Steve Roenker

Steve Roenker is co-founder and director of My Nose Turned Red Theatre Company (MNTR). MNTR is “dedicated to the art of the theatrical clown.” Steve has twenty-eight years experience as a performer and arts educator. Steve currently tours his one man show, The Tricksters Tale, featuring tales and characters from different cultures—Arleccino/Harlequin from Renaissance Europe, Anansi the Spider from West Africa, and Coyote from the Plains Indians. Although he still loves to tour and conduct residencies and workshops, Steve’s primary focus is the development of the the My Nose Turns Red Youth Circus, a community circus for and by area youth, their families and their community.

Residency goals are to create excitement for theater and the basic skills of drama (stage presence, blocking, voice projection, character development, scenario/script development, etc.). I start all residencies with creative dramatics—theater exercises that are fun and also teach students the basic theater tools they need. These are age appropriate and help develop the basic building blocks. I build a warm and comfortable environment to make everyone, including the shyest students, feel safe and have a positive, self-confidence building experience.

Specific residency projects depend on the needs of the teachers. I work with the teachers to develop a project that fits into their curriculum plans. We also develop a plan of implementation. I take responsibility for the performance aspect. The teachers and students are responsible for other elements of the project. This includes research, writing biographies of the characters, working with other specialties on the staff including the art and music teachers, and documentation. Projects have included Renaissance Faires and work with folktales from Africa, India and America (including Native American and Jack tales). I have also worked with the students to adapt literature for the stage and to create and perform their own fairy tales. Many of the projects have included mask making.

The depth of the experience depends, of course, on the length of the residency. I work with one or more core groups each day. We begin each session with a warm-up. During the course of the residency, we work through basic creative dramatics into more involved theater exercises and finally move toward a final performance. I like to make the performance relaxed and informal, especially for the youngest and least experienced children.