Statue
of Sir John A. Comes to Life Today
by Jeff Mahoney, The Spectator Hamilton
The Hamilton Spectator - Saturday, November
1, 1997
If only Michael Carl O’Neil could do for some
of our present-day politicians what he is doing for Sir John
A. Macdonald.
Bring them to life.
O’Neil is a mime and as such has a natural fellow-feelings
for things that can’t speak. So when he thought about the
statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in Gore Park and its colourful
history, he was curious about what would happen if that statue
were to walk off its pedestal and mingle with the traffic.
So he made that hypothesis part of his busking act.
Today, on the 103rd anniversary of the unveiling of
the statue in Hamilton, O’Neil will bring his mute characterization
of our first prime minister to the Public Hanging ’97 art
show in the Hamilton Eaton Centre.
He has taken his Sir John A. Macdonald through much
of the country in the year since he has built it into his mime
repertoire.
“I get many different reactions. One guy in Halifax
gave me the finger. He said, “I’m French-Canadian and
we don’t like Macdonald”.
“But another guy came up to me and hugged me
around the shoulders and said what I was doing was wonderful”.
O’Neil has done his Macdonald statue bit in Hamilton,
Ontario Place in Toronto, Kingston, Windsor, Orillia and even
at theng of the Confederation Bridge between Prince Edward
Island and New Brunswick.
It takes him more than two hours to apply the makeup,
prosthetics (nose and chin) and wig that transform his head into
the likeness of Sir John A., with a complexion of stone. And
he has a costume to complete the illusion.
He starts his routine by standing stone still on a
kind of makeshift pedestal.
“People walk up and think I’m an actual
statue. Then I’ll wiggle a finger or something and they
stand back and wait to watch the next victim for a laugh”.
As his character takes on more life, O’Neil tries
to give an impression of how Macdonald would react to today’s
society, with a lot of stunned expressions, humour and social
commentary tossed in.
O’Neil explains that the Hamilton statue of Sir
John A. Macdonald was the first in Canada. And it has had quite
a career.
It was indirectly response for killing the fire chief
in Hamilton in the early part of this century.
“They were racing to a call and somehow the fire
chief flew out of the wagon and hit his head on the statue and
was killed”.
“They moved the statue after that”. It had
been in the middle of the street”.
O’Neil also makes the Queen Victoria statue come
to life. That routine he uses mostly on international audiences.
He spends a good portion of his time in places like Singapore,
Thailand and England, following a kind of buskers’ circuit.
He is thinking of adding some new characters to the
act – George Washington, for instance.
O’Neil/Macdonald will be at the Public Hanging
’97 on the third floor of the Hamilton Eaton Centre today
from noon to 4:30 p.m.
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The Royal Canadian Big
Band Music Festival Official Program (page 6) 1997
Father of
Confederation helps celebrate Canadian heritage
While tribute artists recreate performers like Marilyn
Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole on stage at the Royal
Canadian Big Band Music Festival, an artist of another kind will
add a sense of history and nationalism to the Canada Day event.
A "living statue" of Canada's first prime
minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, will be featured in the People's
Parade, June 28. In fact, says Festival Director, Tyrone Traher,
Macdonald will be the centrepiece of the parade which will proceed
from the Western Fair Grounds to the Talbot Block Big Band Dance
and Performance Tent to kick off the Canada Day weekend of festivities.
The statue is portrayed by Hamilton, Ontario, native
Michael Carl O'Neil, a professional mime artist also referred
to as "Hamilton's own Charlie Chaplin".
His goal in celebrating Macdonald was to celebrate
and re-introduce the "Father of Confederation". Using
performance art and comedy, he first presented this persona on
Parliament Hill last Canada Day with musical accompaniment.
The next stop was Sir John A.'s home ground at Kingston
City Hall and further visits through Ontario and Quebec. O'Neil's
statue was a hit in Kingston. "I was overwhelmed by (his)
ability to portray our nation's foremost politician in such a
light-hearted and amusing manner," said Mayor Gary Bennett.
"The spirit of Sir John A. Macdonald is more alive than
ever as a result of (his) comedic genius".
In November, O'Neil brought his creation home to Hamilton
for the 1996 Grey Cup/Santa Claus parade, riding on the sesquicentennial
float.
"The Festival is very much about Canadian pride
and having the living statue of Sir John A. Macdonald as part
of the festivities can only add to that celebration of our history
and heritage", says Traher.
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The
Royal Canadian Big Band Music Festival Official Program
1997
People Parade
for Canada Day
London will be treated to a major parade honouring
the country's birthday
by Ellen Ashton-Haiste
Excerpts
"Everyone loves a parade and what better occasion
for one than Canada's birthday", says Tryone Traher.
"Many communities have Canada Day parades and London should
have one too," the founder and executive director of the
Royal Canadian Big Band Music Festival maintains.
The highlight of the parade will be an appearance of Canada's
first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Portrayed by professional
mime artist, Michael Carl O'Neil of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
the country's Father of Confederation will finish off the parade
in style, riding in a white landau pulled by a team of golden
palominos.
O'Neil developed his living statue of Macdonald a year ago when
he debuted his performance at Canada Day celebrations on Parliament
Hill in Ottawa. He says the tribute is an attempt to bring him
into the 1990s as a relevant figure.
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At
the Arts Centre
Registered as a magazine at POHQ Wellington
P.O. Box 845
Christchurch, New Zealand
December/January
1996 Summer School
Internationally acclaimed street performer Michael Carl O'Neil
will tutor one of the Arts Centre's adult workshops at the Annual
Summer School, running from January 15th 19th, 1996.
This year the Arts Centre is presenting its programme in conjunction
with the Christchurch Polytechnic Summer School, offering a combined
total of 32 courses for adults.
Three five-day workshops will feature at the Arts Centre - Comic
Improvisation and Theatresports; Mime and Stone Sculpting.
The Mime workshop will be led by Canadian mime artist Michael
Carl O'Neil. O'Neil is an expert in the craft of mime and has
worked with such celebrities as Tammy Wynette, Chubby Checker,
Fats Domino and the Supremes.
The Shenanigan Brothers (a.k.a. Patrick Duffy and John Hudson)
will lead the workshop on Comic Improvisation and Theatresports,
Duffy and Hudson have toured extensively through New Zealand
and Europe and both are experienced teachers.
Christchurch sculptor, Bon Suter will tutor the Stone Sculpting
course. Suter has a wide knowledge of the arts, but for the past
five years has concentrated on sculpture. In 1988, she took part
in the South Island Stone Project at Spencer Park.
Further details on course costs, criteria, etc. are available
in the 1996 Summer School Brochure which you can pick up from
the Arts Centre or from the Polytech Information and Enrolment
Office in Conventry St.
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Arts
Beat (A Publication of the Hamilton & Region Arts Council)
October to November 1996 - Vol. 9 No. 3
Artist Profile -- Interview by Ivan Jurakic
An Interview with
Performer
MICHAEL CARL O'NEIL
Baziniai aliejai
Michael Carl O'Neil is a Hamilton-based performer who has taken
his craft to many parts of the world. Although he has performed
on stage and media, he is perhaps best known as a street performer.
At festivals and events it is likely that at some point you have
seen him performing silently as the "Little Tramp"
or perhaps recently as one of his trademarked "Living Statues".
AB: How do you feel that people perceive you?
MO'N: Some people see me as this esoteric character. They don't
know much about me. They see me at parades or at different functions
in the city and they can't put a finger on it. They didn't know
who the heck this guy is, what he's all about, and why is he
doing it. All they say is that, whatever he does, it's working.
He appears and disappears.
AB: How did you get involved in performing?
MO'N: Well, when I was young, I did school productions and an
instructor told me that I should do clowning. I played a janitor
with all this powder in his hair and I would fall and all this
powder would fly out of my hair, and I would get a big laugh
and from there the seed was planted. I used to watch people on
TV and try to imitate them. Once they were doing a Charlie Chaplin
act at the library and I told them that I did Chaplin. Of course,
I never had and I practiced and started doing it and from there
it took a life of its own.
AB: So basically, you are self-trained.
MO'N: Well no, later on I had tutors and I read about performance
and mime. I became a student of the art form. I felt if I had
a literary knowledge, it would give me a better understanding.
It would save me the trouble, time and money of going to a class,
to find out that another person's trick or philosophy was not
the direction I wanted to go. I once made the mistake of going
to Winnipeg to study under a teacher who learned from a master
of mime. I would have saved myself a lot, a lot of time by just
simply reading the book.
AB: Do you consider yourself an actor, mime or performer?
MO'N: I would say I am an actor because I perceive it as an actor.
I believe the body is a way to tell a story. I am a great believer
of the face as a powerful tool. I am influenced by British humour
which is great for character, so I would say that I am more of
an actor than a mime, but I steal from the mime school. I've
had a lot of fun with mimes who take themselves too seriously.
AB: What were your early paid gigs like?
MO'N: One of the first I ever did was at Hamilton Place and I
got to meet Marcelle Marceau and I remember showing him the walk
and I was able to get backstage. Later, I was hired at Wonderland
and this was great, and I was doing it everyday, and I was scared
out of my wits. So they were showing me around and it dawned
on me that I would do it like a movie, because if you go to a
theme park, it is like a movie. It worked great, but now I am
presented with an interesting problem because when I watch myself
on video tape, my movements are much more real than they are
in life. I have got to the point where I am doing it better in
the movie than I do it in life.
AB: How about your experiences abroad?
MO'N: I was in Disneyland. The agent flew me down and I did my
gig and American humour, unlike humour in Europe or in Asia,
is much more one-on-one: bam, bam, bam! So I tried to use an
American approach. It was only after my show that I was talking
to someone who told me" oh, I liked it when you were slower".
What I mean by slower is allowing people into your world and
letting them explore it with you. For example, when I was in
New Zealand, I found shows had to be longer because audiences
were more patient. I, the character, tell the story.
AB: What's the main difference performance styles outside of
North America?
MO'N: The characters are much more defined. Take Mr. Bean, a
classic recreation of the silent clowns. What makes Bean so wonderful
is that it's slow and has a nice pace and people can get into
it, but you could go to any video store and sit down, take a
pencil and paper and figure out the references? All the routines
that have been done by everybody. It's universal. You don't need
to know the background to get it. ("What's old is new again").
AB: What about the "Living Statue"
concepts?
MO'N: It came to me when I was in New Zealand and I saw a fellow
artist to do Captain Cook, as a statue. This idea of John A.
Macdonald as a Living Statue came to mind. For most people, he
is either a $10 bill or a statue, and I thought it would be an
interesting concept if we would have me in costume and make-up
on this stand and at a certain moment the character would come
alive and he would interact with the audience. So I came up with
ten unique characteristics of John A., and then from there to
a point where we captured the spirit of the thing. I have been
up in Ottawa at least 3 times and in Orillia and Hull. I was
very nervous in Quebec because I wasn't too sure how it would
be accepted, but you know - it turned out great.
AB: Are you worried about being pigeonholed as the statue guy
or Charlie?
MO'N: No, because they won't know me because of the makeup. You
have to remember, it is a 2 hour makeup job just to do John A.,
so the character is going to be so unique, and I don't think
people will even know it is me. With Charlie, good or bad, people
follow me and people know who I am. I'll always have a soft spot
for Charlie.
AB: Do people want to associate you - the person - as the characters
you portray?
MO'N: Yeah, it can be troubling in the sense that unlike a classical
actor doing Shakespeare, they don't expect you to be doing it
everyday, but they perceive that you have a sort of relationship
with that character. Some actors are perfectly happy being the
character 24 hours a day and other people have a need to separate
themselves. I'm in between. But this is what I do for a living,
so what do I do? Do I deny the fact that people see me that way
and pretend that I don't want them to notice me? You have to
have a sort of balance, and I guess that is where growth and
maturity comes from. Either they want you to be it all the time
or they ignore you.
AB: What is your motivation as a performer?
MO'N: I'm reminded of what one of my friends said, "what
is your motivation?". He said "the pay cheque".
So I don't really have a problem, whatever role I do. I did a
video. I have done commercials, radio and I have performed around
the city and travelled. I have played a bug! Work is work. I
perceive it that way and a workman is worth his hire. I am an
artist, but I am also a person who has to make a living at what
I have chosen to do. I do have a soft spot for the Charlie Chaplin
character.
AB: What about the business side of travelling and performing?
MO'N: First of all I realised the most important tool is networking,
and so I developed a mailing list and from there a page on the
internet, the whole thing. I am by no means as soon as some as
I know in the market, but I have developed.
AB: How often are you travelling these days?
MO'N: Well, it's gotten worse in the sense that it's got to the
point now where I almost have to take a postcard of Hamilton
to remember it. This year alone started in Thailand, and then
New Zealand. I was in Ottawa, Kingston, Taiwan, Prince George,
B.C., Cambridge, Tillsonburg, Orillia, Hull and back. I am waiting
to hear about Welland and then we go to Kitchener for Oktoberfest,
and then overseas. When I am not performing I get antsy, but
I must say it is very hard to reconnect all the time. That's
the toughest part. I don't how these guys do it. You fly in,
and everyone is going about their business and it's back to work.
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The 8th Annual Kingston Buskers Rendezvous
July 11, 12, 13, 14, 1996
presented by the Kingston Whig-Standard
Downtown Kingston!
Page 42 - Kingston's Souvenir Programme
Michael Carl O'Neil
He's back! Everyone's favourite mime has returned to Kingston
with his spontaneous show times. He's been to the U.S., Thailand,
Japan and all over Canada to share his brilliant performance
of the Little Tramp - Charlie Chaplin. Seeing this bowler hatted,
cane waving figure coming towards you is guaranteed to raise
a smile.
This year's Mr. O'Neil will unveil a new character, one
close to Kingston's heart. Be ready for the appearance of the
Living Statue - Sir John A. Macdonald returns.
Remember:
Be on the lookout for Charlie Chaplin's spontaneous performances.
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New
Zealand -- Capital Times - Wellington's smart arts weekly.
Vol. 21 - No. 42 - March 13 - 19, 1996
Round the World
The Life of the
International Street Performer
by Warwick Bright
Look around the streets and you might just see Charlie Chaplin
shuffling along, Bobarino Gravatini running around in a dress
juggling ping pong balls in and out of his mouth or Le la Les
playing musical instruments out of less than obvious orifices.
You may not realise it, but you are watching someone who's career
takes them all over the world.
They are not buskers. They are street performers. What's the
difference? Buskers play and sing songs in front of a beckoning
guitar case as a train-load of people wander on by. Street performers
are an entirely different breed.
Street performance is like vaudeville without a roof. Like a
circus without a tent. It can require the talents of a gymnast,
a clown, a musician, an actor and a business person. Walk in
the shoes of these guys and you walk with artists cruising on
the cutting edge of performance, where the crowd can (and does)
walk away any time they choose. Hopefully they stop, at least
for a while, and get caught up in the act.
The world's street performers will spend the European summer
in Europe and North America. When winter arrives and the streets
get too cold, the southern hemisphere becomes the target market.
Performers like Michael Carl O'Neil (aka Chaplin) are their own
managers. They are a global enterprise that escapes the attention
of most who watch. Gone are the days when acts were tired to
a travelling carnival or circus. This business surfs the internet
seeking out bookings anywhere from South give Wellington an international
carnival atmosphere. Capper-Starr sees them as, "the face
of the Festival".
The life of a street performer may sound like a pretty way to
live. Just like the army, you get to work, meet people, travel
the world, and get paid, and unlike the army, you don't have
to kill anyone. It is, however, by no means an easy way to make
a buck. The fee paid by the organisers is usually minimal just
enough to ensure that the acts will be there on the street helping
everyone have a good time. From there it's up to the act to scrape
up a living. They have to pay for airfares and a place to stay.
Don't think a professional street performer is being greedy when
they put that hat out.
The hardest thing to deal with is being away from the family
for long periods, says Bobarino Gravitini, whose family spend
half of the year at their home in Rhode Island (USA), and the
other half travelling with him around Europe's festival circuit.
On this trip, he's been away for a month, first in Japan and
now here. It'll be a month before he gets back to them, but this
has been his job for the last 16 years and its what he loves.
At our festival, he teams up with Le La Les, an at he knows from
the European circuit. He's sharing a flat with them and their
children, as well as doing a joint show with them at the Repertory.
As with most of the performers here, they have shows at theatres
as well as going out on the street.
It's on the street that crowd interaction becomes the voice of
the community. They can bring the public into their fantasy -
sometimes letting people know about their observations of the
human character, but more often than not giving them a laugh.
O'Neil the mime artist: "In street performance you want
to get the crowd involved as an artist you want to make them
laugh, to make them cry; to touch them, to move them."
So if you're walking around at lunch time and you see someone
doing something that's a tad unusual, it might pay to stop for
a moment and see just what they're up to. It's likely that they
are performer from somewhere in the world that' popped over to
make you laugh.
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Location:
Christchurch
Tuesday, January 9, 1996 page 3
Mime
artist strikes Chaplin pose in Christchurch.
Canadian mime artist, Michael
Carl O'Neil, strikes pose as Charlie Chaplin outside the Arts
Centre in Worcester Boulevard yesterday. O'Neil has travelled
the world for 25 years as a mime artist, and is in Christchurch
to present a mime workshop and take part in the World Buskers
Festival. He has worked with United State celebrities, such as
Tammy Wynette and Del Shannon. O'Neil learnt some of his trade
as a 15-year-old travelling with a musical band of 70-year-olds,
who performed a Charlie Chaplin-Gene Kelly theme. He said a clear
technique was important when performing mime and great mimes
could be `seen thinking". The mime workshop runs from January
15 to January 19 and the Buskers Festival from January 19 to
January 27.
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Bangkok
Post - Tuesday, December 26, 1995
Let's celebrate New Year in a
Big Way
The Dusit Thani
Meet Canadian Charlie Chaplin, Michael Carl O'Neil alias Charlie
Chaplin or the Little Tramp from Dec. 23 to January 1, 1996 for
both lunch and dinner. This is a quiet fellow with moustache,
bowler hat and funny walk and will be roaming the various outlets
of the Dusit Thani in Bangkok. He mimics, plays prays and generally
charms everyone he meets. Michael Carl began his career of mime
and "Interactional Theatre" since the age of 15 and
has performed extensively across North America, receiving numerous
awards and citations.
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The Tillsonburg News - August
11, 1995
Experience Tillsonburg
next weekend
Experience Tillsonburg, one of the busiest weekends of
the summer of the town is coming up next weekend.
One of the highlights of the weekend will be the return
appearance of "Charlie Chaplin" to Tillsonburg. Chaplin,
actually Michael Carl O'Neil, was part of the first Experience
Tillsonburg weekend two years ago. O'Neil wowed crowds with his
impersonations of the famous mime. This year he will be bringing
"Officer Bosco" (Kevin Prentice), a classic Keystone
Cop, to town with him. The two members of the Klassic Komedy
Theatre Troupe will be performing throughout the downtown area
on Thursday and Friday mornings from 11am. until 2 p.m., Friday
evening from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.
until 1 p.m.
Besides Tillsonburg, O'Neil has performed on Parliament
Hill in Ottawa, Japan, Thailand and a street performers festival
in Edmonton.
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The Windsor Star - August 28,
1995
Excerpts from Buskers bow out: The International Busker Festival
"Performers
unanimous in praise of Windsor"
by Blair Crawford
Star Staff Reporter
The flaming torches were extinguished, the trampoline folded
away. Flat Top strolled on to the rain-dampened stage, not to
gyrate through his dance routine, but to look for a missing microphone
cord.
Michael O'Neil, better know for the past 10 days as the
little tramp, took off his Charlie Chaplin moustache - and spoke.
"Make no mistake about it. This is a business,"
said O'Neil, whose silent-movie buffoonery livened more than
a few shows at the first Windsor Busker Festival.
"I started last November in Thailand, took a bit of
time off in January, worked my way across Canada this summer
and now I'm waiting to hear if I'm going to Japan".
The buskers festival is over and the performers have moved
on to new towns, new streets and new crowds. For O'Neil, who
strolled through the city in his role as an "animator"
adding spontaneity for other buskers' shows, the Windsor gig
was guaranteed. He earned a salary for his 10 days of work.
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Excerpts from Fort Erie Weekly
- April 1995
Traffic Stoppers
Buskers try out
for Friendship Festival role
by Brian price
Special to the Review
A Hamilton man held up traffic in downtown Fort Erie Saturday
but nobody complained.
Dressed as Charlie Chaplin, the cane-toting tramp from
the silent screen, Michael O'Neil, along with Kevin Prentice
as Officer Bosco, delighted motorists along Jarvis Street near
Central Avenue during a tryout for the Friendship Festival's
busker performers. The Friendship Festival, a joint project between
Canada and the U.S., runs between June 29 and July 4 and attracts
some 100,000 people each year. If selected, O'Neil and Prentice
will be two of about a dozen such buskers entertaining festival
goers with their routines.
Buskers, around since the time of the Roman empire, are
street performers who amuse passersby through music, comedy,
juggling and other forms of entertainment.
O'Neil was first attracted to the theatre during his high
school days, but has faced considerable barriers getting to where
he is as a partner in Klassic Komedy, a street theatre troupe
known all over the world.
Having suffered from both dyslexia and epilepsy for all
his life, O'Neil's upward climb to fame hasn't been an easy one.
But, the 36-year old single actor hardly considers himself disabled.
The son of a steel worker, O'Neil says the Charlie Chaplin
persona of a rebellious vagabond down on his luck suits O'Neil's
own type of character.
"Chaplin kind of relates to me", O'Neil said.
"And he relates to the type of classical comedy I do".
While passing motorists and pedestrians watched Saturday, O'Neil
continually stopped vehicles and, at times, even stretched himself
along the hoods of cars.
Those inside only laughed, but soon a few good blasts from
the horn drove him off. Prentice, as Bosco, would grab O'Neil
by the ear and drag him to the sidewalk where he would silently
lecture him on the finer points of traffic safety. But like the
character he represents, O'Neil was soon back on the street dodging
cars and generally creating havoc.
O'Neil says his real goal is to establish a theatre company
that follows along the lines of the Circus of the Sun where he
would also teach acting.
He has performed his Chaplin routine thousands of times
in front of crowds in places like Taiwan, Japan, Holland and
in Canada at Canada's Wonderland and the Canadian National Exhibition.
The most original act of the day literally took its audition
to the street. Michael O'Neil and Kevin Prentice stopped traffic
on Jarvis while performing a Charlie Chaplin-Keystone Cop routine
they'd been polishing for about six months. Mr. O'Neil, who does
the Chaplin shtick, has been at it for about 20 years, but was
only recently joined by Mr. Prentice, who plays Officer Bosco.
Both men are actors by profession, and Mr. Prentice described
busking as "guerrilla theatre".
"It is very different," he said. "Busking
requires a whole set of skills that a stage actor doesn't need.
With stage actors, there's a contract between the audience and
the performers. Out on the street, you make a different deal
with the crowd every time you start. There are crowds that give
you a rough time and you've just got to bounce with it, work
with it."
Other crowds stand silently and watch, he said, and still
others want to get involved in the act.
Mr. O'Neil described busking as "the new vaudeville",
that's slowly gaining popularity, on a world-wide circuit.
"There are two types of buskers today, he said, the
festival busker who works on a per diem plus "the hat",
and the traditional street corner busker who works for hats profits
alone.
"As you move up the ladder, you move toward the more
organised," Mr. O'Neil said. It's the new vaudeville. It
used to be in halls, and now you have festivals. It's very common
for an entertainer to go from one side of the country to the
other, doing festivals".
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EXCERPTS FROM
THE TORONTO STAR
SUNDAY, JANUARY 29, 1995
"World's his
stage for surprising the disbelievers"
Street performer has circled the globe playing to
the hearts of crowds.
by Rick Whelan
Special to the Toronto
Star
On a recent sun-filled Sunday
afternoon, untroubled families strolled down a crowded city street,
drinking in the day's exquisite perfection. Suddenly, a seedy,
belligerent tramp interrupts the gentle flow of humanity. The
tramp, who bears a passing resemblance to Charlie Chaplin, exudes
a kind of rough energy,y challenging the complacent bliss
of the passers-by.
The tramp spots a yuppie couple with a toddler attached to
one end of those kiddie-leashes. Ignoring the parents, the tramp
pats the youngster on the head, scratches him behind the ear
and tosses a stick for him to go fetch. When the child fails
to perform to his expectations, the tramp moves on.
He next approaches a pregnant woman. He taps her on the shoulder,
mimes her fulsome belly and shakes his head vigorously, as if
denying any personal responsibility for her current condition.
The assembled audience howls with laughter at this crude burlesque.
Their approval seems to feed the tramp's comedic frenzy. He searches
the horizon for more raw material ... more unsuspecting marks
just waiting for his in-your-face brand of guerrilla street theatre.
Astute observers of human nature would conclude this tramp
is used to audience reaction. And they would be right. For this
wandering Puck is not a real tramp at all, but rather a full-time
professional street performer named Michael Carl O'Neil.
Street performer -- the ancient art of busking -- has been around
for a as long as there have been city streets where an enterprising
wag could earn a little pocket money making people laugh. It's
basically unchanged from the days when irreverent Roman clowns
would lurk outside the Colosseum to entertain (and milk) a crowd
sated by a day of blood-letting. Today (as in Roman times) people
like their entertainment raw and unadorned and busking's popularity
is experiencing boom times.
It's the new vaudeville", O'Neil told a curious reporter
recently. The world is really becoming a global market for buskers.
It's getting to the point where an artist can ply his trade anywhere
in the world".
As if to prove his theory correct, O'Neil is currently
on an extended tour of southeast Asia that will take him and
his boisterous little street character to Thailand and New Zealand.
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Kitchener-Waterloo
Oktoberfest - Canada's Great Bavarian Festival
August, Vol. 18, No. 1
"Zeitung Souvenir Annual - October 7-15, 1994"
page 33
People:
Charlie
by Kim Winger
With a twitch of the nose, a twirl of a cane and a flip of a
hat, Charlie Chaplin is a character likely to bring a smile to
not only the young, but the young at heart. Back again by popular
demand to this year's K-W Oktoberfest, Charlie a.k.a. Michael
O'Neil will spread the spirit of Gemuetlichkeit. Over the nine
days of festivities, he will provide on-street entertainment
as well as make numerous guest appearances at the Festhallen
and family events.
No matter where you are during the Festival, Charlie may magically
appear to share some laughter and joy. Guaranteed, Charlie will
leave you with a memorable impression and a smile on your face!
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Edmonton International Street
Performers Festival (1992)
July, 1992 - Official Souvenir Program Book
Michael Carl O'Neil
Charlie Chaplin is no longer trapped within the silent
screen. Michael Carl O'Neil has forged a new life for the world's
most famous clown through a new technique called interaction
theatre. Michael plucks the little tramp from the silent screen
and brings him into the 90's by fashioning audiences into extras,
the buildings around him into sets, and himself into the "wee
soul".
Animating the spirit and appeal of the original character
with style and integrity, Michael Carl's Chaplin is a highly
respected character act. Performing from the age of fifteen,
Michael has appeared in commercials, at festivals, fairs and
special events across the continent. Based in Ontario, he hasd for such notables as Rich Little, Chuck Berry, Roy Orbison,
Latoya Jackson, Ray Charles, and Tammy Wynette. He has also appeared
at street festivals in Halifax, Kingston and Waterloo, Michael
was the featured act for the month of
April in Osaka, Japan, Expo '90, an experienced captured in a
featured magazine article called "Charlie Chaplin Takes
Japan!".
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The
TV Monitor & the Lowdown - Week of Wednesday, May 23, 1990
by Michael Duff, Entertainment Editor
Charlie
Chaplin takes Japan
From Hamilton to Osaka
When I was a boy, I used to see the old Japanese movies dubbed
in English. I also watched a Jerry Lewis movie, Geisha Boy, made
in the late `50s about a not-very-successful magic act performer
who decides to do a government sponsored tour of Japan.
In the film, Jerry Lewis and his rabbit entertained a young Japanese
brother and sister. The three formed a friendship, and Lewis
became a highly successful performer before returning to the
United States. Unknowingly, that planted a seed.
From Michael O'Neil's diary, April 1990.
Hamilton native Michael O'Neil, 31 is now a successful entertainer
himself. A renowned Charlie Chaplin imitator, he has performed
in nightclubs, at festivals and on street corners throughout
North America.
Early this month, O'Neil returned from two weeks of playing Chaplin
at the Ontario government pavilion at Expo 90 in Osaka, Japan.
"I couldn't believe I was there. I kept touching things
to see if they were real," O'Neil said in an interview last
week. "It's one thing to go to Halifax, but it's another
thing to go to the other side of the world".
O'Neil's job on the Expo site was to appear in his Chaplin costume
- bowler hat, suit, moustache, white face and cane and charm
visitors into the Ontario pavilion.
He portrays the Chaplin who starred in English music halls, the
clown who danced, did pratfalls and played with the audience.
O'Neil's Chaplin never speaks, and constantly improvises.
The performance was based, throughout the two weeks, on the premise
of having Charlie there to entertain and draw, or be a reference
point for the site. Creatively, it was important for Michael
to stay on the side and let Charlie come through, but I felt
somewhat like the fellow dressed in a chicken suit trying to
get people into the circus.
A clever mimic, O'Neil started studying his audience as soon
as he arrived in Tokyo on April 14.
"I took the train down to Osaka and there were two Japanese
men sitting across from me. I started imitating everything they
did: when they picked up a napkin, I picked up a napkin,"
he said.
"Later, I watched television in my room golf, baseball,
the Japanese preoccupation with their teeth. It was a 24-hour
lesson. I was letting culture sink in".
It seems his homework paid off. Canadian officials were initially
sceptical of Chaplin's appeal in the Orient, but O'Neil first
appearance was convincing.
"We walked from the Ontario pavilion to the press centre
that was about a mile away. I had to work the whole way",
O'Neil said. "They were amazed at the improvisation with
people. After that there was no problem."
"I was told that the Japanese are a shy people. I decided
to play Charlie even shyer. Thus, they would come to me more
than I would go to them. I have Charlie go about his regular
routine as if it were a giant movie. The people and buildings
are sets, and God is watching the movie".
Elusive
O'Neil's Chaplin has always been an elusive character.
The mime estimates he has performed the role more than 1,000
times during the past 14 years. "I've never had a picture
of me (without makeup) in the newspaper, and I rarely show up
after a show", O'Neil said. "I believe "less is
best". You give the audience a bit, then you leave. It brings
mystery".
The son of a nursing aide and steelworker , O'Neil grew up near
the Hamilton Mountain Brow, attending Eastmount Park and Crestwood
Vocational schools.
A slim man, with broad features, blue eyes and dark, receding
hair, O'Neil is an epileptic (involves rare nocturnal seizures
which are under control with medication), and has dyslexia, a
learning disability.
(He still finds writing difficult, and keeps his journal and
creates his routines by dictating into a tape-recorder).
Discovering the stage was a turning point in his life. "In
grade 6, I was in a school play", O'Neil said. "I played
an old man. I'd fall down and get huge laughs" the teachers
all said I should be a clown".
He started performing as Chaplin in public libraries, hospitals
and nursing homes; he dressed as Chaplin to feed sick children
at the Rygiel Home; he told audiences at the Canadian National
Institute for the Blind to imagine the little comedian in their
minds, then made his sightless audience laugh with Chaplin noises.
During his teenage years, O'Neil performed with the Golden Senior
Citizen Band throughout the province, and in 1985 worked a summer
at Canada's wonderland outside of Toronto.
For a while, the budding artist even worked at Hamilton Place,
although hired only to wander through the lobby during intermissions.
"I taught (singer) Cleo Laine how to do a pratfall,"
O'Neil recalls.
Lulu's
Now, Hamilton's Chaplin takes his talent farther from home.
He has performed in Toronto, Niagara Falls, Halifax, Winnipeg,
St. Louis and on television commercials.
When in this area, he works regularly at Lulu's Nightclub in
Kitchener, mingling with the crowd throughout the evening. "Lulu's
is great gig. I've been there off and on since '86," O'Neil
said. "We developed this routine where the bouncers chase
me. It's kind of embarrassing for the headliner doing the show,
though.."
Japan
O'Neil was always been his own agent, and leaped when he
saw an opportunity to visit Japan.
"I was at Ontario Place taking my makeup off after a show,
and this other performer was telling me about working at Expo.
I thought: "I have to get that gig", O'Neil said.
He contacted the Ontario government, even offering to play Chaplin
dressed as a Mountie or a lumberjack.
I had developed an interest in Japanese culture. I'd seen documentaries
on Japanese life and was quite enamoured at what I was seeing".
When the doorsd for Osaka, it seemed only a question of
walking (or bowing and walking) through the door.
O'Neil said he liked Japan and hopes to return.
And he hopes his example inspires people who live with similar
physical disabilities.
"A lot of artists come from painful backgrounds," O'Neil
said. "I remember walking up the Mountain once and thinking:
"I'm going to conquer Hamilton". And I did".
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Fall
Fairs Article
Excerpt: Large or small, city
or town, all retain farm flavour
by Don Collins, The London Free Press - September 1989
The weekend offered a contrast in style and size: Parkhill's
131st Town and Country Fair and London's 114th Western Fair
A FACE FROM THE
PAST
Some visitors to Western Fair get the feeling that Charlie
Chaplin has returned from the great beyond, but what they are
seeing is Chaplin look-alike Michael O'Neil of Hamilton who wanders
the grounds and midway doing his act. O'Neil, who says he doesn't
really like some of Chaplin's personal issues, but respect and
admire his abilities as an actor and creator, may get a chance
to imitate the comedy great at Las Vegas (More details on areas
fairs are on page B3)
Page B3
HERE'S CHARLIE:
A 45-minute drive to the southeast puts you in contact with Charlie
Chaplin. The odd thing about Charlie Chaplin is that he doesn't
really like Charlie Chaplin - as a person, however, the actor
and his abilities as an artist is greatly respected.
This is partly because he is really Michael O'Neil, and at 30,
was long after the era of the ingenious little comedian. But
with the little black moustache in place, the funny clothes,
the feet turned out at a ridiculous angle, the crazy walk and
the sad, expressive eyes, his presence at the 114th Western Fair
in London is enough to convince some that Chaplin has returned
from the great beyond.
O'Neil, of Hamilton, has been making his living as a Charlie
Chaplin look-alike since 1985. If all goes well, he will soon
be on stage at Las Vegas.
MILITARY ON PARADE:
Meanwhile, Charlie (O'Neil) Chaplin is coping with crowds that
turned up 
Saturday for the
Warrior's Day Parade, which drew military people from as far
as away as Michigan. Occasionally, someone tries to talk to him.
But true to the character, he portrays as he shuffles around,
he remains silent.
"People tend to tell you their problems". He thinks
it has something to do with his sad eyes.
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The
Chronicle-Herald - Wednesday, August 23, 1988
Busker silently
appeals for volunteers
by Peter Duffy, Staff Reporter (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
A hard part of a busker's job can be to obtain a volunteer from
the audience, but it's twice as hard when the performer isn't
allowed to speak.
Michael O'Neil brought his Charlie Chaplin act to Halifax-Dartmouth
for Buskers '88 and, of course, Chaplin made his name by never
uttering a sound. O'Neil's lips are also sealed while he performs.
"I don't speak", he said. "I tell them by my eyes
or my hands that I won't make you do anything that will make
you look silly".
People who make good volunteers include children and, for some
reason which bemuses O'Neil, older women.
Once he has convinced someone to come forward, he said, he places
them in a spot exactly where he wants them. "Then I can
take some liberties".
Matter of Trust:
The busker picks a likely volunteer by scanning for someone who
looks willing, seems to be in good shape, and appears both enthusiastic
and able to take direction.
"You can usually tell all this by how someone is standing,
how they are reacting".
If the "volunteer" is reluctant to come forward. O'Neil
says he uses the power of the audience to convince him to step
into the circle.
"Then they usually give in; it's a half win. I then have
to convince the volunteer totally."
O'Neil said he is puzzled why people are reluctant to come forward
from the crowd. "It's
all a matter of trust, but they'll move away because they have
this concept that something bad is going to happen".
If something "bad" was going to happen to someone.
O'Neil said, logically it would be more likely to happen to them
in the crowd, rather than standing in the space in the centre.
"Yet people are willing to stay in the crowd, where they
don't know anyone and there could even be a pickpocket there."
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The
Chronicle-Herald - The Mail-Star
by James Latter, Staff Reports, Saturday, October
15, 1988
Atlantic Winter Fair
"Little Tramp
is a Crowd Pleaser"
Dressed in baggy pants with suspenders, wearing over-sized shoes
and a frock coat, a cane-twirling, bowler-hatted Michael O'Neil
strolls the Atlantic Winter Fair grounds as an instantly recognisable
figure.
But Mr. O'Neil, who downs thick makeup and a false moustache
for six shows daily, feels his portrayal of Charlie Chaplin's
Little Tramp is not mere imitation.
A professional actor, Mr. O'Neil, a resident of Hamilton, Ont.,
disdains the type of performers who try to shape themselves in
the exact external image of a character, without making an attempt
to understand its basic motivation.
"I'm taking a character and searching for its essence and
truth", said Mr. O'Neil, dismissing some entertainers, like
Elvis Presley impersonators, whom he says are engaged in "a
form of hero worship".
The little tramp persona was created by Charlie Chaplin for a
silent film in 1914, the actor said.
The peculiar character, whose quirky gestures and quaint manners
have been mimicked by many, later appeared in movies like Modern
Times and City Lights, the former of which dealt with gritty
and surprisingly contemporary subjects, such an unemployment
and cocaine addiction.
Mr. O'Neil, who presents the tramp as the older and more melancholy
figure of this later period, sees in his subject "a gallant
man fighting the foe".
Always caught up in battles, this classic character, a mixture
of clown and crusader, provided his portrayer, who suffered from
learning disabilities as a child, with an early means for self-expression.
Today he's grateful, but wary of succumbing to the temptation
of identifying too closely with the role".
"As Michael", he said, "I have to have a strong
identity of my own. The most difficult thing is that Charlie
gets instant gratification (from the crowd), whereas Michael
has to wait for it".
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The
Mail - Star Wednesday, August 17, 1988
Excerpt: Buskers warm
to metro reception
Good feelings are contagious,
just ask the buskers.
The 90 street performers in Halifax-Dartmouth for the Buskers
'88 festival are marvelling at the warm reception being given
them, even when they are not performing.
"It's amazing. I've had people, even children, come up to
me walking down the street and put money in my hand," said
Hamilton's Michael (Charlie Chaplin) O'Neil.
One day he was walking by a downtown Halifax restaurant, he said,
and a woman leaned through anwindow and handed him a slice
of cake.
People, break into smiles when they recognise him strolling by.
O'Neil said he does a little Chaplin shuffle for them, which
makes them smile even more. "You know you are getting to
them. It's a heart-to-heart thing".
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The
McMaster Silhouette, Thursday, November 10, 1977
by Jane Depraitere
Silhouette Staff
Poor
turnout for excellent performance
Only four people were present for the excellent performance of
The Life and Times of Joseph F. Kenney by Mike O'Neil, Convocation
Hall, University Hall.
O'Neil shone like a star despite lack of tangible scenery and
adequate props. The play required much improvisation on O'Neil's
part which he did with undeniable flair.
The power of O'Neil as an actor, made characters appear out of
thin air as he spoke to them. The characters seemed to come alive.
The story began with O'Neil as a soldier returning from Vietnam,
a hero. When speaking in front of the church's congregation about
his experiences in Vietnam, he flatly stated he didn't believe
in God.
He returned from the church and was grief-stricken over the death
of his brother, John. Joseph felt that he himself should have
died. While he was praying that he could die, he felt God for
the first time.
After his discovery of God, Joseph began to work for the church.
He became disillusioned with it since it spent four hundred dollars
making posters for the local candidate for the senate in hopes
that it would be repaid in a greater way.
The years go by and Joseph became a minister and later a senator-minister.
His next move was to run for the presidency.
The plot did not end there, although, unfortunately, the performance
did, due to time factors. Even though the performance wasn't
completed, one fact was made clear. Mike O'Neil can act and his
performance in The Life and Times of Joseph F. Kenney has to
be seen to be believed.
The Life and Times of Joseph F. Kenney, will be playing Friday
and Saturday at Convocation Hall. Tickets are $2.00 in advance
and $2.50 at the door.
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Article Index
First
Article Written about Michael Carl O'Neil's Charlie Chaplin
Hamilton Spectator - 1975 - M. Tammer,
Spectator Staff
Edna Woodley befriended by the Little Tramp
Charlie
Chaplin wows the seniors
Dundas - The look changed from suspicion to recognition
when the Wentworth Lodge resident saw Charlie Chaplin walking
through the senior citizen's complex.
He was dressed in his Little Tramp outfit, the shuffle was unmistakable,
and the Chaplin antics were straight from yesteryear.
"Oh, that's Charlie Chaplin," said the senior citizen.
"Is he coming to stay here?"
Indeed, the ghost of Charlie Chaplin did walk through the senior
citizens' home on South Street in Dundas recently.
Mike O'Neil has been doing the imitation in the area for two
years, and he says the laughter and the memories he spawns are
well worth the effort.
Mike, 16, of East 23rd Street, Hamilton, became a Chaplin fan
several years ago when he developed an interest in mime theatre.
"Chaplin was a character who was also very realistic,"
he said. "I started doing him after seeing a few of his
films, and the more I did him, the more I enjoyed it".
With a pair of shoes that even the Little Tramp would reject,
his grandfather's shirt, a Salvation Army vest, his father's
old tie, and little brother's jacket, Mike becomes Chaplin.
"When I'm in costume, I don't feel self-conscious,"
he said. "Nobody can recognise you and it feels like you
can do anything".
Touring the corridors of Wentworth Lodge, it was obvious that
the senior citizens' enjoyed the impromptu visit.
"Oh, he's very good indeed," said 89 year-old Edna
Woodley. "He really is Charlie Chaplin".
Herb Hall, 86, was enjoying a quiet day in the sun in front of
the lodge when the Little Tramp sat down next to him. It was
like greeting a long-lost friend.
"I remember going to see Chaplin movies," said Mr.
Hall. "This young man looks perfect".
Mike has put on his show in schools and senior citizens' homes
through the area, and he said it is the elderly who enjoy the
show the most.
"I guess it's just the recognition," he said. "At
first, it's just shock, because rather than put on a show, I
like to walk up and surprise them; but after that, the response
is fantastic."
Jeanne Pratt, recreation director of the lodge, said Mike's Chaplin
impersonation was like a breath of spring for the senior citizens.
The future may hold a position in the food services business.
"I just enjoy doing it. Theatre is really just a hobby.
I'll do it anywhere, anytime".
P.S.: This article has obviously not been edited "Theatre
was to be a hobby" according to my late father, Garfield
Lorne O'Neil, who was a very dedicated, and hard-working Steel
worker in Hamilton.
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