The Program
ABOVE & BEYOND is a multi-media production for theaters, cultural centers, art galleries, non-traditional venues and institutions of higher learning. The program weaves one-minute ‘Eye of the Juggler’ dual video projections with juggling and variety acts including “Optics,” a real-time high definition optical juggling performance. The full program running length is 85 minutes. A condensed 50 minute version of the program is also available.
SPACE REQUIREMENTS:
Suggested Minimum Stage Size: 16′ depth x 30′ width
Setup Time Full Program: 3 hours • Pack-up Time: 2 hours
Setup Time Condensed Program: 2 hours • Pack-up Time: 1 hour
Sound System, Stage Set, & Projectors Provided
General Stage Lights and Black Out Capacity Recommended
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PRICING:
For availability and fees, contact Michael Menes PRODUCTIONS by clicking here.
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STAGE SET:
REINVENTING
THE TRAVELOGUE EXPERIENCE
Inspirations Behind The Show
by Michael Menes
Travelogues go back over a hundred years and it’s been my love of travel and live performance that have inspired me to create a new take on a travelogue show experience by incorporating many interesting videos, be them tilt-shift videos, juggling-around-the-world videos, or just short peculiar videos played between my live variety acts. I use two HD projectors with dual screens for the show and go back-and-forth from video clips to live performances ending with a finalé which blends all together.
Travelogues are credited with helping to cultivate broad interest in the travel industry at the same time transportation infrastructure was being developed to make it possible. Travelogues were usually about eighty minutes in length, consisting of two 1000-foot reels of 16mm film, with an intermission in-between to change reels. The travelogue film speaker would usually introduce each reel and narrate the film live from an onstage lectern. Travelogue series were usually offered during the winter months in small and medium-sized towns.
Travelogues stem from the work of American writer and lecturer, John Lawson Stoddard who began traveling around the world in 1874. In 1892, John Lawson Stoddard recruited Burton Holmes as his junior associate. When Stoddard was ready to retire in 1897, he arranged for Holmes to take over the rest of his speaking arrangements. Holmes went on to become the premier travel lecturer of his day and coined the term, “travelogues,” in 1904 when he introduced film clips to lecture series making them wildly popular.
Burton Holmes gave 157 two-hour lectures during the 1945-46 season alone. By the end of his life, Holmes had given over 8000 lectures which were known to draw large audiences in cities like New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
Today, travelogues are most often seen in IMAX Theaters and play a role in fiction film cinematography. IMAX was invented more than 40 years ago. In the 1970s and 1980s, the popularity of traditional travelogues declined. But the advent of cable television channels, such as the Discovery Channel and the Travel Channel and the availability of small, high quality, digital video equipment has renewed the popularity in travelogues.
For a more in-depth reading on the history of travelogue shows, click on this link to Wikipedia.
ABOUT THE SHOW
As a juggler, photographer and videographer who has traveled extensively throughout the world through engagements at international festivals, television performances, and over 18 years of travel as a guest entertainer on a dozen cruise lines, I use comedy, juggling, physical theater, video editing and photography to make an original theatrical experience for audiences that reinvents the notion of a travelogue show.
Program Length: 80 Minutes (Intermission Optional) / 50 Minute Condensed Version Available
TESTIMONIAL
“Michael’s show (Above and Beyond) was excellent. Our audience simply went wild over every one of the individual sketches and juggling sequences. His technical ability is amazing and he is a good storyteller as well. Michael is a real pro, both on stage and off. He was a delight to work with from our first conversation to the post-show wrap-up. Michael also conducted workshops for us and they were all over-capacity and extremely well received. Michael gets top ratings from us in every area!! We hope to have him back in the future.”
– Frank Bluestein, Director
Tennessee Educational Theatre Association
Nashville, Tennessee
ABOVE & BEYOND PUBLICITY
PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS COMING SOON!
MICHAEL’S BIO
Michael Menes (pronounced Men•ness) is a contemporary vaudevillian who has performed all over the world. A juggler for over 30 years, Michael has performed in festivals, theaters, television, and on a dozen luxury cruise lines including Disney Cruise Lines, Royal Caribbean and Holland America Line. Michael’s television credits include appearing on the SOLTROM SERIES produced by CIRQUE du SOLEIL for the Bravo Channel, three appearances on French TV Variety Show “Le Grande Cabaret du Monde” in Paris, JUST FOR LAUGHS in Montreal, and on the “INTERNATIONAL HUMOR FESTIVAL” TV Special on CCTV in Beijing, China, a program that aired to over 200 million people across Asia. When not on tour, Michael makes his home in the Oxford Hills Region of Western Maine where he has his own retreat and arts studio for creating shows, directing and workshopping called The Eureka Arts Retreat (www.eurekaretreat.com).
RECENT VENUES
The Hebron Academy
Hebron, Maine
Hopewell Theater
Hopewell, New Jersey
Tucker Theater
Middle Tennessee State University