SARAH LIANE FOSTER
Heather Pearl graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in Inter-disciplinary Arts. While living in SF, Pearl performed with Clown Conspiracy, Women Walking Tall, Make*A*Circus, The SF Women’s Circus, and the Prescott Clowns. As a California Arts Council Artist, through Make*A*Circus, Pearl taught clowning and circus skills to special populations. She was instrumental in starting the Funny Bone Doctor program through Make*A*Circus, performing clowns rounds to pediatric wards and clinics twice a week.
In 1997, Pearl graduated from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, CA. She performed with the company the next year in The Weave, a Dell’Arte Mad River Production, directed by Joan Schirle. From 1998-2001, Pearl performed with Do Jump! Extremely Physical Theatre in Portland, Oregon and on tour.
In 2002, Pearl began working with Michael O’Neill as the Nomadic Theatre Co. Together they created The View From Here and Two Clowns Flex, appearing in Oregon, Idaho and California. She has continued to teach and perform regularly with the Nomadic Theatre Co, DoJump! and in Clowns Without Borders benefits. In April of 2003, Pearl went to Chiapas, Mexico on a Clowns Without Borders Expedition.
In 2004, Pearl with Sarah Liane Foster created and began performing The See-Saw Project: 2 Clowns, 1 Mat, No Exit. Since then they have created, with the direction of Michael O’Neill, two other shows: How to Fly and Written in a Letter.
Pearl will forever be grateful for meeting the red nose 16 years ago and for all the adventures working in it has brought her on—and all the ones yet to come.
Michael received his BFA in Theatre from Castleton State College and was subsequently accepted into the world-renowned Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College. Upon graduation Michael was chosen to tour with the Greatest Show on Earth – an honor bestowed on only three other graduates. For three years Michael toured extensively, performing in some of the largest and most prestigious venues throughout North America. Additionally, Michael helped promote the circus by making numerous television appearances including Good Morning America, The Today Show and MTV.
Following his stint with Ringling Bros., Michael furthered his education at the Dell ’Arte International School of Physical Theater in Blue Lake, California. He was then recruited by the Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre in Portland, Oregon, and for three years performed shows throughout the United States.
Most recently Michael has spent time creating, directing, and performing original works throughout Europe, North America and Asia. He is the co-founder of the Nomadic Theatre Co in Portland, Oregon, and the producer of the Portland, Oregon chapter of Clowns Without Borders, a non-profit organization that provides entertainment to underprivileged communities throughout the world.
As of 2007 Michael O'Neill has been accepted to The University of Portland Master in Fine Arts program in Directing. Michael is projected to graduate in the winter of 2008-09.
is an actress, clown, mask performer, stilt walker, and teacher who creates, performs, and teaches clown and physical theatre in Portland, around the United States, and internationally. She is recently back from four years teaching at the Helikos International School of Theatre Creation, an ensemble movement theatre school based in Florence, Italy.
Sarah has created six original movement-based theatre shows with the Nomadic Theatre Co, including her solo clown show, The Last Show You’ll Ever See, a trombone concert about the end of the world, which has played in Portland, as well as Colorado, Rhode Island, California, the NY Clown Theatre Festival, and at 4 Canadian Fringe Festivals.
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An active Clowns Without Borders volunteer since 2005, Sarah has performed and taught in Haiti, Southern Africa, and Colombia. She currently serves as the CWB-USA board secretary.
A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and Brown University, Sarah has studied clown with Avner Eisenberg, Julie Goell, Ronlin Foreman, Moshe Cohen, Elizabeth Baron, and Giovanni Fusetti. She studied mime and movement with Tony Montanaro and Norman Taylor. She also studied movement theatre pedagogy with Giovanni Fusetti. In 2010 she was awarded the Portland Theatre Guild’s Leslie Fulton Fellowship to travel to Italy to assist at Fusetti’s school, the Helikos International School of Theatre Creation. She returned to Helikos as a member of the faculty in 2011-14.
Sarah performs and teaches movement theatre, clown, and circus to humans of all ages.
Tony grew up in his hometown of West Phillidelphia, spending most days goofing around with the other kids on the playground, eventually winning a scholarship to Fancy Dancy Latin College of Ohio with his basketball talent
The passage from his dissertation "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum." angered his professors so much he was threatend with expulsion. This altercation terrified his poor mother who immediately had him transfered to the Clown College of Bel-Air, from which his aunt and uncle are alumni.
