Theatrical Mime Theatre

Stephen Eric Chipps began his quest for “The Silent Art” in 1982 and has studied with actors, mimes, dancers and movement artists from around the world. He was the founder and Artistic Director of Ground Zero Movement Theatre, which toured internationally from 1990 to 2000 and the Associate Director and co-founder of Kapoot Clown Theatre, inspired by Native American Hopi clowns and European clown traditions which toured nationally from 1998 to 2005. Stephen has studied with mime and movement masters Marcel Marceau, Stefan Niedzialkowski, 16 years with the The Goldston & Johnson School for Mimes and the Saskatchewan Seminars for Mime and Movement Theatre.

He has performed in 45 states throughout the US, in Canada, Japan, Korea, Okinawa, China and Puerto Rico and has appeared in summer stock programs, colleges, arts festivals, nightclubs, military bases, galleries, parades, theaters and schools delighting audiences of all ages with his eclectic and diverse programs.

Stephen has offered educational programs as a Teaching Artist in the visual and movement arts since 1985 and has been a resident artist with the Ohio Arts Council’s – Arts Learning Program since 1992. He has conducted special projects for Educators with the Educational Service Center of Cuyahoga County and his education work has impacted special needs populations throughout Ohio and include SBH, LD, MRDD and Gifted programs. Stephen conducted four residencies with Saint Gregory College Preparatory School in Tucson AZ, The Cactus Shadows Fine Art Center in Cave Creek Arizona, two residencies with the Marimor School and MRDD Center in Lima Ohio and five residencies with the Positive Education Programs of Cuyahoga County. In 1990 he received the OHIO Inc. Staff Achievement Award for his outstanding work with children.

Stephen  has been an outstanding contributor to the Beck Center for the Cultural Arts in Lakewood, Ohio since 1986 and teaches in their School for Teens and Children, Outreach and ABC Programs. Artist Residencies in Ohio have included Glen Oaks High School – Canton, Van Cleve School for the Arts – Dayton, Findlay Area Youth Theatre Summer Stock, two residencies with the Kyle School – Troy, St. Joseph School – Sylvania, Malabar Middle School – Ashland, Whitewater Valley Elementary – Harrison, Washington Elementary – Gallipolis, Twinsburg Community Center, The Front Row Theater’s Children’s Theatre program – Mayfield Heights, Coventry School – Cleveland, Cleveland Public Theatre, Cleveland Playhouse, Cleveland Museum of Art, Saint Charles School – Parma, Holgate Public Schools and recently a month long residency at West Elementary in Athens, Ohio.

Stephen is also an accomplished visual artist and frequently integrates visual art as part of his work. In 1991 he served as a visual/ performing artist and operations manager of special projects for GMR Marketing in Cleveland, Dallas and Milwaukee. He has been a resident  artist with the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Parade the Circle program building parade floats, giant puppets and carnival masks since 1990.

In 1998 Stephen was appointed to the faculty of The School for Mime Theatre held annually at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. In 2003, he conducted with artistic director Rick Wamer the School for Mime Theater’s first annual Youth Mime Seminar, now a three week program open to students age 8-18 in Knox county entering its seventh year .

In 1995, Stephen developed with partner Dan Griffiths the Ground Zero Movement Theatre Seminar in Leavenworth, Kansas held at St. Mary’s College. From 1999 to 2005 they  co-created Kapoot Clown Theatre and toured it with fellow artist Jim Williams in Kansas City, Oklahoma City, New York, Princeton, Warren, Fredricktown, Oberlin, Lawrence, Grand Marais, Kirtland, and several extended runs in Chicago to critical acclaim.

Since 2001 his solo show ‘MAnthology’ has appeared in Naples New York, twice in Kansas City, St. Paul, Palatka Florida and Tucson Arizona. In November of 2004 he appeared as a guest artist with Alithea Creations in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Academy. In 2005 Stephen was invited to perform at the Teatro Braulio Castilo as part of the 5to Festival Internacional de Mimo y Teatro Fisico en el Caribe, Puerto Rico. His one man show MAnthology continues to tour nationally and will appear in Parkersburg, West Virginia in March of 2010.

Stephen writes in his spare time and resides in Lakewood, Ohio.