Cirque du Soleil Master of Clowns at ICC Performance

One of the few people to hold job titles of “Circus Director” and “Clown Wrangler,” for the famed modern circuses Teatro Zinzanni and Cirque du Soleil, will conduct a performance/lecture on Friday, August 25th, at Independence Community College.  The event is part of the William Inge Center for the Arts Guest Artist Lecture Series and begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Inge Theatre. Admission is free.

Stefan Haves directed the world-renowned dinner/circus Teatro Zinzanni and is Cirque Du Soleil’s North American "Clown Scout," responsible for casting clowns, conducting workshops, and aiding the 2007 touring show.  Haves will present some of his repertoire and discuss the nature future of physical comedy.  While in Independence, Haves will also conduct comedic workshops for ICC students.

“Stefan is a highly regarded expert in the field of physical comedy and it is no surprise that Cirque du Soleil has chosen him as director of their clown corps,” said Peter Ellenstein, Inge Center artistic director.  “I’ve been lucky enough to work with Stefan several times and he has always been inspiring, instructive and very, very funny.  We are thrilled that ICC students will have the rare opportunity to learn from Stefan and that area residents have the opportunity to see Stefan perform live.”

While at Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco and Seattle, Haves worked with premier acrobats, magicians, and clowns, as well as stars as Joan Baez and Tony-winning actress Lilliane Montevechi.

He was also creative consultant for the Tony Award-winning Broadway hit "Fool Moon" starring the “Clown Prince” Bill Irwin and David Shiner, long a featured performer with Cirque Du Soleil.  Shiner, one of the world’s masters of the art, remarked in the Los Angeles Times, “Stefan is a great help in my work and he's a creator in his own right. He has a great eye for the style and he's one of the rare people who's trying to bring this style of work back."

Haves’ education includes Del Arte’ School of Mime and Comedy and the “school of hard knocks” as a juggler and street clown in Paris.  He credits Philippe Gaulier, for years master teacher at the Lecoq School of Movement, as “his true teacher.” 

A self-proclaimed “improvisational addict,” Haves has worked with improv ensembles Second City, the Groundlings, and studied with renowned instructors Dee Marcus, Keith Johnstone, Paul Sills and Del Close.  As a writer, his hilarious shows are based on physical comedy and Commedia Del Arte’ techniques.

Haves has performed in numerous television and stage shows, but he might be best known to audiences for his comedic one-man show “Journey Back.”  Developed while Artist in Residence with the Music Center of Los Angeles, Haves toured this extraordinary show around the United States with the National Association of Campus Activities.  A small portion of it, titled “Back Man,” achieved global acknowledgement on various television shows. His comedy contortion act “Back Man” won $10,000 on “America’s Funniest People” television show.

As a film director, Haves wrote, produced, and directed the award-winning short film “Punch Drunk,” starring Sally Kellerman and Connie Selleca.  

In addition to being a stage and film director, Haves has helped actors during the pressure cooker of TV filming as an acting coach for “Roseanne,” “Joe’s Life,” and “Sister, Sister.” 

The William Inge Center for the Arts is sponsor of the annual William Inge Theatre Festival, which every year brings southeast Kansas one of America’s great playwrights for four days of professional theater workshops and performances.  The 26th Annual Inge Festival is April 25-28, 2007, and honors Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick, creators of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Fiorello!” and “She Loves Me,” among other beloved musicals.

The Inge Center is named for Independence native William Inge, a Pulitzer and Oscar winning writer whose works include “Picnic,” “Bus Stop,” “Splendor in the Grass,” and “Come Back, Little Sheba.”  The Inge Center is supported in part by grants from the Kansas Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, the William T. Kemper Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, and the Cessna Foundation.

For more information on the Guest Artist Lecture Series or other Inge Center activities, call (620) 332-5492 or visit www.ingecenter.org.