The fearless Secret Agents have been selected as part of an elite team to Bring Down Prague Castle!
The biggest ancient castle in the world, Prague Castle dates back to the 9th century.It witnessed the The Second Prague Defenestration in 1618, which triggered the Bohemian Revolution, and it houses the Czech Crown Jewels.
The Secret Agents will infiltrate by posing as Fringe Festival performers and gain access to the castle through its underground theater the Divadlo Inspirace.
There they will perform for 9 nights, May 28-June 5, 2010, draw hundreds of unsuspecting comrades to the scene, and inspire a cacophony of applause so uproarious they will Bring Down the House.
Could this possibly be possible?Could such a duo exist?Do the Agents really think they can actually pull this one off?
No strangers to the art of conquest, our intrepid Agents have procured the help of none other than the Jim Henson Foundation.In a surreptitious partnership code named “Grant Money” the Jim Henson Foundation will be providing state of the art assistance to The Agents, who are already scheduling training simulations at theaters in Boston and Philadelphia.
Stay tuned to find out how They Gotta Be Secret Agents fare in their newest Mission.
In the beginning of September, the Secret Agents were charged with infiltrating the famously infamous and irreverent San Francisco Fringe Festival in order to surreptitiously unleash their unique blend of partner acrobatics, physical comedy and puppetry on unsuspecting west coasters.
Did they succeed? How is it even possible?
Here is the breakdown:
Boxes of materials shipped from Boston to Secret SF outpost: 5
Babies smuggled across state borders: 1
Total trips over the Golden Gate Bridge or under the bay: 19
Boxes used in show: 11
Pairs of underwear acting as Tim's onstage disguise: 3
Pairs of underwear acting as Bonnie's onstage disguise: 4
Unsuspecting witnesses subjected to our show: hundreds!
So, was the mission a success?
Yes... Oh, yes... Was it ever.
Shocked by the sheer power of They Gotta Be Secret Agent's joie de vivre, the SF Fringe Festival bestowed Bonnie and Tim with Best Physical Comedy and Techie's Choice/Best of Fringe Awards!
Audiences agreed and called the show:
"Both visually stunning and emotionally moving."
"Whimsical and profound at the same time."
"It took my breath away."
In addition to indoctrinating masses of Cali folk into Secret Agent Life, Bonnie and Tim explored the city, caught up with great friends and family, saw some beautiful art, watched exceptional Fringy theater, and ate their fill.
Are The Secret Agents going to sit back on their haunches after this second successful leg of world domination?
No... Oh, no, no, no...
They are scheming, they are plotting. Will they accept a new mission in your city?
Tune in here or befriend us on Facebook to find out.
Keep yourself updated or beware: you may miss your indoctrination into They Gotta Be Secret Agents' World of Wonder.
A huge shout out to the staff at EXIT Theater and especially to Ryan Wilkes, our lighting technician.
We've had full houses so far (yay!). Here's what audiences are saying:
"Whimsical and poignant while entirely innovative." "Their strength and creativity were so impressive and the story that was carved out throughout the performance was touching and thought-provoking."
"This duo are something to behold."
"This is the show you just can't miss in this year's Fringe."
Our set, puppets, costumes, props, chalk, boxes of boxes, extra string, lightbulbs, top hats, soup cans, flashlights, and even a package of diapers is on its way westward via our friends at UPS.
Now comes your part:
COME SEE OUR SHOW! Send everyone you know to see our show!
Audiences at Perishable Theatre sat spell bound and air conditioned this weekend.
What, you don't believe us?
Come on, it's not like we've lied to you before. OK. It was just that one time. Really.
Here's some proof for those who may doubt and for those who are curious and for those who are tempted to catch a plane to San Francisco to see us at the Fringe Festival September 10-20.
We said in our email that we're performing at Perishable Theater on August 15-16.
In reality, the shows are-----
Friday, August 14th at 8:00 pm Saturday, August 15th at 3:00 pm and 8:00 pm
Our Saturday shows are part of AS220's Foo Festso we encourage you to head to Providence for the day. See our show. Check out some bands. Eat some fried dough. Good times all around.
In May, we went up to New England Center for Circus Arts and worked with the amazing Bill Forchion. Whenever we go up to Vermont, we take a list of what we want to work on. Here's a video of us attempting a new move we call "Bobbing for Bonnie."
We catch up with The Agents as they craftily create their new show, “Poste Restante.”
Always eager for a challenging mission, The Agents actually set up a neigh on insurmountable obstacle course in between them and the August premiere of Poste Restante at the Perishable Theater in Providence, RI.What are these insane tests of bravery and virtue the agents accepted with open arms?Tests that would easily send other agents cowering into obscurity?
First off, living a few blocks away from each other was far too easy, so Tim moved to Philadelphia.Then, thinking her triathlete-ed body was an unfair advantage over rival agents, Bonnie had a baby…. Boy.Jack!A veritable wolf of energy and cuteness.Tim, impressed with his partner’s fair-mindedness, decided to wring his head through mental meat grinder of the MCAT to allow adversaries a chance to catch up to his intellect.
You may think the Secret Agents were just begging for certain doom, but no.oh, no, no, no.The Secret Agents persevered!
Tim harnessed the power of the Fung Wah Chinatown bus to propel him from Philly to Boston and back numerous times.Bonnie, undaunted by a new body, biked and ran again!Together they trained with Master Bill Forchion at New England Center for Circus Arts who built them up, then humbled them and then built them up again.
Like a Phoenix from the ashes, The Secret Agents piece together their amazing new show weekend by weekend.Now, with an added boost from their allies The Puppeteers of America grant writers, The Agents push on.Into uncharted territory.Batting the acro, building the scenes and setting the score that will ignite Providence.San Francisco!The World?!
Here are some pics of the Dead Letter Office. I love the stacks and stacks of letters and all of the odd things collected. I wish it was my job to go through these things and figure out where they belong. But alas, my job is to make a piece of theater inspired by these things. I definitely want to find intriguing ways to read letters on stage...
The Secret Agents have been around the block, entertaining audiences of 5 people and audiences of 5000 people, from Forcalquier to Kalamazoo, in roles as dancers, acrobats, and puppeteers, as solo artists and in touring companies.
What did those silly agents learn from all this? Most of all, instead of performing at their audience, Bonnie and Tim learned how to bring an audience along with them into daring and surreal realms. The Agents are courageous yet calm on stage and truly enjoy performing in a way that is palpable and inviting to the audience. The Agents are not air brushed or leotarded; they “wow” you without becoming steely circus performers, and they provoke instrospection without batting you over the head with obscure themes.
Audiences relate to Bonnie and Tim as people and fellow travelers who will immerse you into simply constructed worlds that play with and distort the grand themes of time, scale, formality and reality. Short segments of clowning, video, dance, puppetry, and theatre flow into one another and spin together touching moments with humorous ones.
There is something for everyone at a Secret Agents show.
Tim Gallagherformally studied ballet and modern dance while growing up in New England, honed his improv skills with Travelling Treasure Trunk at Tufts University where he earned a BA in English and received a BFA in photography from The Museum School. He danced for six years with the acrobatic Snappy Dance Theater, while choreographing and teaching throughout New England. Tim also worked as a cinematographer for the independent movie production company Daemonswine and loves to fly in his dreams.
Bonnie Duncan grew up in the South where she danced and swam competitively. She studied education and theatre in college and grad school where she developed a knack for costuming on the cheap and acting in original theatre pieces. She danced for eight years with Snappy Dance Theater, where she became addicted to being thrown around by good-looking men. Bonnie creates and performs solo puppet shows for adults in her living room and in fancy theaters. She also does some costume design on the side. And finally, she loves cupcakes.
The creative impetus for this show roots in both the mystique and day to day workings of the Dead Letter Office, a branch of the US Postal service charged with handling undeliverable mail. For us the Dead Letter Office brings communication down from a high-tech, instant “now, now, now” process to a more tangible, visceral level. We use our bodies, puppetry and video media to playfully explore communication and its mishaps.
What will The Secret Agents do with an anonymous package, cardboard box bikinis, a few handwritten letters, a bicycle with wings, and one mysterious vinyl record? Could it possibly involve inanimate object domination, acrobatic knots, full-throttle origami and a cocoa pop?
