Guerra: a clown play is a satirical physical comedy created by Mexico City company La Piara in collaboration with writers/directors Seth Bockley and Devon de Mayo. The play combines slapstick, clown, dance, bouffant and farce to tell the story of a military outpost desperate for recruits, and the cannon fodder that a hapless General sends to war. This contemporary story of war's inhumanity is given a darkly humorous edge through the medium of clown.
Performed in three languages and featuring a climactic paper plane bombardment, this lean touring performance lasts 55 minutes. It was developed over 2011 and 2012 through Theater Communication Group's "On the Road" grant, and first presented at the In The Works showcase series in Chicago's Pritzker Pavilion, in Millennium Park, in March 2012. The show was presented at the NYC Clown Theater Festival in September 2012, and will open a first run in Mexico City in February 2013 at the Foro Shakespeare.
In Guerra, La Piara's performers (Artús Chávez, Fernando Córdova Hernández and Madeleine Sierra) play a trio of military officers engaged in a struggle against an unseen enemy amassing offstage. Their epic yet intimate story improbably features a Price-Is- Right style recruitment lottery, a rendition of French nursery rhyme 'Alouette', and a certain dance made popular by Beyoncé. The play is informed by the American and Mexican perspectives of its creators, and its unique combination of bombast, camp, silliness and serious source material makes Guerra an irreverent yet accessible satire.
About the artists La Piara is a clown / bouffant company made up of Artús Chávez, Fernando Córdova Hernández and Madeleine Sierra. They have performed and taught clowning together in Mexico City for many years. They trained in America, Paris and London and toured around the world with their first show, El Extraño Caso de Tai Chi y Té Chai.
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