ZooZoo an exotic blend

Hippos suffering insomnia. Anteaters that can’t get a waiter's attention. A frog with a jumping dysfunction and an inferiority complex.

These are just a few of comical vignettes Imago Theatre is debuting at the International Children’s Festival running May 28 to June 1.

The internationally acclaimed Portland, Oregon based theatre troupe has for the past 30 years developed a special blend of vaudeville, comedy, acrobatics and illusions.

The touring family show, ZooZoo, also combines mime, dance, music, and special effects with mask and detailed costumes. It presents about a dozen vignettes that bring animals to life allowing us to see the human condition under a different lens.

“We’re presenting about one hour of material distilled from about 40 hours of material,” says co-artistic director Jerry Mouawad. “In the past 30 years we’ve created 50 or more pieces and these are the ones that haven’t ended up in the Imago warehouse.”

The term “warehouse” is code for cutting room floor. Ideas come together, a show is shaped, workshopped and presented. If it fails to reach the company’s high standards, the show is parked in the warehouse.

Mouawad turned to this art form after dissatisfaction with the University of Oregon’s drama program. Traditional theatre usually delves into the complex ramifications of a character, past and present.

“But I couldn’t relate. I couldn’t find honesty in the lines,” Mouawad explains.

In the struggles to find his place in theatre, Mouawad discovered Jacques Lecoq, a Parisian born actor and mime. Lecoq went on to develop revolutionary methods of physical theatre, movement and mime that encouraged a style of performance suited to the actor. It focused on nurturing creativity as opposed to teaching a fixed set of traditional skills.

“He was able to break it down in ways I could understand,” Mouawad notes adding that part of the training focused on giving actors limitations.

“He imposed limitations that opened up creative freedom. If you give an artist a blank canvas and tell him to go at it, he may not know where to start. Jacques Lecoq provided a point of departure.”

Mouawad and his wife Carol Triffle founded Imago Theatre while in their early 20s and quickly discovered families enjoyed their shows.

“At the time we were excited to create short pieces and present them to the public.”

Three decades later, they focus on creating universal moments that depict the human condition in humorous ways. Shying away from the grand dramatic flashes, they focus of the unspoken Chaplinesque moments.

“Our work is reminiscent of the silent film era, vaudeville and the physical comedy scene.”

Most intriguing are the masks. Once shaped from papier mâché, Mouawad now moulds a clay model, creates a pattern from the model and uses the blueprint to create a finished foam mask.

“There will be five performers on stage for ZooZoo. We’re not a Broadway show, but if you count the small firefly costume changes, we have about 30 to 40 characters.”

For Mouawad, the show is just plain fun.

“How many acrobatic worms are you going to see at the festival? This is the best we have to offer.”

Recommended for children ages three and older.