INSTRUCTOR BIOS

Janette Hough-Fertig

presently teaches flying theater at the University of Southern Maine, for the Breakwater School, and at Acorn Productions! Also an Aerial Yoga instructor, Janette has studied how to prevent injuries and safely spot young aerialists with Elsie and Serenity Smith of Cirque du Soleil fame and through Aircat Aerial Arts' sling aerial yoga teacher training. She studied flying improvisation with Aerial Dance pioneersTerry Sendgraff and Nancy Smith, then went on to perform with theatre companies Pig Iron Theatre, Sebastienne Mundheim, Theatre Circ, Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, and Trapezius Aerial Dance. She is presently the Artistic Director of Apparatus Dance Theater. www.apparatusdancetheater.org

Norman Ng

started his interest in magic when visiting a magic store at the age of eight in his hometown of Portland, Maine. Since his humble beginnings he has performed all over the country and has been widely recognized for his magic and his contributions to the magic community. His show, “The Norman Magic Experience,” has been seen by more than 500,000 people live in 48 states in the U.S. Norman has competed against the best magicians in the world in several magic contest held throughout the United States. Some of his awards and honors include: • 1st place at Tannen's Magic Competition in Long Island, New York; • 1st Place at the San Francisco Stage Magic Competition; • 2nd place medal at the National MagiFest Competition in Columbus, Ohio; • Voted to be a finalist at the legendary Society of American Magician's Centennial Stage Contest held in New York, New York. • Norman was also awarded by the Society of American Magicians for his achievement and dedication to the art of magic. Norman’s trademarks are his original and exciting approaches to the art of magic entertainment. He creates his own new magic effects and gives old tricks new and exciting twists. www.normanmagic.com

Michael Trautman

started out in life as a fairly normal kind of person. After growing up in Springfield, Illinois, he attended William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri where he studied Political Science with the intention of becoming a lawyer. After four years of college, Michael decided that the legal profession was not going to be as much fun as he felt one should have with their career, so he left school and started looking for something to do that would be fun and fulfilling. In 1976 he took his first Mime class, and in 1977 was invited to become a founding member of Mimewock, a Kansas City based school and performing company. Since then, he has been having fun performing throughout the world, and has achieved a very high level of fulfillment from providing comic relief to those in need. Variously identified as a visual comic, performance artist, new vaudevillian, mime (gasp), physical comedian, storyteller, magician, and fool, he claims only to be a clown...and not a very traditional clown at that. He has appeared in such prestigious venues as the New York International Festival of Clown Theater, Festival D’Ete in Quebec, the General Jackson Showboat at Opryland USA, the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal, and The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He was featured on WOW! The Most Awesome Acts On Earth, an ABC Television Special, and The Statler Brothers Show on TNN. Obviously he has little discretion. Michael was an Artist-in-Residence at Mabou Mines Theater Company in New York City, and has also been an Artist-in- Residence for the Drama Department of The Catholic University of America where he adapted and directed Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi. In the 1999-2000 season, Michael was the star clown in the national tour of OOPS! The Big Apple Circus Stage Show directed by Tony Walton. Since the fall of 2006 Michael has had the pleasure of working with Mr. Walton on the Broadway bound production of Busker Alley starring Jim Dale. Recently, Michael has been producing, directing, and hosting The Big Michael has been performing in schools throughout North America since 1976. He has given over 3500 performances of his highly acclaimed school assembly programs. His originality as a performer and rapport with audiences young and old have brought him a reputation as a performer who is both hilariously funny and profoundly moving. He has been a featured performer at The Calgary, The Edmonton, The Vancouver, The Ottawa, and The Winnipeg International Children’s Theater Festivals. This school assembly program is adaptable to any audience from K through 12. www.michaeltrautman.com