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A Mime Finds His Voice
China
Well I’ve come to the end of my work in China, for now. What a wonderful trip it’s been. Starting with being a Judge at the Guangzhou Clown Contest, then teaching mime for the Nantong Acrobatic Troupe for a week and then coming to Wuquio Clown Workshop that is sponsored by the National Arts Fund of China!
It has been a blast to work these past four days with very talented clowns from all over China. They have been on a trip with me in the world of Mime condensed into a short amount of time. Loved it!
I am proud of my work this year and the progress forward starting at the Circus Center Clown Conservatory with Sara Moore and that talented group of clown students in writing a show ‘The Supers” to working with Barry Lubin again this time in China and with my old friend Dan Griffiths.
It has been an honor to devote myself to the Chinese comical career by representing Clowns and Mimes here in China.
I would like to thank my translator and good friend Ronald Chen for all his good work, I honestly could not have done it without him!!!
‘Cycles’
As a boy in elementary school I was looking through a book of art; the works of the master Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. There I came upon photographs of his unfinished sculptures. It seemed to me as if they were indeed trying to get out of the stone, to set themselves free.
Years later as I studied mime and the human form, I picked up a piece of fabric and began to move in it and to study the effect it had over the body. Seeing the shapes of the limbs, the torso and the head take form through the material, I was reminded of Michelangelo’s figures in stone.
It was these experiences which inspired me to create my moving sculptures. Soon after this, while working with Michael Scholes on our company ‘PointFix’ I developed the choreography for “Cycles.”
Michael edited and produced the projections and Larry Ackerman was the photographer for the source images. Additional choreography by Jeannie McKenzie and Bryan Welch.
“Water”
“Water” by Eric Wilcox and Noe Zavala. This wonderful choreography was originally created by my good friend, mime artist and founder of the SF Buffoons, Eric Wilcox as a duet at ‘The Goldston/Johnson School for Mimes’ at Gambier, Ohio in 1989. It is a beautiful study of mime moment. When Eric moved to San Francisco we developed ‘Water’ using four performers for my movement theater company ‘PointFix’ at our performance at “Project Theater Artuad ” with stunting images by Robert Horning and multimedia by Michael Schole and Larry Ackerman.
Performers are Eric Wilcox, Rodger Dillahunty , Bryan Welsh and Hogan Van Do.
Music by Jerry Goodman.
Bio and Letters
Contact information : 415-678-8451 email 4NZavala@gmail.com
An acclaimed mime artist for over 40 years, Noe Zavala has toured globally, including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and Europe. He’s been performing in the Bay Area for the past 25 years. Noe’s work has been recognized for its unique style and excellence by master coaches and performers including Marcel Marceau, Gregg Goldston, Nick Johnson, and Bari Rolfe.
“I would like to recommend Noe Zavala: I am writing to recommend the work and projects of Noe Zavala. Through my association with him in my American Seminars and through the Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes where he serves on faculty, I have come to know him to be a dedicated artist who performs with an individual force and integrity. He is a dedicated teacher with a unique sensitivity who holds love and respect for our art. His artistry and vision for the art of mime is worthy of support and should be seen by a wide public. His work continues to serve as a strong force in securing the art of mime within the grand tradition of the Theatre.”
Sincerely, —Marcel Marceau
“Noe Zavala offers more than a finely tuned mime class, he provides his students with the two most essential elements needed to study mime seriously: stage experience and a direct link to the history of this art.
His time with Marcel Marceau, Bert Houle and Stefan Niedzialkowski has given Noe great perspective on the various styles within mime as well as the methods needed to pursue each.
His long career on stage enables him to teach the intricate balance of acting and illusion needed to create the realistic and powerful images needed within a mime play. His eye for economy of movement, play composition and both comic and dramatic line make his teaching skills very rare and invaluable.
Finally, Zavala’s concern for the students path and his nurturing care and sense of humor make the process of learning this intricate art a festive journey into a world that few know like Noe Zavala.”
“Noe Zavala is one of those rare handful of American choreographers and performers practicing the art of Mime Theater, whose work never fails to inspire with its originality, flawless technique, depth of vision and love for the craft. Both in his company and his solo work, Noe Zavala is an artistic force to be reckoned with…and a treasure not to be missed.”
“Envisions”
Written and Performed in Tokyo, Japan 1991
Noe Zavala 