About Mr. Moon
The Moon Family
'Vaudeville from the 21st century' - Martijn Grootendorst
Directed by: Eva Schumacher
Music: Snowapple
Costumes: Mo Benchellal
With: Nora Tinholt, Moro Osito von Ropi, Cynthia Martinez, Laurien Schreuder & guests
Duration: 60 minutes
Mr Moon is created by the Snowapple collective. A group of musicians, clowns, mime-actors and puppeteers. Under the direction of the in-house director of the collective Eva Schumacher from France.
Check out Snowapple's website
Synopsis
« Andrew Sisters Meet Kate Bush Meet Kurt Weill Meet Contemporary Classical » - Clew
MR MOON is a magic-tinged, surrealist comedy about a troupe of itinerant
performers that opens a Pandora’s box of life’s big questions. Using songs in three
languages, the music transports the audience to the world of an opera diva, a Mexican
street musician and a lost mime artist.
SYNOPSIS
A Mistress of Ceremonies protects her actors as would a mother, a madman behave like a politician, a Mexican woman runs away from home, and a girl swallows the moon...
Our characters, our images- they allow you to dive into our universe of the absurd and whimsical, full of references to our different cultures. From surrealist Mexico to the Dutch folk tradition, they are a mess of who we are: our roots, our beliefs. They are troubadours who never stop walking.Their tale is a microcosm, constantly on the verge of explosion, at once laughable and dark. We aim to tell the story of a family unable live without an audience. Their sacrifices are numerous and each step costs them. Yet, each evening, they open their suitcases, put on their faded costumes, golden makeup, and darken their eyes to seduce us.
They can do it all: play, tell, sing, talk about our world.
The instruments on the stage range from the impressive to the most strange, from saxophone to musical saw. They will use all their talents to please, even if it’s too much, even if they must stop, because they are also a family. They are a family who tear themselves apart, battle internally, and their frustrations slip into the details... How to live together on the road? How to find the strength each day to surpass one’s own limits on stage? How to fit in society when you are unwanted ?
We create an atmosphere close to the cabaret of yesteryear, close to a sublime universe that mixes the grotesque with poetry and black humor, but also incorporates itinerant circus culture and its tradition of the freakshow. Our characters are not pretty. They are beautiful. They are not ugly. They are hideous. This universe, at once dusty and elegant, a witness of past splendor, lies in the image of its inhabitants.
Mr. Moon confronts the audience with ‘crazy’ people who try to answer the big questions of the universe, without understanding even their own worlds. It's a surreal cabaret. It's a fantastical comedy.
They are the one marginalized that confront us to our society, to our choices, to our “normality”.
They make us laugh, they make us think, they make us dream… or doubt…
The Cast
'We are King’s Fools, preachers, liers and poets who have seen too much' - Mrs Moon
Nora on the Moon
Nora on the Moon (played by Nora from Amsterdam) is a clown who is always wondering which road to take and whether to keep on traveling. She is also the alter ego of The Moon, a mysterious character who is trying to get back in the sky.
Nora studied Visual Arts at (Gerrit Rietveld Academy) as well as mime and physical theatre; she also trained as a puppeteer with the Philippe Genty Company (FR). She collaborates with both the Snowapple collective and the Duda Paiva Company (NL).
Mr Moon
Mr Moon (played by Osito Moro von Ropi) likes to talk about the creation of the world and play a thousand notes per minute on his silver flute. Sometimes he plays with the truth or improvises a song using one of the multiple instruments he likes to use.
A trained mime artist and clown, Osito played in the Mexican ska band 'Los de Abajo' for more than 12 years. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree at the Utrecht Conservatory of Music. Osito has performed at festivals including Lowlands (NL), Sziget (HN), Glastonbury (UK) and more.
Catalina
Catalina (played by Cynthia Martinez from Mexico) is a mysterious woman: sometimes she’ll give you a sharp look, sometimes a bright smile; at other times she’ll convey her opinion through her cello or bass guitar.
Cynthia was responsible for Snowapple’s La Llorona project, which reached 100,000 women worldwide; she is now an important activist for women’s rights in Mexico. Cynthia was a member of the band ‘Polka Madre’ for many years, touring with them in Europe and the USA. She also writes music for the theatre and the circus.
Mrs Moon
Mrs Moon (Played by: Laurien from Amsterdam) is the family’s matriarch and leader, a singer of operatic arias and folk cumbias, and the band’s clarinetist. She strongly believes in the old adage ‘the show must go on’ and encourages the others to follow suit with her sweet smile.
Laurien is the artistic leader of the Snowapple collective. She studied experimental physics at the University of Amsterdam, then opera singing and mime acting in Holland and Los Angeles. Laurien has performed at Eurosonic (NL), Glastonbury (UK) and Vive Latino (MX).
La Directora François
La directora (Eva Schumascher from France) ensures that there is order amid the chaos. She translates (and invents) words for this collective without borders and keeps the creative juices flowing through writing sessions squeezed into train rides.
Eva studied philosophy at University, then physical theatre with the Lecoq Pedagogy (BE). She first worked with actors with mental disabilities, and now writes and directs shows with the TSQP company (FR), and the Snowapple collective.
Guests
Frequent guests are: Scottish sqeekologist, Gunga. Actor/percussionist El Niño from Mexico. Tlazolteotl Orkestra from Mexico. Acrobat Elodia de Casas from Mexico. Turkish mime actor and clown from Turkia and many more....