EepyBird, a.k.a. Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, are the creators of famous online videos exploring the explosive combination of Coke and Mentos. They have been nominated for two Emmy Awards, won four Webby Awards, and their viral videos have been seen over 150 million times. They have performed their live show on three continents, from Las Vegas to Istanbul, and from London to New York, turning 108 bottles of Coke Zero and over 600 Mentos mint candies into a choreographed display of 25-foot tall geysers of soda; a miniature version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas.
EepyBird specializes in creating viral videos that explore how everyday objects can do extraordinary things, from making ping pong balls float in the air above hairdryers to transforming 250,000 sticky notes into waterfalls of color. This has led to appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Today Show, Ellen, Mythbusters, and numerous other television programs. They’ve set four Guinness World Records and appeared in videos for Blue Man Group, Barenaked Ladies, and Weezer. For more information, visit www.EepyBird.com.
According to Wired, “The EepyBird duo single-handedly exalted the Coke and Mentos internet fad to a pinnacle of geek experimentation, humor, and art.” To foster community interest in the festival, the Eepybird event will be free and open to the public.
Fritz Grobe left his mathematics studies at Yale University to perform as a juggler, and he soon took the juggling world by storm. He has won five gold medals at the International Jugglers Championships and set a world record for juggling way too many objects. In 2004, he created a leading role, and was the featured solo clown, in the Cirque du Soleil spin-off “Birdhouse Factory,” a show that The New York Times recently called “engrossingly entertaining... in a word, excellent!” A Maine native, he currently lives in the EepyLab in Buckfield, Maine.
Stephen Voltz was a street performer in San Francisco, doing shows as a magician, juggler, and fire eater, before becoming a responsible adult and going to law school at New York University. After sixteen years as a trial lawyer in Boston, he returned to performing with his one-man show “The Benefit of Doubt,” which premiered at San Francisco’s EXIT Theater. In 2000, he and Fritz met while studying physical theater at Celebration Barn, Maine’s international school for original theater. They began working together, exploring new possibilities in ordinary objects, and in 2006, launched what the world now knows as EepyBird.
The Portland Performing Arts Festival is a new four-day event, featuring eight performances of nationally renowned artists in classical music, jazz, dance, theater, and performance art. In its inaugural season, it presents two world premiere performances: of The Handsomest by Alison Chase/Performance, and of Thumbs up, a new play by the artists of the Celebration Barn Ensemble.
Featured Festival performances include:
June 28th:
Guitar Master Class, featuring visiting artists Sharon Isbin and Doug Wamble in teaching session with Maine artists, free and open to the public. 3pm, One Longfellow Square, 181 State Street, Portland
Maine performance art duo Eepybird (the Coke & Mentos guys), live demonstration spectacular. 6pm, Monument Square, Congress & Elm Streets, Portland (sponsored by Headlight Audio Visual) Free and open to the public: rain date Friday, June 29, 6pm
June 29th:
Sharon Isbin, classical guitar, solo concert. This multi-Grammy winning artist is regarded as the pre-eminent classical guitarist of our times. 7pm, Williston-Immanuel United Church, 156 High Street, Portland.
Tickets $20-45, plus ticketing fee
June 30th:
Alison Chase/Performance, contemporary dance ensemble. This new dance company presents the world premiere of choreography created by Maine resident and Pilobolus co-founder Alison Chase. 7pm, Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle Street Portland (co-presented by Portland Ovations)
Tickets $27-47 plus ticketing fee
Celebration Barn Ensemble, world premiere play, “Thumbs Up.” Created by the artists of the Celebration Barn, “Thumbs Up” is an inventive and uproarious look at Maine’s unique qualities and characters. 8pm, John Ford Theater @ Portland High School, 284 Cumberland Avenue, Portland
Tickets $15-30 plus ticketing fee
Doug Wamble, jazz. Featuring an 8-piece ensemble presenting “Yoknapatawpha,” an evening-length work based on the literary works of William Faulkner. 9pm, The State Theater, 609 Congress Street Portland (sponsored by The State Theater)
Tickets $20-40 plus ticketing fee
July 1st:
Celebration Barn Ensemble, “Thumbs Up,” matinee performance. 1pm, John Ford Theater @ Portland High School, 284 Cumberland Avenue, Portland
Tickets $15-30 plus ticketing fee
Piano Concert, Festival Finale. Curated by the Portland Conservatory, this concert presents the premier artists of the International Piano Festival in works by a variety of composers, including Maine resident Elliott Schawartz. 3pm, Williston-Immanuel United Church, 156 High Street, Portland
Tickets $15-25 plus ticketing fee
Tickets for all performances are available through PortTix, tickets.porttix.com. More information about all the Festival performances is available at www.portlandfestival.org.
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