Posted on Jun 24, 2015
Hi there! Thank you so much for considering A Girl’s Guide to War for media coverage and helping us promote our show. Our media release is below. High-res images of our show are here. Please note: All photos should be credited to Shawn Cupolo. If you do not see the format you require, please feel free to contact us: claire@clairepatton.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
14-Year-Old Girl Declares War Over Talent Show Debacle A Girl’s Guide to War at Winnipeg Fringe 2015 Winnipeg, Manitoba June 18, 2015 Performed by Claire Patton and Tim Rearick Written by Claire Patton Directed by Colleen Mylott presented by Quake Theater as part of Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival Thursday, 7/16 7:15 PM [2-for-1 Tickets] Saturday, 7/18 12:00 PM Sunday, 7/19 5:15 PM Monday, 7/20 10:30 PM Wednesday, 7/22 3:30 PM Thursday, 7/23 8:45 PM Saturday, 7/25 1:45 PM Sunday, 7/26 3:30 PM Venue # 3: The Playhouse Studio Tickets: $10 [Discount Tickets: $7] 180 Market Ave. [Entrance on Main St.] Teenager Millicent Gulch steps on stage at her middle school talent show expecting to give the performance of her young life. She has visions of standing ovations and being carried out of the auditorium on the shoulders of her classmates. Things do not go quite as planned… Abandoned onstage by her best friend, fiery fourteen-year-old Millicent declares war and takes over Waybrough Middle School’s annual talent show. She recruits the audience as her army, training them for battle and teaching them her rules of warfare. In this rapid-fire comedy, Millicent redefines war with the help of Napoleon Bonaparte, a mind-reading mouse, and a reluctant stage hand named Scott. A Girl’s Guide to War incorporates elements of comedy, improv, shadow puppetry, and audience participation. Part primer on how to be a badass, part middle school confessional, A Girl’s Guide to War is a satirical and touching journey through the treacherous arena of teenage emotions. A Girl’s Guide to War brings together some of the most exciting theatrical talent Colorado has to offer: Claire Patton- powerhouse physical performer, comedy writer, and creative mastermind, Colleen Mylott- a lauded experimental theatre director known for her epic collaborative productions, and Tim Rearick- innovative mask/puppet maker and performer. “electrifying…a barrel of laughs and a gloriously good time” – King’s River Life Magazine “deliciously edgy” – Fresno Bee “powerful…a must see show” – Marc Gonzalez, The Road to 1,000 For More Information: Claire Patton: claire@clairepatton.com...
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Posted on Oct 28, 2014
I’m working on something new. I’m in the early stages, just writing and booking dates, but, by golly, it’s fun! All I know is this: It will happen in Boulder and then Fresno, CA in the Spring. It will be wild, ridiculous, and will center around a teenage girl’s undying admiration for a controversial historical figure. I need an awesome hat. Not just any hat, but a really special one. This hat has to be a replica, NOT a costume hat. [I only know this because that’s what my character tells me.] I feel like a slingshot. A piece of popcorn. This one’s going to be big. Fall feels like a good time for all this....
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Posted on Jan 21, 2014
Hey everyone! Lucia and I are pleased to announce our 2014 tour dates for our physical comedy, The Awkward Art of Flying. Pantaloons and pantomime, rules, ribbons and flying objects, this extreme physical duet will flip you upside down and inside out. The Awkward Art of Flying explores the elusive theme of feminine identity: trying it on, taking it off, and the shedding of layers in between. Experience a death match between debutante chickens and cavewomen dreaming of flight. Downton Abbey with a splash of Carol Burnett, vaudeville flirting with absurdist comedy, traversing genres, personifying objects, animals, and historical heroines along the way in a string of fiercely imaginative and unexpectedly human poetic vignettes. Leave your parasol at the door, button your buttons and batten down the hatches… it’s going to be a bumpy ride! 2014 Tour Dates: Fresno Rogue Festival: Fresno, CA February 28-March 9, 2014 Edmonton Fringe Festival: Edmonton, Alberta Canada August 14-24, 2014 Boulder International Fringe Festival: Boulder, CO September 17-28, 2014 ...
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Posted on Aug 2, 2013
“I believe that theatre is best when it is fanatically theatrical. This is its one chance of survival. It will never be satisfactory as journalism, television, or cinema. Neither can it just be literature. It has to remember that it is theatre.” – Ariane Mnouchkine What is theatrical then? As a performer, I have a body, a heart, a mind, a voice. I move in space in front of an audience. I say things. I tell a story. I feel things. Then the audience feels things. Maybe those things make them feel more things. It all happens right now. That is theater. ...
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Posted on May 5, 2013
I hate it when artists use the word “Innovation”. Here’s why: Innovation is a lie. It’s one of those buzzwords that we artists use to feed our own egos and make ourselves feel important. And creating art directly from the ego is a volatile practice at best. The art you create should transcend you. I know Mozart was an ass, but you can make the argument that in composing, that in music he was somehow able to transcend his own ass-y nature. If art is to reach even one stranger, then it has to be greater than you. Ego cannot create that because ego is all about itself, about you and it goes no further than that. (By the way, I’m not arguing that you can’t create art from a personal place, just that that you have to nourish the artwork as something outside yourself. You have to protect it, let it grow as something “other” and bigger than you.) Innovation is overrated. I hold to the old ways, the belief that art is a reflection of nature. If it isn’t a reflection of nature or directly play in contrast to nature then it is untrue and unreliable from the audience’s perspective. Your work has to be true. That means that somewhere the audience recognizes themselves in what you’re playing, whether it’s a tragic hero or a Mouseketeer. Often the pursuit of innovation as a goal results in the loss of that truth. Innovation overtakes truth and twists it into something unrecognizable. Innovation becomes an excuse for creating work that is hollow and mediocre. Innovation is impossible. In the seventies, thinking outside the box was an interesting artistic proposal, a departure from traditional theater practices. Nowadays, there is no such thing as traditional theater practices. People are making art in all sorts of ways and crossing boundaries all the time. Rebellion is only valuable if there is something to rebel against. There isn’t. Well, there’s still one thing to rebel against: bad art. Innovation is often used as some kind of gimmick, used to mask the fact that a piece of art is bad. What’s the point of innovation if what you have created is lifeless? Forget innovation, just focus on creating good art and entertaining people while you’re at it. That’s what this world needs more of. Challenge yourself as an artist, yes. Try new things and go...
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