Monday, January 28, 2019
Focus Day
MIRTH, MIME, AND MERRIMENT
Sit back, relax, and enjoy a day full of mime, blitheness,
gaiety, glee, hilarity, jocularity, jolliness, lightheartedness,
merriness, and mirth presented by top Twin Cities
comedians.
9:30 – 10:30 Walls, Falls, and Faces:
The Invisible Language of Mime
Speaker: Joshua Palmer, Creative Artist, BA, Bethel
University; Emphasis: Acting, Directing, Musical Theatre

Non-verbal communication has connected humans and
allowed the sharing of stories across cultures since early
civilization. From Greece to Japan, and eventually to
American film and television, mime has morphed and
changed its face, while silently influencing the
development of entertainment as we know it. Come and
learn the history of mime and watch a man transform
himself into whiteface and share stories through an
exploration of the form.

10:45 – 11:45 C’est Moi: A Life in the Circus
Speaker: Phyllis Wright, Actor

Phyllis has been doing comedy for 40 years and has
worked with giants of the entertainment industry including Hunter S. Thompson and Lewis Black. She has had a voice-over commercial career for 30 years and performed
on stage with many theater companies. She will regale us
with stories about her career in music, comedy, and theater.

11:45 – Noon ANNOUNCEMENTS
11:00 – 1:15 LUNCHEON

1:15 – 2:15 A History of Radio Drama in America
Speaker: Eric Webster, Playwright, Actor, Voice-over Artist
and Theater Producer

The invention of radio provided instant information and
entertainment directly into people’s homes, and with it, a
brand new art form was born, the radio drama. Webster
will discuss the history of the rise and fall of radio drama,
and the inner workings of the performance of this unique
form of theater.