October: The month when the leaves continue to turn vibrant colors, when the air bestows an invigorating chill upon us, and of course, when there is Halloween! All good reasons to celebrate and book an event! We have all your entertainment needs from caricature artists and face painters, to impersonators and fortune tellers…and everything in-between! Email us today to book your next event!
Primarily I serve the Baltimore/Washington Metro area, but have traveled all over the state of Maryland into Southern Virginia and Northeastward into the Delaware, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York State corridor. Basically if the job appeals to me and I’m working with and for very interesting people, I’ll pretty much go anywhere.
What type of entertainment do you provide?
I guess I would classify myself a character actor…I know that sounds a bit presumptuous, but I like to do several things. Usually I’m hired as a mime, clown or historical character. I also do stilt and statue work.
How many years have you been in the business?
I have been in the business over 20 years.
How did you get into the entertainment business?
I actually set out to be an actor and trained in New York, but the path to becoming a full time performer was basically stumbled upon. I have had the good fortune to cross paths with many talented people who have opened up several doors that led to where I am today.
What’s your favorite type of event?
There have been so many events in the past 20 years, and I have been part of the best and the worst. It’s hard to single any one out in particular. I would say if the event is designed to specifically suit the sensibilities of the audience attending, and if the crowd is receptive and playful, you really can’t go wrong.
What’s your most memorable event?
Not always is the best the most memorable. Several years ago I was hired as a James Bond character to mix and mingle with a group of “international business types.” My job started after they already had cocktails and sat down to dinner, so they really weren’t interested in conversation with a fictional character.
I guess everything is amusing in hindsight, but that was the longest two hours of my life.
The Evolution of Halloween
Halloween, celebrated each year on October 31, is a mix of ancient Celtic practices, Catholic and Roman religious rituals and European folk traditions that blended together over time to create the holiday we know today. Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity and life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. Halloween has long been thought of as a day when the dead can return to the earth, and ancient Celts would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off these roaming ghosts. The Celtic holiday of Samhain, the Catholic Hallowmas period of All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and the Roman festival of Feralia all influenced the modern holiday of Halloween. In the 19th century, Halloween began to lose its religious connotation, becoming a more secular community-based children’s holiday. Although the superstitions and beliefs surrounding Halloween may have evolved over the years, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people can still look forward to parades, costumes and sweet treats to usher in the winter season.
The art of Mime has existed for centuries. It is considered one of the earliest
mediums of self-expression. Deriving from Ancient Greece, it developed into a true
theatrical form, where performers enacted everyday scenes with the help of elaborate gestures. The Romans, with their love of spectacle, soon took over the existing theaters in Greece and began renovating and rebuilding them for their own entertainment, which included everything from pantomime to mock-naval battles.
Mime enjoyed much success and growth under Emperor Augustus of Rome, and continued to entertain throughout the Middle Ages.It reached its height in sixteenth-century Italy, in the form of Commedia dell’Arte. Commedia dell’ Arte originated in the market places of Italian streets in the early 1500’s. Street performers began wearing masks with exaggerated comical features to draw attention to themselves and to compliment their acrobatic skills. Through the art of mime, language had no barrier or issue, and this allowed the art form to flourish and reach people even further than before. Eventually, skillful mime antics conveyed elaborate stories and comedy to audiences throughout America, both in the streets and on stage.
In present-day America, mime is eccentric in nature and blends many styles; indeedit is a melting pot with much experimentation as part of its core. Today, there are two major types of mime types: literal and abstract. Literal mime is primarily used for story theater and comedy; abstract mime is used to generate feelings, thoughts and images as a more intuitive experience to a topic or issue. When you book a mime for your event through About Faces, all worlds of the mime art form will collide into one wonderful spectacle that you’re sure to enjoy!
Another Satisfied Customer!
Normally I don’t respond to the follow-up requests, but our event would not have been the same without the services of Karen J. {Caricature Artist} and Stephanie G. {Face painter}. Everything was perfect, the artists arrived on time, were very easy-going, and were flexible to our needs as they arose, last minute at the event. Everyone had a great time getting their faces painted and having caricature pictures drawn of them. All in all, I could not have asked for our event to go better than it did. Thank you very much and we will definitely be in touch for any future events!—Kelly Y., VA
Jason H. {caricature artist} was fantastic–very popular with our students and his entertainment was excellent! I’m certain we’ll be requesting him in the future! Thank You again!–Erin C., OH
We want to hear from you!
We love hearing your comments and questions, so if you have a suggestion for future articles or artists’ features, or if you would like to book someone right away, send us an email or give us a call!
