Foto Phantastique
December 26, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Busking
A great candid photo taken by Quade Hermann at the Toronto Buskerfest. Thank you, Quade!
Never has my filthiness looked so elegant.
Photo by Quade Hermann
2D in 2Days, NFLD. Art Rocks on The Rock!
October 25, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Film Festivaling
I’ve just returned from Newfoundland once again and I’m excited to show off the latest masterpiece of the 2009 “2D in 2Days” kids’ workshop!
This year we had 8 participants, ages 12 and 13.
2 Days of animation began with flipbooks and learning the basic concepts of animation. After lunch we split up into two groups and brainstormed short story ideas for our stop-motion films! We built characters and sets by the end of day 1, and day 2 was full of animating and problem solving!
During all of that there were many bouncing super balls, balloons, bubbles and cartoons to watch.
These guys did a really great job.
To see more workshop masterpieces, click here:
Bravo!FACT Presents “Nagasaki Circus”
October 14, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Film Festivaling
Nagasaki Circus can now be seen (minus the beautiful, dancing credits) on Bravo!Fact’s website:
http://watch.bravo.ca/bravofact-presents/season-5/bravofact-presents-ep-505-the-words-the-thing/#clip221015
It was great to see it aired!
St. John’s Film Festival Celebrates 20 Years
October 8, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Film Festivaling
I’ll soon be off to Newfoundland for the 20th St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival.
This year I’ll be moderating another kids’ workshop and I’ve created another opening “signature film” for the 2009 festival screenings.
Watch it:
helpeters.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/wff09trailerweb.mov”>
Bravo!FACT Presents: The Word’s The Thing
October 7, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Film Festivaling
This Friday, October 9th 2009, at 8PM
and,
Saturday, October 10th 2009, 8AM
on Bravo!FACT Presents, watch my “Nagasaki Circus”!
“ Bravo!FACT Presents EP: 505 The Word’s The Thing 2009
The Word’s the thing in this week’s episode of Bravo!FACT Presents, with 5 new shorts celebrating the literary arts. The Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s acclaimed production of Bartholomew Fair features music by ex-Barenaked Ladies frontman Steven Page; Jordan Scott’s verbal tic informs his poetry in Stutter; puppets bring the words of author Martin Ewen to life in Nagasaki Circus; and writing meets animation in Tanya Davis’ How to Be Alone and John Robert Colombo’s Recipe for a Canadian Novel.”
Follow the link for Bravo’s schedule:
http://www.bravo.ca/television/tvshows/show.aspx?showID=Bravo!FACT%20Presents
Put on your Sunday best, get out a lawn chair and a giant foam finger! It’s a special event!
- a still from”Nagasaki Circus”
Festival Updates
October 5, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Film Festivaling
First and foremost, I’d like to announce that “Nagasaki Circus” aired on BRAVO last night, Oct. 4th, 2009. I didn’t, myself, see it, but I’ve been told. Happy day for “Nagasaki Circus”! Sad day for the cast and I missing it.
For those wishing to watch “Nagasaki Circus” on the big screen, it’ll be showing up in a couple new venues this fall.
First, check out the Pleasure Dome screening in Toronto.
Robert’s Creek
I’ll be posting that short piece as soon as the 2009 festival campaign is up revealed!
Framed!
August 17, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Events, Performing
In the merry month of July I had the privilege of running another animation workshop with the St. John’s Int. Women’s Film Festival’s FRAMED Workshops and “For The Love of Learning”. Over four days, this group of young adults practiced flip books, took turns at experiencing animating and flipping pages on light tables, watched some classic films, and then created a group film in stop-motion animation.
Our animation directors included:
Karyn Dwyer
Ryan Flynn
Erin Power Granter (best name EVER)
Lindsay Kennedy
Jason King
Chris Mullett
Holly Nelson
Workshop assistant: Stephen Dunn
Enjoy…
- Framed Workshop Crew
Busker on the Boardwalk
July 28, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Busking, Events
My latest piece, from St. John New Brunswick.
Once again, I’ve had a precious time with old and new friends during fest time.
…I could make money anywhere. But I couldn’t meet these people anywhere. This is why I love festivals.
My latest piece is one I plan to recreate when I do this year’s Toronto Festival. It’ll be my first repeat.
This is my fan art response to one of my favourite documentaries, Peter Lynch’s “Project Grizzly”, the story of Troy Hurtubise and his bear-proof suit.
I saw the suit for myself in an ‘inspired by’ art exhibit last year and knew I needed to have a turn in making my own homage. The suit has evolved into a stove robot with a butterfly net, riding a robotic fish, and the bear has developed some circus skills, but otherwise, I’d say it’s pretty accurate depiction of the film.
Not many of the folks coming off the cruise ship in St. John knew of the film, but I’m pretty certain the response in downtown Toronto will be different. Regardless, the chalk piece was enjoyed by all. …Well, at least the ones who hated it didn’t tell me.
Click on the image to make it larger.
“Project Grizzly”
Monkey On My Back
June 9, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Busking, Events
I think I enjoyed this weekend’s Dundas Busker Festival on a new level than others I’ve been involved with. This is the first time I’ve festivalled at home. It felt pretty great. It’s very surreal to be working a festival and see people you know. I even met old childhood friends I hadn’t seen for nearly a decade.
I liked it.
It was a really great festival for meeting more performer friends, comparing some of them to their online forum personalities, and thoroughly enjoying the Fast Horse Family. Judy Boswell, Paul Maskell and all others involved were really great to festival with and it’s apparent that they love doing it (one should never run a festival if they don’t love doing it. It’s a festival!)
I met some great people this year.
My chalk drawing ~ I chose a strange piece of pavement. I chose it for location, but as soon as I had committed myself with my fat, black outlines I realized the texture was going to be a challenge. What I lacked in detail due to bumpiness, I think I made up for in size and sheer audacity. I hope to do this piece again soon so that I can get in all the shiny spots, gleams and colours I wasn’t able to accomplish this weekend.
But here we are:
I seem to have mastered the pre-teen boy demographic. Chalk time is the only time I’m ever cool with tweens. For young teens to actually give me real money is a huge compliment and success. …they don’t usually think to give that stuff away.
One young girl came along, looked at the piece and said, “Oooooooh, I get it.”
I took a beautiful double take and said, “You DO?? …Oh. I see. Well, I guess I’m glad someone does.”
Another woman insisted for some time that it was a 3D chalk piece, like the kind she’s seen on the internet.
I told her it wasn’t that sort of drawing, but she told me that, yes, it absolutely was. I’d like to know what medication she’s taking, but I’m glad she appreciated it on a level that didn’t even exist.
“Monkey On My Back”
Fall Down Seven, Stand Up Eight
May 28, 2009 by Rachel Peters
Filed under Events, Performing
I’ve just come home from a visit to Kalamazoo and nobody at home believes me. I may as well have said I was going to Timbuktu or Lake Titicaca.
Kalamazoo happens to be the home base of a new, innovative circus and Kalamazoo should be proud.
Allison Williams of the world renown Aerial Angels is writer and director of STAND UP EIGHT, a theatrical circus show that brings you closer to the performers and sometimes right up onto the stage, along side them.
After a great deal of development and investment Allison and the Angel’s co-Artistic Director Zay Weaver got one final and dramatic boost into production when they appeared on the CBC’s reality show, The Dragon’s Den. They received a generous investment from W. Brett Wilson, Canada’s cutest blue-eyed zillionaire, with soft spot for entertainers.
(If you’ve seen CBC ads for either The Dragon’s Den or for CBC programming itself, chances are you’ve seen Allison and Zay. They were by far the coolest looking entrepreneurs to appear on the show, eating fire and tumbling from silks, and having the most teeth grittingly tense discussions of any I’ve ever seen aired on that program, ending in a few tears and some accusations of arrogance. The Aerial Angels, in my opinion have single-handedly provided the CBC with a season’s worth of promotional ads.)
I went to Kalamazoo with my video camera in tow, to film the process of this new show and its first few performances.
What does it take to start a theatrical circus show and get it rolling?
What sorts of people invest their talents and personal lives into it?
This documentary will introduce you to them.
Along with other creative projects working their way out, I hope to spend my summer piecing together a masterpiece that captures what I see developing down in Kalamazoo Michigan, and quickly spreading across the globe.
Art. Passion. Drive. Skill.
…kittens.
…Lots and lots of kittens.
(It’ll make sense.)
As a peculiar little side note: My aspiration to break out into documentary (as I am primarily an animation filmmaker) was what originally brought me to the world of variety performance. I had desired to make a film about the life of circus/sideshow/street performers many years ago. Realizing I knew little about either documentary or the lives of variety performers, I dropped that story to experiment in actually performing as a comic fire eater for a while. Allison Williams taught me how to light my tongue ablaze in the back alley of a street festival one summer in Toronto.
After a few years and some short edits of performance related video footage, I have now come full-circle with an inside scoop of the variety life and some documenting experience. I couldn’t have worked it out better if I had tried. …and I did try. Funny, that.
!NEW!
I’ve just finished the first promo video for Stand Up Eight Circus.
Filming and editing by Rachel Peters.
Second camera man, Dragon Alexander.
!ALSO!
Stand Up Eight in 90 Seconds! For the busy business person who just doesn’t have time for 4 and-a-half minutes.
