Press Kit & Artist Biography
Press Photos
We'll match your theme from our collection. Email Press@BarbaraOnStage.com.
Short Bio
River Spirit
photo by Liam BreckBarbara Michaels is a physical actor and playwright specializing in interactive theater and improvisation. She writes and performs original humorous productions drawn from her life, playing in traditional and non-traditional venues worldwide. Via AppliedTheatrics.com, she performs and produces interactive custom-designed characters-in-costume at corporate and community events, engaging audiences solo and in ensemble in service of event missions. She has appeared at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the New York Clown Theater Festival, First Night Boston, on the Discovery Channel, and as a clown in Brazil and Germany. She is based in California's San Francisco Bay Area.
Artist Biography
Barbara Michaels is an actor, dancer, and physical comedienne specializing in character improvisation, audience interaction, and original shows. She is also a writer and arts educator. She performs internationally, both solo and in ensemble, including performances in Brazil, Germany, Scotland, and US cities New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and many New England towns.
Instant Friends
photo by Liam BreckVia BarbaraInCharacter.com, Barbara produces & performs original interactive roving characters at events. Her custom-designed solo & ensembles characters range from sweet to elegant to zany. She often creates new characters & costumes for corporate and community events nationwide. Appearances include Museum of Fine Arts Boston, First Nights Boston and Portland, the AIIM tech tradeshow, North Shore Spirit Baseball, and in numerous town festivals and parades.
Barbara creates original one-woman shows and ensemble productions, often drawn from her life, usually serious topics dealt in a funny way. Her current project, The Doormen, is a look at how lovers change our lives, opening doors for us that we may ultimately walk through alone. This new work is a site-specific, touring production. Her show Prayer to the Cookie God, about the personal lessons that teachers learn from children, ran at ImprovBoston in a series of new work and in live-broadcast on SC-TV. And Now, presented in the round at Massachusetts College of Art, examined holding simultaneous changing connections to others and ourselves. Collaborations include Gender Conniptions, a musical about gender freedom with Eve Chosak and many episodes of A Human Among Humans on CCTV with Michael Koran.
Sun Hat for Two
photo by Liam Breck
Barbara's work is informed by the historical art of clowning. Her clown shows for adults have played at the New York Clown Theater Festival, in residency at Nantucket Island School of Design & the Arts, and at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. She also performs for children and has visited youth in hospitals with Clowns Doktoren in Germany and New York's Big Apple Circus. Barbara and Wendy Kinal toured as a clown duo to Brazil, New York and Scotland. Barbara was in Only Fooling, Boston's all-women clown company, and performed with Circus Mirage. More on the New Clown artform.
Barbara's contemporary stage credits include interactive productions such as the national tour of Foodplay as juggling Coach Tobe, as Jumpin’ Jack Flash the jester in Gravity Rules at Boston Museum of Science Planetarium, as Primrose the 17th century tour guide with Ghosts and Gravestones, in the regional tour of Tribal Rhythms children's theater, and in repertory with both Behind the Mask Theater and Mystery Café dinner theater. Barbara appeared on Discovery Channel Australia as a living statue. Barbara also danced in the dystopian space musical Curve 9 and has been in a number of comedic short films.
Selected Theater Credits
Artist/Educator
Barbara has taught ages 2 through senior adults in physical theater since 1998. She presents classes, workshops, and performing residencies for colleges, schools K to 12, performing companies, and community organizations. More on workshops with Barbara.
Media Attention
M.O.N.A:
My Offering, Neighborhood Art
photo by PixelBarbara was featured as an Art Car artist on Chronicle news magazine (WCVB-TV; ABC affiliate) and in the Boston Globe's City Weekly. She was Artist of the Month on SC-TV. Her beloved art car Mona featured a rooftop stage from which she and area poets performed "Poetry Drive-By's" for people waiting in outdoor lines around Boston!
Education & Training
Barbara has an MFA in performance art from the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art. She holds a BA in Modern Culture and Media with a focus in documentary video from Brown University. She completed the documentary writing program at the Salt Center for Documentary Field Studies in Portland, ME.
Her education in physical theater includes training with Avner the Eccentric and Julie Goell at Celebration Barn; Daniel Stein at the D'ell Arte School of Physical Theater; Ricardo Puccetti and Lume Teatro in SP, Brazil; Philippe Gaulier; the New York Goofs; Tony Montanaro (mime), Ruth Zaporah (improv), Debra Bluth (dance improv), and attending Motionfest. She is a regular student of dance, including contact improvisation and partner dancing. She also studied voice with R&B vocalist Louise Grasmere.
Barbara began studying theater improvisation in elementary school through Creative Theatre Unlimited in Princeton, NJ . . . encourage children in the arts!
See Also: Artist Mission & Creative Influences
We'll match your theme from our collection. Email Press@BarbaraOnStage.com.
Short Bio
River Spirit
photo by Liam Breck
| Barbara has performed in/on/at a... | ||
| Public park Public library Restaurant Schools K-12 University Night Club Baseball game Day care center Senior center Street corner Opera house | International festival Street fair Town parade Corporate party Tradeshow Fundraiser Kids party TV special Short film Rock Concert Circus tent | Park bench Hay bale Roof of a car Abandoned bridge Drawbridge Greenhouse Under an overpass Moving trolley Graveyard Store Window Squash court Living room |
Barbara Michaels is an actor, dancer, and physical comedienne specializing in character improvisation, audience interaction, and original shows. She is also a writer and arts educator. She performs internationally, both solo and in ensemble, including performances in Brazil, Germany, Scotland, and US cities New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and many New England towns.
Instant Friends
photo by Liam Breck
Barbara creates original one-woman shows and ensemble productions, often drawn from her life, usually serious topics dealt in a funny way. Her current project, The Doormen, is a look at how lovers change our lives, opening doors for us that we may ultimately walk through alone. This new work is a site-specific, touring production. Her show Prayer to the Cookie God, about the personal lessons that teachers learn from children, ran at ImprovBoston in a series of new work and in live-broadcast on SC-TV. And Now, presented in the round at Massachusetts College of Art, examined holding simultaneous changing connections to others and ourselves. Collaborations include Gender Conniptions, a musical about gender freedom with Eve Chosak and many episodes of A Human Among Humans on CCTV with Michael Koran.
Sun Hat for Two
photo by Liam Breck
Barbara's contemporary stage credits include interactive productions such as the national tour of Foodplay as juggling Coach Tobe, as Jumpin’ Jack Flash the jester in Gravity Rules at Boston Museum of Science Planetarium, as Primrose the 17th century tour guide with Ghosts and Gravestones, in the regional tour of Tribal Rhythms children's theater, and in repertory with both Behind the Mask Theater and Mystery Café dinner theater. Barbara appeared on Discovery Channel Australia as a living statue. Barbara also danced in the dystopian space musical Curve 9 and has been in a number of comedic short films.
Selected Theater Credits
| Behind the Mask Theater Cambridge Art in the Park CCTV Chronicle (WCVB TV/ABC) Clowns Doktoren, Germany Comedy Studio Boston Curve 9: A Space Musical Discovery Channel Australia Downtown Clown Revue NYC Feverestival, SP, Brazil First Night Portland Foodplay Productions | Ghosts & Gravestones Tour ImprovBoston Museum of Science Boston Mystery Cafe Nantucket Island School of Design New York Clown Theater Festival Only Fooling Clown Troupe People's Improv Theater NYC SCTV Tribal Rhythms Vagina Monologues Vorpmi Improv |
Artist/Educator
Barbara has taught ages 2 through senior adults in physical theater since 1998. She presents classes, workshops, and performing residencies for colleges, schools K to 12, performing companies, and community organizations. More on workshops with Barbara.
Media Attention
M.O.N.A:
My Offering, Neighborhood Art
photo by Pixel
Education & Training
Barbara has an MFA in performance art from the Studio for Interrelated Media at Massachusetts College of Art. She holds a BA in Modern Culture and Media with a focus in documentary video from Brown University. She completed the documentary writing program at the Salt Center for Documentary Field Studies in Portland, ME.
Her education in physical theater includes training with Avner the Eccentric and Julie Goell at Celebration Barn; Daniel Stein at the D'ell Arte School of Physical Theater; Ricardo Puccetti and Lume Teatro in SP, Brazil; Philippe Gaulier; the New York Goofs; Tony Montanaro (mime), Ruth Zaporah (improv), Debra Bluth (dance improv), and attending Motionfest. She is a regular student of dance, including contact improvisation and partner dancing. She also studied voice with R&B vocalist Louise Grasmere.
Barbara began studying theater improvisation in elementary school through Creative Theatre Unlimited in Princeton, NJ . . . encourage children in the arts!
See Also: Artist Mission & Creative Influences
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