'Fortunate Teller' Charms Fletcher School

I Recognize Your Soul...

photos by Liam Breck

Your Glasses are Hypnotic!

With flickering eyes and a British-ish accent, Primrose pops, "Yes, you can be whatever you want, as long as you focus!" With that, the 17th Century "Fortunate Teller," lightly bops her young client on the crown, "Next!" At Fletcher Maynard Academy's Halloween Party, Primrose is culling notions about her young guests from objects they choose from her table of toys. With arched eyebrows, she demands a reason for their choice (never mind that she's supposed to know!) Otherwise perky children, costumed from superhero to bride, are befuddled with nervous hope. Some barely blink as Primrose holds their sweet faces in a theatrical frame! Most listen extremely seriously, revealing how impressionable they are. All of Primrose's fortunes are positive, inspiring children with special talents they have to share with the world.

Behold the Horn of Happiness!

Two young teens giggle into my chair and when I tell them that they work well together to help others, they erupt in shrieks of "It's true! It's true!" Next, a younger boy picks a small mirror and immediately explains that he helps people see what's good about them. I tell him he has told his own fortune and he puffs with pride. As theater is stories of our lives, it is not hard as a practiced actor to weave a tale to fit the picture I see before me. Call it magic, call it sensitive attention, call it a lot of fun on Halloween. Boo!

The Secret Stories of Objects:

Golden Drum Colorful Ball Bicycle Horn Compass Golden Bell

Others will follow your lead You bring happiness You know when to speak up You know your direction You say beautiful things

Picaso-so Draws Lakeville to the Arts

Picaso-so, Painter Extra-Ordinary
photos by Liam Breck

Picaso-so's Public

There is Picasso, world-class painter, and then there is Picaso-so... a zany doodler of thick, if dubious, European accent. At the Lakeville Arts and Music Festival, I revel in quick-sketching guests' portraits on give-away index card "canvases." My posture is serious, refined, but my banter is ridiculous! Picaso-so gushes, "Ooh, I mahst draw you now. Picaso-so eez brilliant painter, no? Vhat!? Yes, zee answer eez Yes! I see you ahgree!" He boldly swirls for the youngster a likeness of her face and hair that would make any second-grader's mom proud. An exchange of grins closes the deal. Next stop, Sotheby's?

Picaso-so's Palette

A rainbow of butterflies dally on my palette as dabs of paint. Each splashy line I draw changes hue (thanks to a pencil filled with multi-colored lead!). In Lakeville, I have the honor of making the first-ever drawing of weeks-old infant Violet. Next, a young boy clutching his plastic pet dinosaur is awarded a triumphant sketch in which he rides his prehistoric steed. Next, with crafty delight, I capture the love I see in a couple's clasped hands. Picaso-so lahvs lahv! And Barbara loves Fall Festivals!

Don't Go, Picaso-so!

Brighton Twins Celebrate 200th Birthday

"Regency" Era Mom and Her Baby Towns
photos by Liam Breck

Style Watch: 1807 Meets 2007

Happy 200th, baby Brighton! For Allston-Brighton's annual miles-long neighborhood parade, I stroll majestically along wide avenues in an 1807 "Regency" era costume. With my empire-waist dress, long gloves, and historically accurate hairstyle, little girls keep asking if I am a princess! In my arms, I carry two baby dolls: the twin neighbors of Allston and Brighton! My sign plays with the "It's a boy!" theme, reading, "IT'S A... TOWN!"

Little Brighton is Adored

I engage parade watchers at street-side, playfully pointing out which baby is Brighton, which is Allston. I receive many hearty laughs and smiles from Allston-Brighton's diverse community, from skateboarding teens to clusters of elderly women to non-English-speaking families to young kids to patrolmen. Allston-Brighton is one of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods I have visited, making for a parade experience that truly feels like the whole world is meeting up in celebration!

Kindergartners Pass Clown Exam in Dorchester

Sharing Test: How Many Friends Can you Find in the Mirror?
photos by Liam Breck

School Picture Test

Smile! At Fields Corner Main Streets' Countdown to Kindergarten, Nurse Dot is conducting clown exams to make sure children are ready for the wild world of school. Tests include the School Picture Test (at right) to assess smile width, the Sharing Test (above) to determine cooperative inclination, and the Hand Raising Test, in which each giggling "patient" uses a back scratcher to reach up and tickle Nurse Dot under the arm! All the children pass their Kindergarten "Tests" with flying colors and numbers!

Parade of Promise

We then parade down the sidewalk to local businesses who cheerfully meet us at their shop doors to donate school supplies to the children. Dorchester's newest students fill up treat bags while I play a cymbal, drum, bell, and kazoo all at once, adding a friendly cacophony. We visit a bank, restaurant, real estate office, and more! Main Streets programs serve to link a neighborhood's residential and business communities in mutually supportive ways.



Everything I Need to Know I Learned from a Clown...

Share One Chair Cry & Laugh Loud Surprise Yourself

Surprise Another Be True Wonder Well

Silliness Can Save You Do Your Best Know the World is Funny

Lion Loose at Wedding, Circus Ensues

A Roaring Good Time

photos by Liam Breck

Grrrreat Dress!

I'm roving as a Lioness at the circus-themed wedding reception of Michael and Jill. My queenly mask is the brilliant work of Eric Bornstein, creator of Behind the Mask Theater. I greet guests at the door with gregarious yet gentle growls, playfully pounce family and friends at the cocktail reception, and, paws and "claws" extended, flirtatiously invite young and old to dance. Cameras pop while champagne chills.

Juggling

During the dinner buffet, I change costumes, becoming a a romantic European-style clown. I visit guests at their tables with juggling and you-can't-believe-it card tricks. (My secret? 52 versions of the nine of hearts!) Later, I enlist the cheerful help of a pre-teen family member of the bride and together we tour tables with spontaneous team juggling. She tosses me one ball to start my pattern of three. We trade one of the three back and forth, keeping the pattern going. The bride's mother loves our act!

The Bouquet is Mine!

General John Glover, Still in Marblehead

General John Glover, 1732-1797 + 2007
photos by Liam Breck

Hilarious History

Merry Christmas, Marblehead! In 1776, on December 25, General John Glover of Marblehead and his 1,000 strong Marine Regiment rowed Washington's army across the Delaware River to deliver a "present" to the Hessians at Trenton. In 2007, for July 4, I'm presenting a living statue of John Glover on Washington Street at the Marblehead Festival of Arts Street Festival. Thanks, John! My costume, created by Liam Breck and myself, is based on the statue of Glover on Boston's Commonwealth Mall. Some parents take a moment to enact a history lesson when reading my plaque about Glover's famous mission.

Two Step

As a statue, I'm not speaking, but communicating volumes with eye contact and body language. With no verbal agreement, two sisters attentively mirror the measured steps of my slow-motion roving. A band of boys try to make me laugh with zany jumps and goofy faces, but having been a whimsical theater teacher for almost ten years, I stand no chance of cracking. I'm smiling big on the inside, of course! Parents ask their smaller children: is he real or is he a statue? Thoughtful small faces watch my occasional movements. The jury is still out among the under-4 set!

The Fashionable General

A Day in the Life of John Glover, circa 2007
People of all ages enjoy the surreal experience of playing with a statue:

Staring contest Lift my arm Try to make me laugh Say, "Move" Say, "Don't Move" Pet my bird

Ask for a kiss Step on my foot Tap my shoulder . . . and hide Share salutes Wink back

River Spirit Revels at Chelsea Creek

Can You Name My Pet Fish?
photos by Liam Breck

"Bob. . . the Fish!" Kids and adults are brainstorming funny names for my 'pet' fish, a shiny mitten puppet accenting the teal river costume I've fashioned with Liam Breck. At the 4th annual River Revel, I'm sparkly as the Spirit of the Chelsea Creek. I encourage everyone to pet my fish and some children say its smooth, slippery fabric feels like a real fish. Some adults say it looks tasty!

Chelsea Creek is a waterway between East Boston and Chelsea used for transporting oil tankers. Once a year, its Meridian Street drawbridge closes to trucks and teems with musicians and community arts and advocacy groups. Changing to stilts, I join a parade of families waving tall fish and singing an environmental message: "See Green, Hear Green, Speak Green!"



Fish Names

Karl Bob Buster Ben

Shimmery Fishy Mr. Swimmy Fish

Nemo Vladimir Yuliana Fluffy

Clown Stops Traffic at Chelsea Day

Over & Under the Rainbow
photos by Liam Breck

Looking dapper in my red and black velvet hat, I enthusiastically shake hands with over 100 people of all ages in one hour. I could be running for office at Celebrate Chelsea Day! I befriend the public in a shoe store, a hair salon, and at a bus stop. I even give a short speech to a group of young marines. Later, I actually do my civil service, helping a traffic cop with my clown's version of waving cars by . . . by waving hello!

Some of the children recognize me from last year and excitedly ask for another parade. I unfurl my new rainbow parachute and pass around shakers, clackers and bells. We parade across the pavement, a rhythm rainbow circling amused parents and friends. Then, I gather my small band under my pretty parachute and introduce whole body peek-a-boo. Each time we fling off our parachute, we try another child's idea, "Jump!" "Turn Around!" "Wiggle!"

Giggles & Wiggles

Yankee Doodle Rides Rudolph Reindeer in NH

Praise for Yankee Doodle: Barbara did a phenomenal job at the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce 2005 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY Children's Christmas parade. She entertained the crowd with her fun-loving personality and wowed them with her creative costume. Barbara Michaels is a first rate performer!

- Ginni McNamara, Parade Chairwoman, Hampton, NH

Yankee Doodle Rides Rudolph Reindeer . . . Dandy!
photo by Ginni McNamara

I'm stilt-walking up gentle hills behind an oom-pah marching band in downtown Hampton, NH. It's windy, so I've set my six foot legs in brisk time with the band to keep warm. The road flattens and the band strikes up Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Parade watchers in puffy coats and head-hugging hats point at me excitedly, recognizing Rudolph, the horse-turned-reindeer I'm "riding." As the song builds, the crowd quiets, softening into the romance of Christmastime. Charmed adults become both parents and children again, and some begin to sing with their kids. I love to pass onlookers who find my costume as amusing as I do. I listen for the belly laughs and wink and wave!

Stilt Walking in the Urban Wild

East Boston
Open Studios
2003

I wander the industrial landscape befriended by the son of a sculptor showing in this annual exhibition and sale of work by artists in their own studios. Boston's Tobin Bridge is in the background.

photos by
Josephine Schiele