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to say ‘hey, have a smile today.

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; NEWS Mike Wake fietd
AMBROSE THE human mannequin, mime, magician: “in today’s
world it’s important to have magic. As a performer | feel it’s my duty

There’s more than magic
to Ambrose the clown

LOWNS AND magicians generally conjure images
of fuzzy rabbits emerging from black felt hats, birth-
day parties, balloons, intrigue and comical high

jinks.

One North Vancouver street
performer, however, employs his
skills toward a more lofty goal.

Although he says the object of

EVELYN
JACOB

spotlight feature

his work is simply to make people
laugh and bring magic into the
world, for most of his life Ambrose
the human mannequin has been
making more than cute kids with
puppy dogs smile.

At a medical convention in
Winnipeg, for instance, Ambrose,
who prefers to use only his first
name, demonstrated to a group of
physicians and teens how the sen-
sation of feeling trapped is a
psychological barrier that can be
overcome,

“After my show I had people
who had attempted suicide com-
ing up to me and saying they
could really relate to what I did,”
he says, peering up from under a
mop of curly hair.

Ambrose has taken his travelling
show into half-way houses across
the country, giving mask
workshops to youths. Used cor-
rectly, masks can help troubled
teens build courage and improve
their self-esteem, he believes.

“It’s amazing to see these people
expressing their feelings. They
become what’s really inside
them.”

Another ‘‘therapeutic’’ dance
work entitled Unmask explores
creation, power, politics, money,
dreams, and finally, death and
reincarnation. Ambrose says the
piece is Meant to get people think-
ing about their environment,
“Unmask can make you laugh,
make you cry, and it can make

you angry. It makes you think of
everything you do. | planned the
piece so it would fit into every
religion and philosophy. That’s
important to me.”

Important, because Ambrose
knows the healing power of per-
formance first hand. Circumstance
forced him to cut his comedic
teeth early in life; in school he
earned a reputation as class clown
because he stuttered and had an
unusual name. ‘‘To overcome it |
made funny faces, gestures and
sound effects in class until one day
my Grade 6 teacher told me |
should be a performer. | didn’t re-
alize that { was actually doing
mime.”

At age 15 he quit school and
began working at odd jobs in pool
rooms and as a dishwasher. But he
never forgot what his teacher told
him, and after a few years he
headed to a local junk store to seal
his fate: he emerged in a pair of
baggy jeans, a colorful wig and a
bright red nose. ‘‘t felt like | was
born again,” he recalls.

His transformation was so com-
plete that his performance skills
led him to work with the Royal
Winnipeg Ballet and the Canadian
Figure Skating Association, The
highlight of his career came when
he showcased for Marcel Marceau
in Minneapolis.

Today one of Ambrose’s favorite
haunts is Lonsdale Quay, where
you car find him pulling silk
scarves out of hats one minute and
making rubber-faced contortions
the next.

He's also popped up on such
T.V. shows as Fred Penner’s Place
and CBC's Switchback and on the
big screen — he appears as a
mire in the feature Bird On A
Wire.

And last month, he announces
proudly, he was awarded first
prize for best comedy magic act
by the Vancouver Magic Circle
Magicians’ Society.

video award

WEST VANCOUVER video pro-
ducer Gordon Watts has won a
Gold Cloud award for a 10-minute
video he created for B.C. Tel.

“Lam especially pleased since
this was not only my first produc-
tion ever here in Vancouver, but it
was also my first attempt at
creating something in dramatic
form for corporate use,’ said
Watts. ‘It was also my first at-
tempt at using humor in a cor-
porate video context..." he said
after winning the award at the In-
ternational Television Association
Festiva! held over the weekend.

Before coming to Canada in
1984, Watts was executive pro-
ducer of the humorous British
consumer affairs show, That's Life.
He is a former senior producer of
CBC T.V.’s Market Place and Ven-
ture, and currently runs his own
video production company.

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