The Magician’s Assistant

Written and Performed by Mélissa Smith

 

Magician’s sick in bed?! Too bad! THE SHOW MUST GO ON! The Magician’s Assistant  is a physical comedy about the transformative power of believing in yourself and asking for help. Everything seems under control until the Magician’s lovely Assistant blunders onstage and has to entertain the crowd in the magician’s absence. Clown Mélissa Smith switches characters with expert comedic flare, finding a delicate balance between chaos and control, vulnerability and confidence. Video projections and animation by Ingrid Larson add an extra dose of unexpected folly. The Magician's Assistant encourages empathy, laughter and eating your veggies! The Magician's Assistant made its NYC premiere in Frigid Fest NYC after playing  across the Northeast. Audiences Old and Young have been delighted by this charming and hilarious romp.

 

Mélissa Smith is a New York based performer, theater maker and teaching artist. Although Brooklyn is her base she has been traveling for the better part of two years leading workshops, performing and making connections around the U.S. and abroad. Meli began clowning as a humanitarian effort in South Florida over ten years ago. She has gone on to clown in festivals, plays and musicals. Smith has a degree in Theater and Dance and has trained in mime, clown and physical theater with clowns from Ringling Bros Circus, Cirque du Soleil and more! In NYC she has performed at Ars Nova, The Public Theater, Cloud City, Under St. Marks, Judson Memorial, Greenwood Cemetery and a few Subway platforms.

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Ingrid Larson is from Sioux City, Iowa and graduated from The Theatre School at DePaul University in Chicago where she earned her BFA in scenic design. Ingrid was the assistant scenic designer for Nutcracker Rouge at Minetta Lane Theatre and The Who and the What at Lincoln Center Theatre in New York City as well as The Blood Quilt at The Arena Stage in Washington D.C., Mary Stuart in Chicago, IL and War Stories in Philadelphia, PA. She was the projection designer for Rocky Horror Live in Rockland, Maine and Mother (And Me) at Second Stage Theatre Uptown in New York City. Most recently, Ingrid was the assistant projection designer for Privacy at The Public Theatre and Jerry Springer the Opera at Signature Theatre in New York City.