Fun fact: Christine Lesiak is an Edmonton-based theatre artist and educator specializing in clown, performer-created, and site-specific theatre.
Number of years with DCoT: 8
Favourite DCoT memory: In 2015, there was a young teen who came to the show with presumably her mom. I was worried the show would be too scary for her, so slowly approached her to see how she would react. I could see the moment she made the decision to trust me to be her guide though the show, and from there on we had a non-verbal understanding that I would take care of her. At the end of the show, she ran up and gave me a big hug. It’s the only hug Alice has ever had in 8 years, and it melted her ghosty heart. And the goats.
What you’re most afraid of: Eating beets. They taste like dirt. I don’t get it.
Christine Lesiak is an Edmonton-based theatre artist and educator specializing in clown, performer-created, interactive, and site-specific theatre. She is co-founder of Small Matters Productions. She is co-creator of Small Matters’ Fools for Love (2012), Sofa So Good (2010) and Why Do Fools Fall in Love?(2008), in which she performs as Sheshells. She is writer and performer of her one-woman show, Ask Aggie(2013), and co-writer and performer in Over Her Dead Body (2017) which premieres Nov 30 at the Backstage Theatre of the ATB Finacial Arts Barns. Christine has created and performed countless short clown works. She curated & co-produced of Small Matters’ Fool’s Gold Cabaret nights (2010-12), a performance series that provided a mentorship program for emerging theatre clown performers, and is festival director in charge of programming Play the Fool, Edmonton’s festival of clown theatre and physical comedy. She is artistic associate and core instructor with Toy Guns Dance Theatre, and a frequent collaborated with Catch the Keys Productions (Dead Centre of Town, 900 Seconds, The Runcible Riddle).
Christine holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Drama from the University of Alberta. She has trained extensively in the Canadian/Pochinko style of clown with Jan Henderson (Fool Moon Productions) and Michael Kennard (Mump and Smoot). Other influences include clown with Aitor Basauri (Spymonkey); bouffon with Adam Lazarus, Eric Davis (Red Bastard); improvisation (Rapid Fire Theatre, Keith Johnstone); immersive theatre (punchdrunk, UK); and puppetry (The Old Trout Puppet Workshop). She has taught within the Drama Department at the University of Alberta, Edmonton Digital Arts College and privately.