Mask maker Michael Cooper to perform at Loeb Playhouse

Michael Cooper's mask
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The show is presented by Purdue Convocations as part of the Family Adventures series. Patrons are invited to bring their children beginning at 2 p.m. to make a free mask in the Stewart Center West Lobby.

Cooper's show combines the mythical and the auto-biographical and features breathtaking original masks, stories of courage and wonder, outlandish stilt dancing and a physical repertoire that ranges from madcap to sublime.

Cooper, a native of rural Vermont, studied mime in Paris with mime master Etienne Decroux and with Tony Montanaro at the Celebration Barn in Vermont. He has been a solo performer for 30 years and brings together the artistic elements that he loves — mime, mask making and storytelling.

He learned mask making on his own to accommodate a performance need and soon became fascinated with sculpting. Now he has perfected the art and sometimes takes as long as 300 hours to complete a mask. The whimsical subjects include such portraits as "The Baby," "The Wind," "The Dog," "The Fish" and "The Nose."

When Cooper found that he could not do everything he wanted to do in mime, he added storytelling. His stories tell about everyday occurrences that are part of the human experience. For instance, one story that he combines with mask and mime illustrates how his father used to break wild horses.

Cooper's ultimate message is that creativity is a birthright and belongs to everyone.

"I think every human being has creativity," Cooper says. "I'm really out to help people explore that."

Tickets to Cooper's public performance, "Masked Marvels and WonderTales," are $14 for adults and $10 for children and are available at the Elliott Hall and Stewart Center box offices at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Tickets also are available through Ticketmaster outlets.

In addition to Cooper's public performance, he also will visit two local schools, Mintonye Elementary and Klondike Elementary. His activities at the schools will include a mini-performance and an explanation about the art of mask making and mime.

Members of the public who are interested in spending more time with the artist can attend the Mask and Mime Master Class with Cooper from 9-11 a.m. Aug. 26. The class is open to teachers, adults and families with supervised children 8 and older. It will begin with a 10-minute performance and will end with a question and answer segment with the artist. The two-hour class costs $20 and enrollment is limited. Call (765) 494-9712 to make a reservation by Aug. 23.

Source: Laura Clavio, Purdue Convocations assistant director, (765) 496-2913, lzclavio@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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