David Shiner (born September 13, 1953) is an American

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

clown A clown is a person who performs physical comedy and arts in an Improvisational theatre#Comedy, open-ended fashion, typically while wearing distinct cosmetics, makeup or costume, costuming and reversing social norm, folkway-norms. The art of ...

, physical comedian,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and theater director.

Background and career

David Shiner is an American clown and physical comedian who has worked in various fields of entertainment, including circus, theater, film, and television. He is best known for his work with

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...

and with Bill Irwin. Shiner was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. Shiner began his career as a street mime, first in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and later moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, where he worked with the French clown, Marcel Marceau. Not long after and the German Circus Roncalli and the Swiss National Circus ( Circus Knie) invited Shiner to perform in the Big Top, in between he toured performing a dual act with

René Bazinet René Bazinet (born 1955) is a German-Canadian clown, mime, and stage and film actor. He is known for his work with Cirque du Soleil, first as a performing artist touring extensively with ''Saltimbanco'', and later as the clown act creator and ...

. In 1990, he starred in

's production '' Nouvelle Expérience'', as a clown and co-creator. In 1993, Shiner and Bill Irwin then created the two-man, wordless Broadway show '' Fool Moon'', featuring music by the Red Clay Ramblers. ''Fool Moon'' ran from 1993–99, including three separate runs at Broadway. The show won a special Tony for "Live Theatrical Presentation" in 1999, a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for ''Unique Theatrical Experience'', and an Outer Critics Circle "Special Achievement" Award plus Shiner won a Tony Award for his performance in ''Fool Moon'' in 1993. In 1995, he also starred in ''Man of the House''. The production was filmed for HBO and Shiner's popularity rendered him film roles in ''

Lorenzo's Oil ''Lorenzo's Oil'' is a 1992 drama film directed and co-written by George Miller. It is based on the true story of Augusto and Michaela Odone, parents who search for a cure for their son Lorenzo's adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD), leading to the d ...

'' and in

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American playwright, actor, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned half a century. He wrote 58 plays as well as several books of short stories, essays, ...

's '' Silent Tongue''. In 2000, Shiner originated the lead role of ''

The Cat in the Hat ''The Cat in the Hat'' is a 1957 children's book written and illustrated by American author Dr. Seuss. The story centers on a tall anthropomorphic cat who wears a red and white-striped top hat and a red bow tie. The Cat shows up at the house ...

'' in the Broadway stage musical '' Seussical''. Later he toured Europe and Seattle with his shows ''David Shiner in the Round'' and ''Drop Everything''. He made additional appearances on ''The Tonight Show'', and is a guest director at the Wintergarden Theatre in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and the Apollo Theatre in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. In addition to his work as a performer, Shiner wrote and directed

's touring production '' Koozå'', in 2007. Using such performers as Gordon White, Jason Berrent, Stephan Laundry, Michael Halvarson, Joshua Ryan Zehner and Christian Fitzherris for the original cast. ''Koozå'' is the most successful touring show of

to this day. Shiner developed th
Shiner Method
to mentor actors and clowns in his masterclass-ensemble-program. In 2009, Shiner wrote and directed the Cirque du Soleil show '' Banana Shpeel''. In 2013, Shiner co-wrote and starred in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revue show '' Old Hats'' with his ''Fool Moon'' co-star Bill Irwin. Musician

Nellie McKay Eleanora Marie McKay (born April 13, 1982) is an English–American singer and songwriter. She made her Broadway debut in ''The Threepenny Opera#United States 2, The Threepenny Opera'' (2006). Early life and education McKay was born in London ...

also performed in the 2013 show. In 2016, ''Old Hats'' was revived in New York City with Shiner and Irwin returning and a new third performer, musician

Shaina Taub Shaina Taub is an American actress, singer, musician, and Tony Award-winning composer. Early life Taub was born in Waitsfield, Vermont and attended the theater camp Stagedoor Manor. Taub's interest in social justice started at a young age. At 16 ...

, performing original songs with a band in between sketches. ''Old Hats'' won the 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue. He also was featured in the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

's Working in the Theatre series that was centered o
clowning
IMDb
December 21st, 2016
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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shiner, David 1953 births American clowns American male film actors Cirque du Soleil performers Living people Male actors from Boston