Not Just For Shock Value

Kendall Cornell, Creator and Director.
Read all about Kendall and her solo clown work here.

Melinda Ferraraccio (Green Morris Dancer) Nat’l Tours: Peter Pan (Wendy) with Theatreworks USA, The Miser (Marianne), and The Three Musketeers (Constance) with Biggs/Rosati. NYC and Regional Credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare in the Park(ing) Lot), The Rover (AGT), Much Ado About Nothing (NYRF) and In the Belly of the Beast With Two Backs (Here! Arts Center). Melinda is a certified Actor/Combatant by the SAFD and an AYA certified yoga teacher.

Kathie Horejsi: (Yellow Morris Dancer) has been clowning around New York with Jef Johnson, the New York Goofs and, of course, Kendall Cornell. In Seattle, she was a member of the Annex Theatre Company, appearing in Eric Ehn’s Little Rootie Tootie, Brian Faker and Bliss Kolb’s The Yellow Kid, and Wild Goose Circus by Russell Davis. She grew up with the Missoula Children's Theatre and graduated from both the University of Montana School of Journalism and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College.

Emily James (Silver Girl) is an actress, clown, filmmaker, and writer, born in Greenwood, SC on April Fool’s Day. She comes from a long line of outlaws, salesmen and teachers. Her one minute film Hairbit is showing in Nashville 60 Second Film Festival this year. She also performs improv comedy with her two groups Cobra 69 and Sally’s Ham Wallet.

Ishah Janssen-Faith (Pandora) was most recently seen in Turning Tables, an ensemble show that she and her theatre co., Coffee Cup, wrote and produced. She trained for two years with Philippe Gaulier in London and has had the good fortune of working with Michael Barnfather, Linda Kerr-Scott, Annabel Arden and John Wright. She has co-devised and performed in numerous shows, including a clown show about the live organ trade called A Pig Behind Their Eyes with her previous theatre co., Bouillabaisse, and Napoleon In Exile with Sounding Noise Theatre Co., both of which toured the London Fringe. Strictly as an actor, she has most enjoyed playing Olivia in Twelfth Night and Margherita in Dario Fo’s Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay! You can see more of Ishah at www.coffeecuptheatre.org.

Mona Le Roy (Red-hatted Grace) is a dancer that prefers a humorous approach to creativity. By opting for falls, crashes and contortions over pivots and arabesques, she is finding new ways to express her grace and wit. Her visual creative endeavors can soon be found at www.monamoves.com.

Judi Lewis Ockler (Am I a Guy? Gal) is an actress, stunt performer and vaudevillian. NYC credits: Jaded Assassin (Ohio Theatre), Carmen (NYC Opera), & the world premiere of Not Just For Shock Value: A Femmes-Clowns Assemblage (Artists of Tomorrow Festival, 2006). She is an associate artist of the NYC theater companies’ Lady Cavalier Theatre Co and Flying Fig Theatre Co, and has performed/choreographed in several of their NYC productions.. Stunt credits include the feature films Across the Universe, Enchanted, and The Nanny Diaries. Judi is also co-creator of The Pirate Circus, a children’s show playing throughout the tri-state area. She now teaches stage combat at AMDA and The School for Film & TV, NYC.

Julie Plumettaz (Pledging Woman) has been doing some form of theatre since the age of twelve. She performed Pantomime for 2 years with Creative Arts Theatre Co, and was a member of the improvisational group Wingnuts. Favorite traditional stage roles include the Bacchae, Eric Ehns' Swedish Tales of Woe (H.E.R.E., Ohio Theatre) and East West (Fringe 2003). She has also directed for TSI's Playtime Series and did a short improvised film for Raw Impressions. She has performed with Kendall Cornell's Soon-To-Be-World-Famous Women's Clown Troupe in a Clown Pageant, and recently performed an original clown piece at The New York Clown Theatre Festival at the Brick.

Maria Smushkovich (Carmen Miranda) graduated from the Russian Academy of Theater Arts and worked as a director in repertoire theaters in Russia. In the US she directed a few plays in the NYC, including Vieux Carre by Tennessee Williams in TSI, and her own one act comedy New Eliza Doolitle. Maria was thrilled to join clowning workshops with Kendall Cornell's Soon-To-Be-World-Famous Clown Troupe. With this troupe Maria clowned at A Clown Pageant for the Six Figures Theatre Company, Cirque du Soleil Opening night party, NY Clown Theater Festival, and Fashion District Arts Festival 2006.

Virginia Venk: (White Hatted Fondler) performed this March in Harold Pinter's A Kind of Alaska and Shel Silverstein's No Dogs Allowed at TAI. Other New York credits include Eugene Ionesco's The Lesson, Mario Fratti's Lovers, and Samuel Becket's Rockaby.