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Mark Jaster

Performance, Theatre

My great teacher, Etienne Decroux (1898-1991) said, “Do the extraordinary with the ordinary.” In my performances
I seek to use the simplest physical means to convey images and ideas, and remind us all of the power of the human imagination, body, and spirit. I employ gesture, music, humor and silence to engage audiences of all ages.

About the Artist

Mark Jaster served as teaching assistant to Marcel Marceau. He brings over 40 years of performance experience, including over 30 years as a featured act at the Maryland Renaissance Festival, thousands of performances and hundreds of residencies for school-age audiences. He is also Artistic Co-Director of the award-winning Happenstance Theater, and has served as movement consultant to many regional theaters.

Mark Jaster website Mark Jaster Mark Jaster website Happenstance Theater

Featured Work

Photos

Wingnut A family-friendly interactive clowning performance featuring the foolish and musical misuse of tools. A folding rule becomes a shark (among other things), a saw makes lyrical melodies, a drop cloth creates characters requested by the audience, and a harmonica accompanies manual labor as Wingnut ultimately accomplishes the task at hand. (Grades preK-adult)
Pinot & Augustine A sure-fire crowd-pleaser, Pinot & Augustine is a classic, family-friendly clown duo inspired by the golden age of circus. Pinot is the authoritarian clown in fancy clothes and white cone hat. Augustine is the appealing red-nosed bumbler who punctures his pomposity. Their show bubbles over with physical comedy, virtuosity and musical surprises from the sublime to the ridiculous: from lyrical melodies on a musical saw to pratfalls and a whoopee cushion. The show is primarily physical comedy, but the minimal text is nevertheless bilingual: Pinot speaks French and Augustine speaks English.

Videos

  • Wingnut

    See more information about Wingnut
    Wingnut
    A family-friendly interactive clowning performance featuring the foolish and musical misuse of tools. A folding rule becomes a shark (among other things), a saw makes lyrical melodies, a drop cloth creates characters requested by the audience, and a harmonica accompanies manual labor as Wingnut eventually accomplishes the task at hand.. (Grades preK-adult)
    Medium: performance
    Details: c. 40 min. run time; modular and adapatible

  • Pinot & Augustine

    See more information about Pinot & Augustine
    Pinot & Augustine
    A sure-fire crowd-pleaser, Pinot & Augustine is a classic, family-friendly clown duo inspired by the golden age of circus. Pinot is the authoritarian clown in fancy clothes and white cone hat. Augustine is the appealing red-nosed bumbler who punctures his pomposity. Their show bubbles over with physical comedy, virtuosity and musical surprises from the sublime to the ridiculous: from lyrical melodies on a musical saw to pratfalls and a whoopee cushion.
    The show is primarily physical comedy, but the minimal text is nevertheless bilingual: Pinot speaks French and Augustine speaks English.
    Medium: performance
    Details: c. 45 min. run time; modular and adapatible

Booking

For booking contact
markljaster@gmail.com
or
happenstancetheater@gmail.com

None!

None.

Carolyn Spedden, Entertainment Director, Maryland Renaissance Festival. carolyn@rennfest.com
Lauren Campbell, Director of Education, Strathmore. LCampbell@strathmore.org

Arts in Education

Audiences Types: Grades Pre-K – 2, Grades 3-5, Middle School (6-8 grade), High School (9-12 grade), Educators

In residencies I seek to engage participants in the creative process, to expand their expressive vocabulary, to place Mime in context of history and the other arts, and to bring joy. Multiple residency designs explore artistic/creative vocabularies from a physical perspective: expression, volume, articulation, technique, clarity, punctuation, commitment, communication, dynamics, illusion, focus, style and scale. Single meetings or in series, from elementary age to graduate level. Best when preceded by a performance.

Piccolo's Trunk; Wingnut; The Maestro; A Fool Named 'O'.
Through Happenstance Theater: Pinot & Augustine