that is very isolated. We box up our emotions or let them out in voyeuristic ways. The clown lets you know you’re alive."
For Brennan, 500 Clown is distinguished for its wholly integrated dependence on the timbre of the audience. "We don’t put the audience on the spot," stresses Brennan, "but they definitely dictate the course of the show. They are clowns with us."
"It’s about pushing the edge," adds Kalina, "and challenging our audiences. But we’ll never hurt or intimidate them."
Danzig found that more parents brought their children to the most recent staging of 500 Clown Macbeth, despite its adult content. Yet he thinks kids are especially drawn to "this big cartoon of humans on stage." For Danzig, 500 Clown is more than a company–it’s a calling.
"We’re tapping into something larger than us," he notes. "We’re making a connection with audiences that’s bigger than entertainment. It involves courage–the courage to shake up yourself and your sense of what you thought of yourself five minutes ago. Instead of serving this particular form, we’re forging it."
500 Clown’s long-term vision is one that extends citywide. Sharing a space with other clown artists to develop work and teach 500 Clown Technique, as well as build a greater performing presence here, are major goals. National and international touring are on the agenda. Danzig, Kalina and Brennan–also members of the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit at the University of Chicago Children’s Hospital and La Rabida–believe their serious brand of clowning marks a new phase in the development of a local arts aesthetic.
"What we’re doing is the new Chicago-style theatre," announces Danzig.
For more information, visit www.500clown.com.