All Fall Down Blog Piece

on Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction

John Towsen of All Fall Down: The Craft + Art of Physical Comedy fame did a write up of the live screening we did of silent short film duet Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction in September as part of the Amuse Bouche Clown Festival in Brooklyn NY.

We put together a new live musical score with Clifton Hyde and Stefan Zeniuk, and Director Michael Pope and Animator and star Zea Barker provided the sound effects with a tiny table with too too many things on it.

All live action, and much of the animation, was shot on super 8 film and edited digitally. The animation is a self-taught method that Zea came up with through trial and error and trying endlessly to get this endless business of hand-crafted animation to go a bit quicker.

lookee here:

Bony Lil's Distraction from Zea on Vimeo.


{intermission}


Bony Lil's Creation from Zea on Vimeo.

Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction Screening

BONY LIL's CREATION + DISTRACTION
short film duet
silent comedy * hand-crafted animation * live music + sound fx

Amuse Bouche 2011
ComedyShorts - Clowns on Film
The Brick Theater - williamsburg brooklyn
September 16th - 10pm
tickets



Bony Lil rides again! This will be only the second time these films have screened in New York (the first being in the fall of 2008 at Joe's Pub) This time, they are joined by other great clown films of Jeff Seal and Morro and Jasp as well as an animation/live performance from the multi-talented Isaac Littlejohn Eddy. With each new screening of these films co-creators Zea Barker and Michael Pope look for new folks to collaborate with and create new music for these silent pieces. Clifton Hyde has stepped to the task and will be sure to bring the funk as this is not his first rodeo in the genre. All sound effects are done live as well by Barker and Pope and their bag of tricks.

This is a special night in the month long clown festival Amuse Bouche taking place at the Brick Theater in Williamsburg Brooklyn (Lorimer Metropolitan L/G) THis night in particular will be hosted by the fabulous Audrey Crabtree and John Towsen!

There are a bunch of great live shows happening all month. Check'm out!

NY Downtown Clown Revue

As Lady Luck would have it, the entire line-up this month was women at the NY Downtown Clown Revue! We couldn't quite convince Christopher Lueck to don a dress for the occasion.
Brenn Swanson, Butt Kapinski, Amanda Crockett and the lovely stagehand Aquarium (and, of course, Bony Lil) brought the house down.

Jim Moore at vaudevisuals.com posted a blog with a bunch of fine pictures of the evening.

These are from that.

Bony Lil January - NYC

Two performance this month in New York City!

BINDLESTIFF OPEN STAGE
January 3rd
Galapagos Art Space
DUMBO Brooklyn
8pm

+

NY DOWNTOWN CLOWN REVUE
January 17th
Dixon Place
LES Manhattan
7:30pm

Come on out! xx

Bony Lil's Recital

This is from the 2008 NY Clown Theater Festival. This piece has been around in various forms since about 2003. It started with canned music and then the wonderfully talented Valerie Thompson {who composed an original score to the short film/animation Bony Lil's Creation} came aboard to compose and perform an original piece.

This was a cabaret night at the clown festival and you will see a nice introduction by Joel Jeske at the top of the clip.

Bony Lil's Recital from Zea on Vimeo.

Bony Lil in the Loop- Chicago

Bony Lil - How To Give Up On Your Dreams - Lesson #14 from Zea on Vimeo.

An offshoot from the show I created for the NY Clown Theater Festival, "How to Give Up on Your Dreams, By Not Really Trying"

Spent an afternoon running around downtown Chicago with a camera.

Original music by Zebulun Barnow of B1g T1me. Chris Gummert on camera.

Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction - on yewknee.com

Many thanks to the wonderful Michael Eades for doing a nice write up of the Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction! If you didn't get at chance, check out the films, freshly released last week. Being the second, Creation, has been getting less traffic but is the one crammed full of hand-crafted animation in techniques never before seen! Check them out. Pass them on.

A Making-Of video with documentary footage and discussions with the filmmakers is on the way! Some great doc shots and a brief of the process can be found on bonylil.com.

RELEASE! Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction!

Happy Birthday, Buster Keaton!!

Short film duet, Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction.
Silent Comedy. Hand-crafted Animation. Original Scores.
Watch online in entirety for the first time ever.

Zea Barker and Michael Pope present...

Enjoy!

Bony Lil's Creaton + Distraction! Tomorrow!

Get Ready!
Distraction is 8.5 minutes and Creation is 10 minutes.
It's nice to take an intermission between them.

Movie time on the internet!!

Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction: TRAILERS

In anticipation of the big release of the films on October 4th: the trailers!

Bony Lil's Distraction TRAILER from Zea.

Bony Lil's Creation TRAILER from Zea.

Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction is coming!!

Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction is about to be released in entirety online for the first time ever!

Created by Zea Barker + Michael Pope

The short film duet blends live action silent comedy, unique hand-crafted animation and original scores by Valerie Thompson, Brian Viglione and a few talented musicians from Blue Man Group. The films explore two challenging sides of the creative process; Distraction is the classic story of girl meets blank sheet of paper and Creation explores the chaos of inspired creation and its various repercussions. Shot on black and white Super 8 film and digital, it features a unique style of hand-drawn and stop-motion animation devised by Zea Barker.

The films have been shown by Chicago Short Film Brigade, Blood From a Turnip Puppet Film Festival and the nationally touring Fuck the Back Row.

Soon: online for all to see!

October 4th - Worldwide
to celebrate the birth of master silent clown; Buster Keaton

tune in. It'll be a hoot.

Last Show! Saturday!

How to Give Up on Your Dreams: By Not really Trying
premiere solo clown show by Zea Barker
Saturday 25th, 6pm, The Brick Theater, Brooklyn

photo by Joe Kolbow

It's been a blast to get the show in front of people. Big chunks of rewrites each night as the piece takes better shape. It is great when moments land as planned. Sometimes even better when an unexpected audience reaction reveals something new about the piece.

This festival has been a wonderful opportunity to share work and meet others with similar passions. Any bajillionaires out there looking to invest in pure awesome, this is the place.

Check out the review on NYTheatre.com!

And come catch the last show of the run!

Opening Night!

The World Premiere of How to Give Up on Your Dreams: By Not Really Trying unfolded last night to a wonderful crowd at the NY Clown Theater Festival in Brooklyn. Two more shows to go.
September 20th @ 9pm and September 25th @ 6pm.
tickets

Check out the photo blog of the Show by Jim Moore at Vaudevisuals.com

How to Give Up on Your Dreams Premiere

How to Give Up on Your Dreams: By Not Really Trying
my new solo clown show
premieres at the NY Clown Theater Festival

Friday September 17th 9pm

The Brick Theater, Williamsburg Brooklyn

info
and plus like --> {sidebar}

tickets

An interview about the show

NY Clown Theater Festival 2010 - Parade + Pie Fight

RELEASE DATE: Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction

I am thrilled to announce a date for the long-awaited internet release of the short film duet, Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction!

To celebrate the 115th birthday of the masterful Buster Keaton,
the films will make their internet debut on October 4th!

We are excited.

xx

SOON!: Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction Internet Release

I'm working on the web pages for the release of the short film duet: Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction in entirety on the internet! These films began 5 years ago as an idea of Michael Pope and I. We shot in my apartment on black and white super8 and I started the mountain of hand-crafted animation. Two years later, they were complete and ready for their rounds of film festival submissions. So the internet waited. Then I applied for a grant to see if we could get some start-up cash to make dvds for sale. So the internet waited. Now, on the eve of the premier of my new solo show at the NY Clown Theater Festival in September, there is no better time to unleash them on the world.

COMING SOON TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU!!

Announcing: New Clown Show

How to Give Up on Your Dreams: By Not Really Trying
an original solo clown show

Premiering at the NY Clown Theatre Festival 2010

How To Give Up On Your Dreams: By Not Really Trying
Bony Lil aka Zea Barker
Chicago, IL
http://zeabarker.com
So much struggle. So much heartache. Don't you think it's time to let those dreams go? Take it from a recent convert. Bony Lil takes you by the hand and leads you to a place where you don't need to try and strive...and cry. Give up on your dreams. You'll be awfully glad you did. 45 min.

Friday September 17th 9pm
Monday September 20th 9pm
Saturday September 25th 6pm

tix!

This year's line-up is wonderful!

The Brick Theater, Inc., presenter of the first festival of Clown Theatre in New York in over 20 years in 2006, brings the festival back this fall as the 2010 New York Clown Theatre Festival, performing September 3-26 at The Brick Theater in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This year’s festival will feature diverse clown theatre artists from the Ukraine, Israel, Wales, Mexico, Canada, and across the United States from California, Connecticut, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Chicago and New York City.

The festival will present 17 mainstage shows, 4 kid-friendly shows, 1 street show, and 5 cabarets, including a cabaret devoted to clowns over 50! The festival begins on September 3 with its traditional opening day parade from Union Square through the L line subway to Williamsburg, followed by an open-to-the-public pie fight at The Brick Theater! And it closes on September 26 with the traditional closing day Funeral, with clowns weeping and wailing in the streets of Williamsburg.

The NEW YORK CLOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL will run September 3-26 at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street, Brooklyn). Tickets ($15) are available online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

UPCOMING!

I'm happy to announce after over 3 years of film festival submissions and peppered nationwide screenings, Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction are getting ready to be released in entirety on the world-wide internets! Stay tuned for deets! Check out the trailers in the meantime.



ALSO, I am happy to announce the wondrous City Feed and Supply will be carrying greeting cards featuring the blockprints I designed for the opening of their new store on Centre St. in Jamaica Plain a couple years ago! Stay tuned for deets!



PLUS, I am happy to announce I will have a full-length solo show in this year's NY Clown Theatre Festival in Brooklyn in September. Stayed for deets!

Meanwhile, I am unemployed and soon to be homeless. I am not too proud to beg on "the street." Feel free to donate to the cause (of me: vaganthead(at)gmail(dot)com) as I endeavor to move back east in September and mount my show. I will send you a thank you card of my own construction for your mantel.

xZ

performance reel 2009

selected performances 2004-2009

featuring:

*NY Clown Theatre Festival 2008
*"Stagehand"- Voltaic Vaudeville 2005
*"Stagehand"- Dresden Dolls Live in Paradise DVD 2005
*El Circo Cheapo 2009
*'Wanted' original clown show 2009
*'Bony Lil's Creation + Distraction' Short film duet 2007
*"Stagehand"- A Stupendous Display of Kickshaw Hibernaculum 2004