User:WhichWench/Txi Whizz

Txi Whizz (Barbara Hannah) is an adoptive Canadian, originally born in New York. She is a stage clown, multi-disciplinary artist, creator, writer, director, choreographer, and teacher, as well as a performer in soloist, collaborative, and large ensemble settings.

Article name is... Txi Whizz

Early Life and Career
Txi was born in New York City in 1944. Her career began at the New York Shakespeare Festival. She founded the Abrakadabra Theatre Company then toured Europe for nine years. Txi trained in the tradition of the European stage clown.

Txi started her theatre career in Jerusalem, building sets and stage managing productions. After returning to New York, she was hired by the late Joseph Papp as the Stage Manager for the New York Shakespeare Festival. She toured the world with the Little Angel Marionette Theatre, based in London.

Txi re-immigrated to Canada in 1981.

Performances
Txi acted in various projects directed by Ken Campbell, including: The Warp, the 1979 film; Uliisses the 1982 film; and War with the Newts, the 1981 play which premiered at Riverside Studios in London.

In 1984 Txi was featured in a CKVU TV spot for the "Oh Let Us Be Fools of Society of Vancouver", a charitable, nonprofit organization founded to promote interests in clowning.

In 1990 Txi launched a Great Trans-Canadian Laundromat Tour after her performance of Forbidden Fruitcake, a one-woman show directed by June Keevil, at the Great West Coin Laundry in Vancouver. The show featured a 49-year old Trudy Fruitcake's embracing menopause rather than subjecting to take hormone replacements, interpreting her hot flashes as a "rite of passage." Development occurred through a Canada Council Exploration grant, on the application of which Whizz described learning that in some cultures menopausal women were considered respected elders, rather than the "outdated and useless" portrayal which was more contemporarily dominant.

In 1992, she collaborated with dancer/choreographer Barbara Bourget for 'Stacked', a Butoh and Clow piece which premiered at the Firehall Theatre in Vancouver, BC. Txi also co-taught the Butoh Bufon Project with Hiroko Tamano in 2014, which was funded by a grant by The East Bay Fund for Artists.

In 2010, Txi was the subject of the 10-minute documentary film From Barbara to Txi.

Seva Foundation
Txi worked with the Seva Foundation for six years, a non-profit agency committed to restoring eyesight and preventing blindness in the developing world.

Camp Winnarainbow
For over 30 years, Txi served as Co-Director with Wavy Gravy (his “right-hand woman”) of Camp Winnarainbow, an adult summer camp located in northern California which encourages “taking risks without the fear of embarrassment and remembering the little things in life.” Proceeds from the camp benefitted the Seva Foundation, which Txi and Wavy were both involved with.

San Cristobal de las Cases
Txi travels to Chiapas, Mexico yearly to work with a group called Fortaleza de la Mujer Maya, or Strength of the Mayan Woman, a theatre group composed of well-known playwrights from Chiapas. Here, Txi wrote a grand ensemble show called La Bufonada.