Above: Cover art for Doc Edwards' first activity book published by Raining Popcorn Media and made for the first Doc Ed show that started in late 2007. The interior art is in black and white plus there are stickers and cards at the end of the book. I've never drawn so many invertebrates in my life!
This activity book is for the second Doc Ed show that started going out to schools last month. It for fifth and 6th graders and it has a fold out timeline at the end of the book. I enjoyed researching the timeline and drawing dinosaurs again. This was also by Raining Popcorn Media.
First of Mays for 1993 Back Row L to R: Aaron Schettler,
Edzui (Edge) Szumowski, Benny Schultz, Me.
Front Row: Keith Alexander, Chad Miller and Lisa A. Chapman.
A person that is new to a circus is referred to as a First of May, which, traditionally, was the month that circuses began touring back when circus shows were presented under a tent. The clown alley for the red unit of the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus had seven new additions in 1993. We came from all over the country with one common interest: to be the best clowns we could possibly be. We were an eager bunch ready and expected to prove ourselves not just to the rest of the clowns but to the entire cast and crew of the show.
As First of Mays we worked harder than we ever had, sometimes performing while injured or ill. But none of us complained because we were having the time of our lives performing for thousands of people in arenas across the country.
We had studied hard at the Ringling school and continued learning on the road. At intermission some of us would go out into the stands to work the crowds testing out new material or improvising. In between shows on a three-show Saturday we practiced in the ring or in whatever space was available backstage developing new skills and material that could be used for the coming season.
I loved doing pratfalls and I did them every chance I could especially my first year. It's not something you just do. It's a gradual process developing the coordination and control needed to perform it correctly and safely but a pratfall done the right way is a beautiful sight to behold. It's pure visual poetry. I've never felt so good as when I did a pratfall. I'm not talking the kind one is accustomed to seeing in today's comedies. We did them the right way; the old school way like the kind Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Harold Lloyd, to name a few, could do. The falls have their proper names too like the 108( one-o-eight), the toothpick, backfall, stair falls, the Bumpsy (Named after clown Bumpsy Anthony) and other falls that defied naming.
So much was learned that First of May year and I've never forgotten those lessons. Even though we haven't performed in the circus for a long time now, Pam and I try to keep that circus work ethic alive in our life away from the circus. We've ruffled feathers keeping to our circus work ethic but we wont abandon it. It's never failed us.
And we stay in touch with our fellow circus clowns. I've lost touch with a good many school friends over the years but not with my friends on the circus. Those bonds are strong and withstand the passage of time.
Being a First of May was a year-long test of endurance that prepared us for the challenges we would face for the rest our lives. If you could do that you could do anything. We earned our place as clowns on the Greatest Show on Earth. It was our world. We loved it and we never took it for granted as we traveled across the country on a circus train going north, south, east and west living in a waking dream.
This a mural that I painted for a church in Dallas in the fall of 2002. The mural was designed by the very talented Dan Peeler and I had a blast working on it. It measures 8'x32'. You can click on the image to magnify it.
This is a sample of the art for "Raptor Island". It was all in ink and done in a realistic style. 
That's the cover for the first and only issue for this title. As you can see it was very cartoony and colorful. As a kid I loved dinosaurs. Like most any kid I learned names like tyrannosaurus rex, stegosaurus and here's a good one: quetzalcoatlus. I like the way that one rolls off the tongue. Dinosaurs still fascinate me and four years ago or maybe it was five. Time flies when your raising a family. But around four or five years ago I was assigned to illustrate two of fictional stories about dinosaurs. One made it into print and the other did not. The first, which did make it into print, was a comic book for elementary school-age kids titled "Uno and the Raptors" written by a fellow popularly known as Dinosaur George. Why can't artists have names like that! Well, the comic tells the story of an anthropomorphic quartet of Raptors (yes, raptors) who are searching for their parents. I really enjoyed drawing these characters and learning all the particulars of drawing a raptor. If I recall correctly I think they were velociraptors. The story was so fun and goofy and I was looking forward to drawing issue two.
Almost simultaneously being drawn were a series of ink drawings for the second project, a time travel story titled "Raptor Island", written by and featuring Dinosaur George. It was an exciting adventure story that followed George around as he explored the the prehistoric world of dinos. He had many hair raising encounters but thanks to his paleontologist training and reflexes plus some super -duper high tech weapons he fights off the prehistoric terrors and lives to see another day filled with more cliff hanger encounters with the scaly beasts. Both "Uno and the Raptors" and "Raptor Island" were planned as a series of books but it was not meant to be. For various reasons the projects came to an abrupt halt and the party was over Rover! Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. But my artist senses are tingling. Who knows...maybe I'll do more dino art some day soon.
Hello Everyone!
This is a video clip of my one woman show I wrote, produced and performed for finals at the Performing Arts Theatre Conservatory (PAMTC). I want to share this with you because I would like to talk about getting hit by a 4' pie. (with a cherry on top. Albert has a thing for details!). This idea was created by Albert, the pie was made by Albert, and it was dropped by Albert. He loves to throw pies at me! The plot and title of the show was "What is Funny?". After a lot of analytical stuff, this is what happens at the end when I have a revelation: Big pies ....funny. Back when I was 19, I worked at a bar doing comedy writing, and I allowed my self to get hit in the face with raw liver. Big laughs but quite disgusting. The clean up took days and I kept smelling it,even after two showers! I have been hit with bologna, spit on with water, and hit with a kitchen sink. But the big pie got the biggest laugh ( the liver got the biggest "ewww") So is bigger better in comedy? I don't know all I know is " big pie .....funny". - Pammy
Standing L to R: Pammy as Mama Bear, next to her is the very talented and funny Christy Burch as Goldilocks, Selby Anderson as Papa Bear ( The best ever!). Kneeling L to R : Me as Baby Bear and Garrick Dabbs, our lighting technician, actor and all around nice guy in our goofy, knock about version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" 1992.
Hi kids. Have a seat and get comfy so I can tell you a story. Well, once upon a time, as the old timers like to say, there was a place that could only have existed in a fairy tale. Throughout the year the aroma of fajitas filled the air of this special place. Children and adults alike went about breaking eggs on the heads of friends and relatives but rather than containing a gooey mess the broken eggs were full of tiny, colored pieces of paper that rained down, carpeting the floor with the colors of the rainbow.
The denizens of this jolly hamlet went to work at 10:47 a.m. and took two hour lunches. And they worshipped something they referred to as SPURS, which most believed were enchanted giving the true believer the power of flight and caused endless whooping and hollerin'. You'd think you just stepped into the looking glass!
At the heart of this magical kingdom was an oasis of culture where actors were paid and rehearsals were only a month long...a place where a world- weary thespian could have fun again and love acting once more. Sounds neat, huh? Well it was a neat place. It was the old Woodlawn Theater on Fredericksburg Road. It's an old movie house where John Wayne's "The Alamo" had it's world premiere. After the theater closed down the upstairs balcony section was leased out to the talented folks of the Turners All Night Drugstore Theater who needed a new home. They proceeded to build a stage by hook and crook and the desire to do theater. It then passed hands to Bill and Madeline Copeland who made their contributions to the place. At its height, you could enjoy melodramas, children's theater, art exhibits and poetry readings too.
This was the place where Pam and I met. Pammy was with Turners and stuck around after the changing of the guard. She taught me how to act and clown. She also taught me how to do my first pratfall ( It was a backfall and I think that's when I fell in love with her. I know, bad pun but its late, you see.)which she had learned, among many other things, at the Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Clown College and on the road with their circus.
There are pivotal events in everyone's lives and mine was quiting a painful but profitable teaching job which led me to discovering the joys of live theater.You tend to do the unexpected when you're unemployed and literally counting pennies for gas money but if I hadn't quit that job my life would be radically different and not really all that fun.When I walked through those theater doors I started act 2 of my life. A famous frog once said "Life's like a movie, write your own ending, keep believing keep pretending", and that's exactly what I intend to continue doing.
Interior art for "The Milagro de Monterrey" published by Raining Popcorn Media.I tried setting up a link to Raining Popcorn Media"s website but it didn't work. They are the publishers of the "Milagro de Monterrey". Check it out if you get a chance. I'm off to make a second pot of coffee.
On Tuesday, April 15th 2010, the movie, "The Perfect Game", that tells the story of the Little League team from Monterrey, Mexico that won the World Series in 1957, got a sneak preview showing in San Antonio. Pam and I got to meet the producer of the film, Michael Gallant, who told us of his seven year journey to have the film made and then released. Angel Macias, who pitched the perfect game back in 1957 was there and so was 91 year old Cesar Faz who coached the team to their victory. Also there were what seemed to be the entire Faz clan from Mexico and here in San Antonio, whose their roots go back to the early days of San Antonio. It was an honor to meet them and sit there with them signing the picture book that told their story. I haven't felt so out of place in a long time. It was a humbling and unforgettable experience.
There is a film with the real team and coach that was shot in the late fifties in a documentary style. It's called " Los Pequenos Gigantes". It's hard to find but I hear some copies are floating around in some libraries here in the states. There is also a book that was written by Cesar Faz about the team that is back in print in Mexico but might be distributed here too. I'll keep you posted. Photos coming soon !! Anyway, I think it's time to get another cup of coffee and eat an empanada. Happy Sunday!
Above: Cover art for Doc Edwards' first activity book published by Raining Popcorn Media and made for the first Doc Ed show that started in late 2007. The interior art is in black and white plus there are stickers and cards at the end of the book. I've never drawn so many invertebrates in my life!
This activity book is for the second Doc Ed show that started going out to schools last month. It for fifth and 6th graders and it has a fold out timeline at the end of the book. I enjoyed researching the timeline and drawing dinosaurs again. This was also by Raining Popcorn Media.
