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| Joan Baez and Stefan Haves |
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, March 18, 2004
Joan Baez credits Stefan Haves, Teatro ZinZanni’s director, with the idea of transforming her (hair, voice, songs and costume) into the Contessa ZinZanni, enlarging the center-ring hostess role for her to include comedy and song and giving it a try.
Baez attended a performance of Teatro-ZinZanni. “I entered happy circus trance land,” she says “I called the director, Stefan, and I said I wanted to be in the circus. He said “OK” and by the way you should play Madame ZinZanni. I said O.K..
"Audiences really enjoy the interactive element Teatro Zinzanni offers," said director Stefan Haves, hovering at tent's edge.
“It’s an experience that’s so hands-on. It’s tactile.”
Teatro Zinzanni is one of the few venues for world-class clowns
“Here, The clowns gain respect,” said Haves during a backstage interview. “Our clowns don’t have big shoes and caked on make-up.”
New performers are constantly being woven into the show.
In rehearsal, Haves tweaks the ensemble’s gags, songs, bits and props are added, sometimes scrapped.
Some of the antics follow the tradition of silent-film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. Other times, the clowns are quite vocal – arguing in foreign tongues or using bad English.
“These are my peers,” said Haves, a former contortionist. “Basically, the judge of what we do is the audience. So I will pretty much let the clowns try anything within “clown” reason. It’s not good to censor clowns. In order to be in a circus, you have to be an anarchist at a certain level. You have to know you’re in a group of rebels. And I love that, because It know that there’s a lot of creativity there.”
