EPIDERMIS CIRCUS
“Hansen turns anything and everything into a puppet and makes it funny.” A spicy puppet cabaret, hosted by a sassy grandma who keeps trying to steal the show. This beautifully twisted variety show is performed by Ingrid Hansen, who also puppeteers for Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock. Watch behind-the-scenes as Hansen performs a live puppet film, animating cheeky vignettes in the palm of her hand and projecting them onto a huge screen.
An “enormously entertaining, one-hour madcap vaudeville show. It is chock full of riotous, naughty, and mystifying vignettes using her bare hands, her face, her mouth, tiny toys, and a doll’s head. Hansen's hands-in-motion have the kind of presence that is often attributed to the greatest stage performers -- transfixing the audience, and creating pin-drop silence interspersed with spontaneous bursts of laughter.” - Culture Catch NYC
“CRITIC’S CHOICE ★★★★★” - All About Solo NYC
“A GENIUS OF PHYSICAL COMEDY.”- Entertainment World.
“HILARIOUS. Her physicality is impeccable.”-Star Phoenix News.
“Unbelievably charismatic.” - The Charlebois Post
“Remarkable feats of puppetry.” - CBC
Warning: Cartoonish sexual content, swear words, puppet suicide. Dark lighting, loud music, and surprises. SPICY, FOR AGES 14+
Directed by Britt Small (premiere director of Ride the Cyclone,)
Costumes by JIMBO (winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race,)
Performed by Ingrid Hansen (puppeteer for The Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock and Sesame Workshop's Helpsters.)
“Utterly magical, insanely inventive,
wickedly funny, BEAUTIFULLY TWISTED,
and occasionally erotic!
★★★★★” - Free Press.
“★★★★★ Imagine Shari Lewis possessed
by David Lynch” - Free Press.
"Immensely funny, creative, uproarious and
surprising...Her physicality is impeccable."
- The Star Phoenix
“Unbelievably funny.” - PLANK Magazine
“Unbelievably charismatic.” - The Charlebois Post
“An amazingly versatile physical comedian with a knack for bringing inanimate objects to life.”
- The Montreal Gazette
~ WINNER - Ed Fringe HoldOver Award ~
CREDITS
Produced by SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles
Co-Created & Directed by Britt Small
Co-Created & Performed by Ingrid Hansen
Co-Produced by, and with creative contributions from, Kathleen Greenfield
Costume Design by JIMBO The Drag Clown (James Insell)
Filmmaker for opening land-honoring film - Johnny Aitken
Puppetry coaching by Mike Petersen & Rod Peter Jr
Jokes from Anand Rajaram and Victor Dolhai
Interstitial Film Editing by Pedro M. Siqueira, PedrinXCo.
THANK YOUS |
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Ingrid Hansen
Co-Artistic Producer of SNAFU
Co-Creator, Performer and Co-Producer of Epidermis Circus
(She/her) Raised by gregarious Danish immigrants, Ingrid is a tree climber whose purse is always full of snacks. Ingrid puppeteers on television for Sesame and Henson. She plays Heart, a lovable orange monster on Helpsters, Sesame Workshop’s Emmy-Award-Winning series for AppleTV+. She also puppeteers and voices characters on Henson’s new Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock series. For the TreehouseTV/Amazon show Miss Persona, Ingrid puppeteers Melissa the Dog, and also choreographed and directed on several music videos, including getting choreograph ballet for ‘Letterkenny’ comedian K. Trevor Wilson. (Both as magical in person as you would expect.) She also puppeteered and voiced Gertie the Gopher for four seasons of Tiga Talk (APTN), and appeared on Princess Sparkly Butt and The Hot Dog Kid (Teletoon).
With SNAFU, Ingrid has co-authored and co-produced 21 live shows including Epidermis Circus, Little Orange Man, Kitt & Jane, Interstellar Elder, Table Top Tales, Snack Music and The Merkin Sisters. SNAFU’s work has been presented by the National Arts Centre, The SummerWorks Festival, The Great Canadian Theatre Centre, The Centaur Theatre, the International Festival of Animated Objects, and festivals across North America.
For the past decade, Ingrid has built an ongoing collaboration with the prisoners at William Head on Stage, the only prison theatre company in Canada that performs for the public. She teaches workshops from kinder to adult. @iamingridhansen
Co-Artistic Producer of SNAFU
Co-Creator, Performer and Co-Producer of Epidermis Circus
(She/her) Raised by gregarious Danish immigrants, Ingrid is a tree climber whose purse is always full of snacks. Ingrid puppeteers on television for Sesame and Henson. She plays Heart, a lovable orange monster on Helpsters, Sesame Workshop’s Emmy-Award-Winning series for AppleTV+. She also puppeteers and voices characters on Henson’s new Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock series. For the TreehouseTV/Amazon show Miss Persona, Ingrid puppeteers Melissa the Dog, and also choreographed and directed on several music videos, including getting choreograph ballet for ‘Letterkenny’ comedian K. Trevor Wilson. (Both as magical in person as you would expect.) She also puppeteered and voiced Gertie the Gopher for four seasons of Tiga Talk (APTN), and appeared on Princess Sparkly Butt and The Hot Dog Kid (Teletoon).
With SNAFU, Ingrid has co-authored and co-produced 21 live shows including Epidermis Circus, Little Orange Man, Kitt & Jane, Interstellar Elder, Table Top Tales, Snack Music and The Merkin Sisters. SNAFU’s work has been presented by the National Arts Centre, The SummerWorks Festival, The Great Canadian Theatre Centre, The Centaur Theatre, the International Festival of Animated Objects, and festivals across North America.
For the past decade, Ingrid has built an ongoing collaboration with the prisoners at William Head on Stage, the only prison theatre company in Canada that performs for the public. She teaches workshops from kinder to adult. @iamingridhansen
Britt Small
Director and Co-Creator of Epidermis Circus
(She/her) Britt was born in The Pas and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba before playing hockey for McGill University in Montreal and ultimately settling on Vancouver Island where she earned her MFA in Directing at the University of Victoria. She is the co-founder and co-director of Atomic Vaudeville Theatre Company and has over 20 years experience as a director, producer, performer, curator, storyteller and teacher.
Britt has performed as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Harpo Marx in Animal Crackers and created her own solo show Realboy for the UNO Fest. She has directed Janet Munsil’s Circus Fire and The Ugly Duchess, Jacob Richmond’s Qualities of Zero, Ride the Cyclone and Legoland, The Fantasticks and True West for Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for GVSF, God’s Lake and Castle in the Sky for Castlereigh Theatre, Epidermis Circus for SNAFU, My Chernobyl for Gateway Theatre and The Belfry and local Victoria cult hits The Rocky Horror Show, and Hedwig for AV. Britt also works as a dramaturg and book editor and teaches acting, play building, clown, comedy, movement and improvisation for VADA and the CCPA.
ABOUT Boss Saint B(They/them)
Boss Saint B, originally from Saint Boniface is a singer and rapper and the musical persona of Britt Candide Small. They have performed at various events and festivals and are currently recording their debut album. They pull influence from early hip hop, 70's rock and 80's pop with a humourous feminist point of view and frequently collaborate with musician Hank Pine. @bosssaintb
Director and Co-Creator of Epidermis Circus
(She/her) Britt was born in The Pas and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba before playing hockey for McGill University in Montreal and ultimately settling on Vancouver Island where she earned her MFA in Directing at the University of Victoria. She is the co-founder and co-director of Atomic Vaudeville Theatre Company and has over 20 years experience as a director, producer, performer, curator, storyteller and teacher.
Britt has performed as Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Harpo Marx in Animal Crackers and created her own solo show Realboy for the UNO Fest. She has directed Janet Munsil’s Circus Fire and The Ugly Duchess, Jacob Richmond’s Qualities of Zero, Ride the Cyclone and Legoland, The Fantasticks and True West for Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream for GVSF, God’s Lake and Castle in the Sky for Castlereigh Theatre, Epidermis Circus for SNAFU, My Chernobyl for Gateway Theatre and The Belfry and local Victoria cult hits The Rocky Horror Show, and Hedwig for AV. Britt also works as a dramaturg and book editor and teaches acting, play building, clown, comedy, movement and improvisation for VADA and the CCPA.
ABOUT Boss Saint B(They/them)
Boss Saint B, originally from Saint Boniface is a singer and rapper and the musical persona of Britt Candide Small. They have performed at various events and festivals and are currently recording their debut album. They pull influence from early hip hop, 70's rock and 80's pop with a humourous feminist point of view and frequently collaborate with musician Hank Pine. @bosssaintb
Kathleen Greenfield
Co-Artistic Producer of SNAFU
Co-Producer of Epidermis Circus
Kathleen (they/she) lives, collaborates and creates new work on the territories of the WSÁNEĆ, Lkwungen & Wyomilth people. Kathleen’s interests and experience are in site-specific outdoor performance, shadow and object puppetry, clown and reviving old stories. Kathleen has a BFA in Theatre from the University of Victoria and studied at the Banff Puppet Theatre Intensive in 2012.
In 2013, Kathleen joined SNAFU Dance Theatre as Co-Artistic Director and has directed the premiere and workshop productions of many new works including Calling Home: Stories from Military Families (SNAFU, Belfry Incubator), Little Orange Man , Kitt & Jane and Interstellar Elder (SNAFU), and I Have Seen Beautiful Jim Key (Intrepid Theatre). In 2015, Kathleen co-directed the smash-hit-remount of Lieutenant Nun, a site-specific spectacle where the audience moves through an old battlement, pageant style. Recently, Kathleen led a team of junk artists, clowns and puppeteers to create New Earth Bandits, a choose-your-own-adventure spectacle, in the same park.
Kathleen has worked with William Head on Stage Prison Theatre as a facilitator, workshop leader, assistant director, projection designer, writer and performer since 2013. Kathleen directed and devised Sleeping Giants (2016) and The Emerald City Project (2019) and the Dark Traveller Podcast (2020). In addition to her work with SNAFU and WHoS, Kathleen has recently joined the Leadership team of Atomic Vaudeville.
Co-Artistic Producer of SNAFU
Co-Producer of Epidermis Circus
Kathleen (they/she) lives, collaborates and creates new work on the territories of the WSÁNEĆ, Lkwungen & Wyomilth people. Kathleen’s interests and experience are in site-specific outdoor performance, shadow and object puppetry, clown and reviving old stories. Kathleen has a BFA in Theatre from the University of Victoria and studied at the Banff Puppet Theatre Intensive in 2012.
In 2013, Kathleen joined SNAFU Dance Theatre as Co-Artistic Director and has directed the premiere and workshop productions of many new works including Calling Home: Stories from Military Families (SNAFU, Belfry Incubator), Little Orange Man , Kitt & Jane and Interstellar Elder (SNAFU), and I Have Seen Beautiful Jim Key (Intrepid Theatre). In 2015, Kathleen co-directed the smash-hit-remount of Lieutenant Nun, a site-specific spectacle where the audience moves through an old battlement, pageant style. Recently, Kathleen led a team of junk artists, clowns and puppeteers to create New Earth Bandits, a choose-your-own-adventure spectacle, in the same park.
Kathleen has worked with William Head on Stage Prison Theatre as a facilitator, workshop leader, assistant director, projection designer, writer and performer since 2013. Kathleen directed and devised Sleeping Giants (2016) and The Emerald City Project (2019) and the Dark Traveller Podcast (2020). In addition to her work with SNAFU and WHoS, Kathleen has recently joined the Leadership team of Atomic Vaudeville.
Jimbo Insell
Costume Designer
Jimbo is a fabulous drag queen and whimsical clown, innovative designer, jaw-dropping-performer, and all around free spirit. Founder of the House of Jimbo, Jimbo is a Victoria-based artist who has designed for film and television and on stage for Victoria’s Atomic Vaudeville (Ride the Cyclone, Rocky Horror, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.)
www.houseofjimbo.com
Costume Designer
Jimbo is a fabulous drag queen and whimsical clown, innovative designer, jaw-dropping-performer, and all around free spirit. Founder of the House of Jimbo, Jimbo is a Victoria-based artist who has designed for film and television and on stage for Victoria’s Atomic Vaudeville (Ride the Cyclone, Rocky Horror, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.)
www.houseofjimbo.com
Johnny Aitken
Filmmaker for opening land-honoring film
Johnny Aitken is an actor, scriptwriter, writer, carver, filmmaker, educator and activist. Johnny’s mixed ancestry includes Coast Salish, Scottish, Haida and Hawaiian. Johnny, self identifies as a gay 2Spirit First Nations Interdisciplinary Artist.
As a wood carver, Johnny’s highlight has been carving a twenty-foot figure called a Honouring Figure which is based on a traditional Coast Salish Welcome Figure.
Johnny’s love of performing on stage began while dancing with Lynda Raino back in the 1980s in Victoria B.C.
Current projects include touring theatre production titled the Gift. The Gift is based on Johnny’s challenging childhood and overcoming severe adversity. Johnny is currently co-writing a series of children’s books with his friend Jess Willows which has a focus on reconciliation and friendship. He is also writing his first novel which explores his complicated mixed lineage titled “Mixed-up!”.
Johnny also has an interest in heightening awareness on the topic of the disproportionate number of missing and or murdered Indigenous women, girls, trans and 2spirit folks in Canada. On this topic, he is currently working on his second short video utilizing the theme of ReDress which was started by Jaime Black, Metis artist.
Johnny’s latest endeavor, “Fumbling towards Reconciliation” is a project in collaboration with Marie Weeks, a member of the Settler community. “Fumbling towards Reconciliation” explores the possible ways for non-Indigenous people to work alongside Indigenous people towards reconciliation.
Johnny considers himself a cross cultural bridge builder, a lifetime occupation he takes very seriously with a lot of humour!
Filmmaker for opening land-honoring film
Johnny Aitken is an actor, scriptwriter, writer, carver, filmmaker, educator and activist. Johnny’s mixed ancestry includes Coast Salish, Scottish, Haida and Hawaiian. Johnny, self identifies as a gay 2Spirit First Nations Interdisciplinary Artist.
As a wood carver, Johnny’s highlight has been carving a twenty-foot figure called a Honouring Figure which is based on a traditional Coast Salish Welcome Figure.
Johnny’s love of performing on stage began while dancing with Lynda Raino back in the 1980s in Victoria B.C.
Current projects include touring theatre production titled the Gift. The Gift is based on Johnny’s challenging childhood and overcoming severe adversity. Johnny is currently co-writing a series of children’s books with his friend Jess Willows which has a focus on reconciliation and friendship. He is also writing his first novel which explores his complicated mixed lineage titled “Mixed-up!”.
Johnny also has an interest in heightening awareness on the topic of the disproportionate number of missing and or murdered Indigenous women, girls, trans and 2spirit folks in Canada. On this topic, he is currently working on his second short video utilizing the theme of ReDress which was started by Jaime Black, Metis artist.
Johnny’s latest endeavor, “Fumbling towards Reconciliation” is a project in collaboration with Marie Weeks, a member of the Settler community. “Fumbling towards Reconciliation” explores the possible ways for non-Indigenous people to work alongside Indigenous people towards reconciliation.
Johnny considers himself a cross cultural bridge builder, a lifetime occupation he takes very seriously with a lot of humour!
Pedro M. Siqueira, PedrinXCo.
Filming & Editing of Epidermis "Backstage" Interstitial Films.
Pedro M. Siqueira is a Brazilian multi-skilled performer, creator and producer based in Victoria BC. Pedro’s curiosity is the ground from which he leaps into the unknown. He ignites imagination to illuminate the path to artistic realization. Since his graduation at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in February of 2020, Pedro has been assisting the theatre community in Victoria to find ways to keep developing, producing and creating during these challenging times.
Filming & Editing of Epidermis "Backstage" Interstitial Films.
Pedro M. Siqueira is a Brazilian multi-skilled performer, creator and producer based in Victoria BC. Pedro’s curiosity is the ground from which he leaps into the unknown. He ignites imagination to illuminate the path to artistic realization. Since his graduation at the Canadian College of Performing Arts in February of 2020, Pedro has been assisting the theatre community in Victoria to find ways to keep developing, producing and creating during these challenging times.
LIVE DRIVE-IN PERFORMANCES
The National Theatre Centre presented SNAFU's earliest version of Epidermis Circus as a special livestream in May 2020, “back when we were still using Clorox wipes to sanitize every box of Triscuits that entered our house. I performed alone for a livestream camera in a dark corner of my sweltering attic,” says Hansen. SNAFU later staged the show as a live-drive-in for audiences parked in Victoria, where Hansen puppeteered a tragic love scene between a sock and underpants on the hood of an audience member’s car. “I performed in a parking lot in January! I wore layers of moth-eaten black cashmere to keep warm.” They also partnered with Pi Theatre to present the Live Drive In show in Vancouver during the heat dome of June 2021. In March 2020, InOnOut Interarts Festival presented Epidermis Circus at their festival in Winnipeg.
Photos by Jam Hamidi and Victor Dolhai.
