Hollywood, Broadway and the 'Burgh

These days Dan Kamin is a hot commodity, and we can say we knew him when...In fact, when the actor/mime joined Gateway to Music (Gateway to the Arts’ previous incarnation) in 1988, Dan was the first non-musician on the roster and helped to expand the performance program outreach model to encompass other art forms. In the intervening years, Dan Kamin has had many successes, from touring the world with his own comedic performances to creating the physical comedy sequences for Chaplin and Benny and Joon and training Robert Downey, Jr. and Johnny Depp for their acclaimed starring performances in those films. When he’s not globetrotting for films and fans, Dan resides in Pittsburgh and is still one of Gateway’s most popular performing artists; but lately he’s busier than ever.

Most recently, he returned from a stint in southern California where he worked on the La Jolla Playhouse’s production of Limelight, The Story of Charlie Chaplin as the Script Consultant and Physical Comedy Specialist. The musical was quite a success – so much so that plans are now in the works to take it to Broadway next season!

Additionally, Dan’s most recent book The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin-Artistry in Motion, originally published in 2008, sold out its hardcover first edition during the run of Limelight. An expanded edition is set to be released in paperback and electronic versions next month, available from Scarecrow Press.  With numerous glowing reviews, The Comedy of Charlie Chaplin-Artistry in Motion is a fresh look at the work of Chaplin from the unique perspective of another comedic mime and actor.

Chaplin is not the only topic motivating Dan Kamin to take the pen to the page. Off the Record X: Malpractice Blues!, the annual satirical revue of Pittsburgh had its tenth installment at the Byham Theater on October 7. Attended by over 900 people, the comedy was co-written by Kamin and Gary Rotstein of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This year, Off the Record generated $35,000 for the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, $11,000 for the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, $4,000 each for the separate scholarship funds of Pittsburgh AFTRA and the Newspaper Guild of Pittsburgh, and $1,500 for the Pittsburgh Promise scholarship fund, $55,500 in total.

Families can catch Dan Kamin’s new one-man show, A Cheap Evening of Expensive Theatre at the August Wilson Center during this year’s First Night activities presented by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

For more information on Dan Kamin, check out his performance programs for schools offered through Gateway to the Arts or visit his website.