Clown Double Bill Performance

Fly on a Wall Presents a CLOWN DOUBLE BILL featuring My Grandmother's Eyepatch by Julia VanderVeen and 1-MAN NO-SHOW by Isaac Kessler.

WHEN: 

Saturday, October 14th @ 7:30pm

WHERE: 

Windmill Arts

2823 Church Street

East Point, GA 30344

*free small parking lot at Windmill Arts. More free residental parking along Thompson Avenue adjacent to Windmill Arts. Please do not park in any other surrounding business parking lots*

COST: 

$30 in advance 

$35 at the door

*no refunds or exchanges available at this time 

-------------------------

In an interview with Fly on a Wall Team Member, Sean Nguyen-Hilton, and Julia and Isaac, Sean writes, "In speaking with Julia VanderVeen and Isaac Kessler ahead of the Atlanta premier of their works, My Grandmother’s Eyepatch and 1-MAN NO-SHOW respectively, it is apparent that they deeply respect the rigorous play, vulnerability, and idiocy that appears to be integral to the form. In Clown, it’s “the giant heart, not following the rules, and deep laughter at ourselves that I think is really healing” says Julia and for Isaac, the work he does is an opportunity to “Laugh at the arrogance of society, the pretentiousness of all the people in power who control and tell us what to do, who treat us like sheep.”

Julia and Isaac met at a workshop with their mentor, Aitor Basauri, in Hawaii. This meeting led to Isaac directing the first iteration of Julias My Grandmother’s Eyepatch, which premiered in Connecticut and New York in 2019. In the work, we see Julia the actor try to have a memorial service for her grandmother, but it becomes apparent that she’s doing it to further her career. She refers to herself as an “idiot” in the work, which to her means her humanity is unabashedly on display.

“What happens when an idiot leads a memorial service for a long-deceased family member? In this off-the-wall-comedy, New York City based comedian, clown, and improvisor Julia VanderVeen leads the audience through wild stages of grief as she attempts to honor her beloved Grandmother.”

In Isaac’s 1-MAN NO-SHOW he parodies a pretentious performance artist who thinks he has created the highest of art, and is there to show the audience what real theater is. “The character believes he’s made the best show but a bunch of things go wrong”. His work plays into Bouffon, which he describes as a type of clowning that is like a “funhouse mirror reflecting society”.

-------------------------

Julia VanderVeen:

Julia VanderVeen (she/her) is an award-winning actor and clown, based in NYC. She apprenticed as a clown teacher under master teacher Chris Bayes at the Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, and at his private studio in Brooklyn. Julia has toured her solo show, My Grandmother’s Eyepatch,  nationally and internationally to great acclaim, including winning "Best Solo Show for Comedy" in the Orlando Fringe Festival, and "Best Solo Clown Show" in Frigid Fringe NYC. Critics have said such amazing things about Julia such as she is “Carol Burnett-esque” as well as she is “a professional actor.” Julia is a sought-after clown teacher, teaching in exciting places like Goshen, Indiana! She lives with her husband, her two cats, and her ambitious plant collection. 

Winner of “Best Solo Clown” award in the 2022 FRIGID Festival in NYC, Winner "Best of the Fest" Orlando Sentinel, "Best Solo Show Comedy" in the 2023 Orlando Fringe.

"VanderVeen's tour de force...live-action Muppet Show meets Carol Burnett-esque embrace of absurdity made me laugh harder than any other Fringe show this year." - Orlando Weekly

Isaac Kessler:

Isaac Kessler (he/him) has been performing, teaching, devising, writing, directing, and producing comedy for over 18 years. He is an internationally-acclaimed and multiple Canadian Comedy Award nominee (2012/14/15/19), nominated as Best Male Improviser in 2015 and is one half of the award-winning ClownProv juggernaut 2-MAN NO-SHOW alongside his comedic soulmate Ken Hall. In 2022, with direction by Sweet Action Theatre’s Gordon Neill, Isaac premiered his solo clown show, 1-MAN NO-SHOW , which won the Artist’s Pick Award at the Edmonton Fringe - North America’s largest theatre festival. He is also an award-winning director/deviser of two solo clown shows: Julia VanderVeen’s My Grandmother’s Eyepatch, and Victoria Watson-Sepejak’s Rivulus: Poems for God. Julia won the Critic’s Choice award for BEST SOLO SHOW – COMEDY at the Orlando Fringe Festival in 2023, and was also named as TOP 20 Best of Fest in the Orlando Sentinel. In 2022 she was the recipient of the "Best Solo Clown" and "EstroGenius" awards in New York’s FRIGID Festival. Victoria was awarded the Fringe of the Fringe Award at the world premiere of their solo show in the 2023 Orlando Fringe. Isaac possesses some TV credits and features in a bunch of funny national commercials like the beer one where he performed on-camera for four and a half hours straight. In December 2022, Isaac collaborated with Sweet Action Theatre to create and produce A Solo Show Festival - Toronto’s first ever solo clown festival. This exciting new endeavour showcased established and emerging artists through the innovative artform of Clown Theatre. For the past 11 years, Isaac’s training has focused on Clown, Mask, Idiot Work, Bouffon, and LeCoq-based Physical Theatre with world-renowned instructors Philippe Gaulier (mentor of Sacha Baron Cohen), Paola Coletto, John Gilkey, Dr. Brown (Philip Burgers), and Aitor Basauri of Spymonkey fame. He has performed with the ground-breaking Wet The Hippo Collective by Cirque du Soleil’s John Gilkey, and Off-Broadway with Dean Evan’s visionary Bouffon troupe Mil Grus (Producer’s Award - Hollywood Fringe/Fringe Encore Series - NYC’s SOHO Playhouse). Isaac’s voice is also pretty cool. He’s been listened to over 32 millions times on YouTube’s Dodo Kids Channel! You can learn from Isaac at Sweet Action Theatre’s Ridiculous Institute of Funny, a brand new curriculum focusing on Creative play and Devised Theatre. And follow him on TikTok (@djmenorah) because he went viral once!

“An utterly bizarre, hilarious experience, and I could have watched it for twelve more hours. It's a must-see.” - Intermission Magazine

WINNER: Artists Pick Award - Edmonton Fringe Festival 2022

Know Before You Go: 

• Drinks and snacks available by donation
• Each work is approximatley one hour in length
• 15 minute intermission 
• Windmill Arts is an ADA compliant building
• Restrooms available