Pi Clowns » Reviews

Thank you from ZinZanni

admin — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 04:29:15 +0000

“Thank you so much for lending your talents to the launch of our new Mezzo Lunatico series in 2010! We have received a great deal of positive feedback for this series, and much of it is due to your efforts and participation. We extend our gratitude to you for a job well done and an evening of great entertainment.”

Sincerely,
Louise DiLenge, Producer
on behalf of the entire Teatro ZinZanni team

Berkshire Success

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 23:39:54 +0000

It was an absolute pleasure hosting all of you at the Berkshire Fringe. Your energy, innovation and infectious enthusiasm created an extraordinary festival atmosphere for our artists, staff interns and audiences. Congratulations on a wonderful East Coast premiere! We look forward to collaborating with you in the very near future.

Step Project Lunch

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:35:24 +0000

Monday September 14th, Pi visited STEP Project lunch. We had a wonderful time performing for the Mental Health patients there.

Lisa Starbird of Bread and Roses wrote this about our show:

“While the audience was finishing their lunch, The Troupe came together with a kazoo, harmonica, and accordion to bring the music portion to a close… This was a great set and was well received. The Troupe handled the situation like true professionals… The Physical Comedy Troupe came through to give STEP Project Adult Mental Health a truly great show. “

-Lisa Starbird
-Bread & Roses

Review of Bread and Roses benifit

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:14:28 +0000

How many ways can four young performers clown around? For the members of “Pi” the possibilities are endless. The giggling, squirming children attending Manzanita Child Development after-school program had their funny-bones thoroughly tickled by this fast paced and exuberant band of 20-something Clown College graduates. One moment it was Leah springing forth from a (very small) trunk, followed by Andrew juggling atop John’s shaking shoulders, then capped by Kelsey’s (invisible) magic tricks to the tune of her accordion. Whether is was the keystone cops chase around the room, the prat falls, sight gags, or just plain silliness – good humored antic brought each child something to enjoy and remember. The question and answer period following gave the kids a sense of the personalities behind the grease paint, and of the hard work that went into the show. This was a perfect show for this audience. Good hearted and inspiring performers – very fun and professional.

San Francisco Bay Guardian Review of Pi and the Fringe Festival

admin — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:55:43 +0000

You study the program, listen to the buzz while getting yours on in the Exit Theatre Café, read the audience reviews online, but in the end you never know what you’ll get. This year I led with my gut and — it being that kind of year — decided to go for all the dark stuff: the ugly, the brutal, the profane. So I started with clowns.

In truth, the choice to see physical comedy troupe Pi’s After-Party on opening night had less to do with anything inherently transgressive about clowns than with the juggling, which I’d glimpsed at the Fest’s Sneak Peak show last month, and which was great enough to merit a second viewing. I could watch those jugglers for hours: the courage, the concentration, the ingenuity, the balls.

Also the bowling pins and knives. A glow-in-the-dark routine was nearly balletic; a bloody mishap with the blades, almost operatic — if in a jocular, low-key sort of way.

As it turned out, the rest of the troupe’s routines, while uneven — a few bits felt either too familiar or underdeveloped — offered fresh and fine moments, with antics delivered expertly by a youthful, progressively endearing ensemble. Themes touching my heart included varied use of a casket and several walk-on appearances by the Grim Reaper. The grand finale — an all-out bone-crushing melee done in slow-mo — could have gone all night judging by audience guffaws and my own joyful tears. These are serious clowns, and their work is extremely silly.