Where in the world am I today?: Victoria, BC, Canada aboard the GOLDEN Princess
Prologue: I’d heard stories of this guy who took a box and put laugher into it, who had skills but in no way relied on skills, a clown, a funny man, a source of laughter and entertainment and finally got to meet Rob Torres at the 2001 Windsor Busker’s Festival. Rob seemed to walk with a slightly different bounce in his step and have a confidence in finding the narrative in a show that allowed him to take tangents that inevitably lead back to the main story-line somehow, or didn’t. If the story of his show changed course though he seemed as happy to follow the new path as he did to steer it back to the standard story line. This enormous faith that everything would work out if you didn’t get in the way of things really impressed me and is something I continue to aspire to.
STATS
Name: Rob Torres
Birthday: September 10, 1973
Place of Birth: Suffern, New York. USA
Started Performing/Working in the Industry: Spring 1990
Discipline: Clown
Website: www.funeeestuff.com
Video Link: www.funeeestuff.com
Venues Worked:
Freidrichsbau Variete, Stuttgart Germany
Grand Theatre, Blackpool England
La Roseliere, Montbeliard France
Nikulien Circus building, Moscow Russia
Costa Cruises
Favros Nagy Circus building, Budapest Hungary
Brick Theatre, Brooklyn NYC
The Comedy Store, NYC
The Palace of Variety, NYC
The Registry Theatre, Kitchner ON
The Waterloo Performing Arts Center, Waterloo ON
Suncoast Casino, Las Vegas
Teatro de La Ciudad, Puebla Mexico
Casa de La Cultura, Hermosillo Mexico
Disney Cruise Lines
Teatro Tanque, Guanajuato Mexico
Sun Plaza Theatre, Tokyo Japan
Tokyo Comedy Store, Tokyo Japan
Diamond Horseshoe Review, Maihama Japan
Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida
Clyde Beatty Cole Bros. Circus, DeLand FL
Hot 10 Questions:
- What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream and why? • Strataccella I like chocolate in my ice cream and the vanilla is creamier and not as sweet. Besides that it’s fun to say.
- Name one movie that would make it to your Top 10 all-time great films. • Finding Neverland
- What was your favorite toy from childhood? • I had more fun building things than playing with toys.
- Who were your biggest inspirations when you got started? • Bill Irwin, David Shiner, Denis LaCombe, David Larible
- From the world of animation what one character do you most identify with or see yourself in? • Wile E Coyote
- Name something that scares you. • snakes
- Apart from the entertainment industry, name one other job you’ve had. • I worked on a production line at a cassette factory.
- What’s something you haven’t done yet that you’d like to try? • Parasailing
- What’s your least favourite thing about being a performer? • Hauling equiptment around
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? • Not bad, come on in
The Nugget:
Pick one nugget of wisdom you’ve picked up from your career in Show Business to share with the World.
“Do what you love and share what you can and the other things fall into place.”
–Rob Torres
