LEWISTON — Music. Magic. Mirth. And, mayhem.
Families can expect that and more when the Lewiston Auburn Variety Arts Festival (LAVA Fest & LAVA Kids), formerly known as Phyzgig, brings classic vaudevillian comedy to Bates College on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14-15.
LAVA Fest’s vaudeville shows offer juggling, illusions, magic, storytelling and physical comedy. Each performance is a mini-festival unto itself, showcasing the work of three to seven vaudeville entertainers.
Performing in December, courtesy of L/A Arts, will be theater artist Leland Faulkner; storyteller/mime Antonio Rocha; professional ballet dancer and mime artist Karen Montanaro; and Fred Garbo, performer and creator of Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co. Also: Yo-Yo People, aka John & Rebecca Higby, 2008 World Yo-Yo Champion in Artistic Performance; and AudioBody, Matt and Jason Tardy who synthesize music, comedy and technology.
Faulkner combines Japanese art forms, mime, shadow theater, illusion, improvisation and folk tales with original special effects. Born in Afghanistan to Native American parents, he spent seven years on the coast of Tanzania, East Africa, and credits his international experience with stimulating his love for theater.
Faulkner is a trained actor, director, choreographer, licensed pyrotechnician, film-maker and a creator of effects for theater and television. He is former director of the Celebration Barn Theatre and has taken a wide variety of popular programs to audiences worldwide for more than 20 years.
Rocha came from Brazil to the United States, where he studied with mime masters Tony Montanaro and Marcel Marceau. His blend of verbal narrative and mime has earned him invitations to venues in 14 countries on six continents, such as the National Storytelling Festival, Kennedy Center, Graz Festival in Austria, Dunya Festival in the Netherlands and Singapore Festival of Arts. He is also the author of a children’s book.
Montanaro danced with the Ohio Ballet and the Marmstadt Opera Ballet in Germany. From 1987-2002, she performed and taught with Tony Montanaro. For the past 20 years, she has taught mime, dance and movement to children of all ages in schools throughout the United States. The Maine Arts Commission has recognized her as the originator of a new art form — the fusion of mime and dance.
Garbo got paid for doing a card trick in 1974, and has been a professional performer ever since. On “Sesame Street,” he was the acrobat inside Barkley the Dog. On Broadway, he was the chief juggler in the musical “Barnum.” He toured Europe, Hong Kong and Australia with the Obie Award-winning “Foolsfire,” with Bob Berky and Michael Moschen.
Whether tumbling for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center or dancing with MOMIX in Brazil, Garbo brings a gymnast’s timing and an actor’s presence to his Inflatable Theater Co. For two decades, he has invented inflatables with artist/builder George York. Garbo trained and performed with Tony Montanaro.
Yo-Yo People’s John & Rebecca Higiby, who are husband and wife, are known for their skill and deft timing to swingin’ music, coupled with high energy and humor appropriate for every age.
John started performing as a teen while living and attending school in Colorado. His first big break was at the Denver Busker Festival. Soon he was performing for U.S troops abroad and busker festivals took him all over Canada, Singapore and Japan. Rebecca, who has a degree in elementary education and human development from Connecticut College, met John in 2001 and was easily incorporated into his show.
Brothers Matthew and Jason trained extensively at the Celebration Barn Theater with Tony Montanaro, as well as Broadway comedians, gold-medal jugglers and Cirque Du Soleil performers. They started creating music under the name AudioBody in 2004. Their music was featured in the Emmy-nominated video of EepyBird’s Extreme Diet Coke and Mentos experiments.
The siblings have created an arsenal of audio-visual inventions, including wearable electronic jumpsuits that play music as they move, LED light tubes that are manipulated at high speeds in the dark and a 16-foot wide electronic drum set.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 14-15 and 2 p.m. Dec. 15 at Schaeffer Theatre, Bates College, 305 College St. Tickets to evening shows are $15/$10 for students and seniors. Tickets to the Saturday LAVA Kids matinee are $10 for adults/$8 for children 14 and younger. Call 782-7228 or visit www.laarts.org.
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