Doug Skinner

Doug Skinner (born January 7, 1955) is an American composer, writer, and performer.

Music
Skinner has written music for many dance companies, including ODC/Dance in San Francisco and Margaret Jenkins. He has often written for the theater: in particular, he has had a long association with the actor/clown Bill Irwin; he wrote and performed the music for Irwin's Murdoch ('81), The Regard of Flight ('82), The Courtroom ('85), The Clown Lecture ('02), The Harlequin Studies ('03), and The Regard Evening ('04). He often performs his songs in NYC clubs. In the '90s, he frequently gigged with the ukulele and vocal trio White Knuckle Sandwich.

Performance
As a performer, he has been active as actor, monologist, and occasional ventriloquist. His full shows include Pay Attention (1984), An Attractive Production (1985), and Eddie Unchained (1993). He regularly shows cartoon slide shows on Robert Sikoryak's long-running Carousel. He has also created many puppet shows and videos with performance/video artist Michael Smith.

According to the online magazine nth position, for which he occasionally writes, Doug Skinner has also played piano on the BBC, cello at the White House, and ukulele on the Joe Franklin Show. He also appeared as the character referred to as "Toilet Citizen" in the 1988 film Crocodile Dundee II.

Writing
In recent years, Skinner has devoted more time to writing and lecturing, particularly on Fortean subjects. He has contributed to Fortean Times, Fate, The Anomalist, INFO Journal, Strange Attractor Journal, Weirdo, Nickelodeon, and other publications, writing on such subjects as Richard Shaver, John Keel, the early Fortean Society, John Dee, Boris Vian, the scientific method, the cultural history of Darwinism in the US, and hoaxes. Regular features have included the column Let's Ask Skinner for Crimewave USA and the comic strip It's Fortean for the kids' paper ZUZU. His translation of the alchemical text Three Dreams, by Giovanni Battista Nazari, was published in 2003 by Opus Magnum Hermetic Sourceworks in Glasgow.

He has also been a frequent speaker at the International Fortean Organization (INFO) Fortfests and the Fortean Times UnConventions.

Reviews

 * The Regard of Flight from The New York Times (1984)
 * An Attractive Production, from The New York Times (1985)
 * The Harlequin Studies (2003)