Senior Artistic Associate Cecelia Frye has been with Ear to the Ground since 2005. At the invitation of Theatre Off Jackson, she co-produced and directed some of the region's finest clown talent in three sold-out "Not All Clowns Are Bozos". She was a creator/performer on the company's "The Zero Project", and is co-creator of the company's physical comedy duo, Chickee and Boom-Boom, Cecelia has worked with UMO Ensemble, Wooden O, On the Boards, Open Circle, Consolidated Works, Annex Theatre, 14/48, Eclectic Theatre Company, Municipal Light and Theatre Company (domestic violence education) Seattle Public Theatre (environmental education), Dappin Butoh, Brown Bag, Edge of the World, at Mad River Theatre Festival (Blue Lake, CA) and at Benaroya Hall with Seattle Baroque Orchestra. She was nominated for best of the Seattle Fringe (Artistic Pick) for her one-woman show, I am the Pirate King, which also gained juried entrance to Seattle's artsEdge Festival. She was a member of Big Apple Circus Clown Care at Children's Hospital in Seattle from 2005 to 2009, and is also a skilled vocalist who has recorded and performed with several local musical acts. As an award-winning director and coach, Cecelia has worked with numerous companies and performers and has collaborated on numerous new works. She has taught workshops for the University of Edwardsville Experimental Theatre Dept., Big Apple Circus Clown Care, at NW Acting Studio and was a Teaching Assistant in Linklater Voice at Freehold Theatre Lab Studio. She trained in NY with veteran actor Ted Forlow (of The Actor's Studio), at Freehold Theatre, Art Theatre Puget Sound (Stanislavski System) and holds a certificate in Physical Theatre Performance from Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre. She also holds a BA in Psychology from SUNY College at Purchase.

Artistic Associate Luke Sayler, a native of the Puget Sound area, has been involved in theatre for ten years. In 2009 he graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a major in acting and original works (playwriting and directing). Since then, Luke has been working steadily with Seattle fringe theaters, such as Balagan, Stone Soup, and Open Circle. Luke has been associated with Ear to the Ground since 2009 and performed in the second and third productions of Not All Clowns Are Bozos.

Artistic Associate Alexandra Scott wowed audiences in Ear to the Ground's 2009 and 2010 productions of "Not All Clowns Are Bozos". Locally born and raised, Xan started performing at the age of seven in her church choir. Once she tasted her first musical role as the King of Niniva, she was hooked. She began her training at Youth Theatre Northwest, with "amazing teachers who instilled a professional and playful balance" that made her the performer she is today. Xan earned a BFA at Western Washington University, where she was a Summer Stock company member. At Seattle's Freehold Theatre Lab she completed Meisner technique training, and in 2006 earned her MFA in Lecoq-based actor-created theatre through the joint program of Naropa University and London International School of Performing Arts. It was there that she discovered clowning and fell in love. Xan has directed plays at Youth Theatre Northwest, worked with at risk youth at Best Alternative high school, directed elementary students through the Boys and Girls club, and taught with Robin Lynn Smith at the Women in Prison project. Currently, Xan can be seen at Pike Place Market, selling glass jewelry and collaborating on a new musical, Lov.Com, with fellow marketers.

Managing Director Chris Scofield began practicing theatre in high school, being drawn to the unique combination of organization, computer elements and art. He began as a stage manager and worked with many small companies throughout the Seattle area. After taking the technical theatre program at Seattle Public Theatre, he experimented with many aspects of theatrical production, and was hired as a combination Stage Manager and Production Manager at Stone Soup Theatre. For the past two years, he has been full time Production Manager at Stone Soup. Now, as Managing Director of EttG, he takes another step toward helping artists to organize and realize their art.

Board President Victoria Millard received an international education in the art of clowning and physical theatre, training in Paris with Jacques LeCoq, Yves Le Breton, Philippe Gaulier and Etienne Decroux, and continuing her studies with Polish Director Alexsander Jochwed, Balinese master Tapa Sudana, Mexico's Sigfrido Aguilar, Canada's Richard Pochinko, Russia's Yuri Belov and New York professor John Towsen. She performed with a street theatre company in Copenhagen. Victoria was a founder and performer with Seattle's Offshoot Mime, and founding member of SLAPP--Seattle's Loosely Affiliated Physical Performers, with whom she performed at Seattle's Fringe Theatre Festival and International Children's Theatre Festival. As a solo stage clown, she has performed at such venues as The Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy, The International Clown Theatre Conference in Philadelphia, The First New York Festival of Clown Theatre, Seattle's Broadway Performance Hall, On The Boards, and Bumbershoot Arts Festival. She appeared in Bill Irwin's "Largely/New York" at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Kennedy Center. From 1998-2009 she was a member of The Big Apple Circus Clown Care at Seattle Children's Hospital. Victoria majored in Theatre at the University of Washington, holds a B.A. in English from the University of Iowa and is a certified teacher of Interplay, a form of movement-based improvisation and story-telling. She has taught at West Seattle Theatre Arts, Seattle Children's Theatre, Northwest Acting Studio, for the Big Apple Circus, and has coached local performers and students at the Professional Actors Training Program at the University of Washington. A former magazine editor and writer, she presently writes poetry, monologue and memoir, and is thrilled to have this opportunity to support the work, development and training of physical theatre artists.

Board Vice President James Thompson has been a life insurance and investment professional for the past 20 years, placing in the top 10% in his field in the nation. He is the current Board President of Seattle/Eastside NAIFA - National Association of Insurance and Financial Professionals, and past Board President of Richard Karn Star Days, with whom he raised charitable funds for Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center and Children's Hospital. Jim has a lifelong passion for clowning and humor, which began in the late 1970's with liturgical drama at Seattle's University Congregational Church. The following decade he taught clowning and drama to teenagers and children at Echo Glen and Seattle Children's Hospital. A Seattle native, he lives in Ravenna with Julie, his wife of twenty-three years; two children--daughter Rebecca and son MacGregor; and two dogs - Starbuck and Tala. He enjoys family time, hiking and fishing, and good friendships.

Board Secretary L. Nicol Cabe has been a director and dramaturg in the Seattle area since 2006. She has worked with Eclectic Theater Company, Theater Schmeater, and Taproot Theatre in the past. Currently, she is working on a production inspired by the best-of-craigslist, called "best-of-craigslist: live!" She is also becoming more interested in movement theatre and ensemble-generated work, thus her inspiration to work with Ear to the Ground.

Board Treasurer Valerie Moseley is a Certified Public Accountant and owner of Moseley and Associates, LLC. A versatile performer, she has been seen on many Seattle and California stages with such companies as Book-It Repertory Theatre, Annex, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Open Circle, Greenstage, Live Girls, and the Dell'Arte Players Company. Valerie has a degree in music theory and conducting from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and has conducted modern music ensembles and theatrical groups in California and Seattle, including premiers of several new works. She has received rave reviews for her work as a tap dancer and pianist. Valerie has a professional certificate from the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre where she trained with Daniel Stein and Carlo Mazzone-Clementi, among others. Elsewhere, she has trained in other physical styles such as Noh, Meyerhold's Biomechanics, Mary Overlie's Viewpoints, Improvisation with Bay Area Theatresports, and San Francisco's American Contemporary Theatre Summer Training Congress. Bursting with ideas for her own projects, Valerie founded Ear to the Ground in 2005. Not long after, she and Cecelia Frye developed The Peevish Reconciliation of Chickee & Boom-Boom. Chickee & Boom-Boom have gone on to appear at venues all over Seattle (such as the Pink Door and the Moisture Festival) as well as at First Night Spokane. Other company highlights for Valerie include directing The Zero Project and initiating the Clown Dojo training series.

Board Member Douglas Bruey is an electrical engineer and saxophone player, who acted in and stage managed theatre productions throughout high school. He especially enjoyed competing in solo humorous acting and extemporaneous speaking. In college, innocent experimentation with electrical engineering developed into a full-blown habit, resulting in a BSEE from Marquette University in 2000. Since then, he has been developing professional audio electronics and managing projects at Rane Corporation in Mukilteo, WA. Currently, he divides his spare time between playing the saxophone, tutoring math at Seattle Central Community College, and mentoring the Nathan Hale Robotics Team 3681. He has been delighted by three years of Ear to the Ground productions, and is excited to be part of such a creative and professional team.

Company

Future seasons will bring more productions and collaborations that support Ear to the Ground's mission of using audience's imaginations as the primary tool to create transformative theatre while fostering relationships with like-minded theatre companies locally and across the country. We aim to stir audiences to view the world around them in a new way, to inspire them to consider life with a fresh eye.

2005 -- Ear to the Ground hosts Portland, Oregon's Nomadic Theatre Co. with their production of The View from Here for a weekend of performances. In the summer, Ear to the Ground produces a double bill The Peevish Reconciliation of Chickee and Boom-Boom along with Under the Table's Solo, a Two Person Show. In the Fall, a team of five performers, a composer, and an art director collaborate to develop a unique theatre piece exploring the number zero entitled The Zero Project. The year concludes with the Winter Wonderland fundraiser with goofy music, talking Christmas trees, and yummy cake.

2006 -- Graceful Gurtie, Valerie Moseley's tap dancing klutz appears at Annex Theatre's Spin the Bottle.

2007 -- Chickee & Boom-Boom develop a cabaret set that tours to The Moisture Festival with Zero Boy, Janet McAlpin, Brothers from Different Mothers (among many) and to the Columbia City Cabaret where they made a special Halloween appearance. The year concludes with a trip to Spokane, WA on New Year's Eve where we perform The Peevish Reconciliation of Chickee & Boom-Boom to packed houses at Spokane's First Night celebration.

2008 -- Chickee & Boom-Boom continue to appear at regional venues including Redmond Performance Center with Brothers from Different Mothers, the Columbia City Cabaret, the Pink Door, with the Von Foxies at Theatre off Jackson, and at the Moisture Festival with such internationally recognized acts as Al Simmons, Hacki Ginda, Lelavision, and others.

2009 -- In late 2008, Ear to the Ground wins a City of Seattle smART Ventures award to produce Not all Clowns are Bozos. The show goes up in January of 2009 at Theatre Off Jackson to full houses. Chickee & Boom-Boom continue to appear around town including Annex Theatre, Bumbershoot, and the Columbia City Cabaret. Chickee & Boom-Boom also host the kick-off event for Theatre Puget Sound's Live Theatre Week.

2010 -- 2010 opens with another successful run of Not All Clowns are Bozos - NACAB II: Clown Harder. In the spring, the company introduces the Clown Dojo - a physical theatre training series bringing in top-notch regional teachers for classes in Red Nose clowning as well as other physical styles.

2011 -- Not All Clowns are Bozos III: Clowning me Softly kicks off 2011 with more terrific clown artists and great reviews, and plans are in the works to bring another installment of the popular show to Theatre Off Jackson in April 2012 with an expanded run. Ear to the Ground continues to build it's reputation as a center for clown and physical theatre in the Seattle region. The fall brings another Clown Dojo training series as well as participation in Theatre Puget Sounds Arts Crush events.