AIE Directory

Residency Artist - Theatre

Stephen Chipps

1441 Grace
Lakewood, OH 44107
Phone: (216) 529-1369
Cell Phone: (216) 926-3330
Emails: stephenchipps@earthlink.net
Website: www.schoolformimetheatre.org

I am a physical theatre artist. In residencies I am frequently called upon to help students create original works in mime, mask, movement theatre, giant puppetry and theatre production as an ensemble process. Intelligences we routinely explore through the work are Visual, Spatial/Kinetic. Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Creative as well as Musical and yes, even the verbal. The core of my teaching revolves around three central teaching metaphors: Movement as Language, The Music of the Body and The Visual Image as a Method of Storytelling. My main focus is ages 8-18, though I have worked with Pre-K, SBH, LD, and MRDD special needs populations as well as Gifted and Adult professionals. Recently, I conducted a 4 week residency that focused on ensemble skills and a three week residency that interpreted classic horror films through mime, puppetry and shadow play.

I am currently writing a book on theatrical mime and our School for Mime Theatre which is now entering its 30th year. I am eternally fascinated by the unique way this art form communicates to audiences and that its stage is not of wood or stone, but of the human mind. It is there that the magic happens for both the performer and spectator alike. Time and culture are no barrier to my art.

I have studied with masters and movement artists from around the world including Marcel Marceau, Stefan Niedzialkowski, The Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes and the Saskatchewan Seminars for Mime and Movement Theatre. I have performed in 45 states and six countries including Japan, Korea, Okinawa, China, Canada and Puerto Rico. I have also co-founded two national touring theatre companies, a youth seminar now in its sixth year, and my solo show which tours nationally. My greatest accomplishments are the little epiphanies, the brief flashes of consciousness that awaken in my students a life long love for and pursuit of self discovery, and a resolute mission to follow their dreams, wherever they lead.