The Judy Finelli Project

Crew & Advisors

PRODUCER / DIRECTOR / VIDEOGRAPHY

Lisa Denker [see filmmaker page]

ADDITIONAL VIDEOGRAPHY

John Rogers

Kyung Lee

Hannah Guggenheim

Peter Streitman

EDITOR

Lisa Denker

ASSISTANT EDITING

Kyung Lee started working on the Judy Finelli Project back in 2007. She’s worked on SPARK on KQED, as a camera assistant, on KTSF TV as a camera operator for live news programs, and various independent films as a freelancer. She currently works at LINK TV as an editor and cuts on-air promos for its programs. She is currently in the production of her first feature-documentary film, Telos and frequenting Mt. Shasta, which is a magical town, located 200 miles north of San Francisco.

Laura Webb

Fabio Galembeck

TRANSCRIPTION

Christina Constantikes

Laura Webb

Karen Quest

Jean Kirk

ADVISORS

John Rogers has been working in video for thirty years as a director and producer, cameraperson, and editor, John Roger's credits include several award winning television documentaries and over 100 educational, industrial, and corporate videos and commercials. In 1980 John became a founding partner of Ideas In Motion where he is a producer/director, cameraperson, and editor. Ideas In Motion produces media ranging from documentaries, to educational videos, and promotional and advocacy videos for the non-profit sector. Ideas In Motion's documentaries have been broadcast extensively on local and national public television, including the PBS science series NOVA.

Dominique Jando is an independent circus arts consultant, and writer who began in his native France, when he first stepped into a circus ring as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris. His multitude of his experience: 1974 General Secretary of the Paris Cultural Center, he participated with Alexis Gruss in the creation of France’s first professional circus school, and of Le Cirque à l’Ancienne, which eventually became the French National Circus and is considered the catalyst of the ‘New Circus’ movement. Big Apple Circus (Associate Artistic Director for nineteen years), Creative Director and Director of the San Francisco School of Circus Arts for Circus Center, San Francisco in 2003-2004.

Joel Schechter has published several books about circus clowns, including "Durov's Pig: Clowns, Politics and Theatre," "The Congress of Clowns," and "The Pickle Clowns." He currently serves as West Coast Correspondent for the nationally-distributed circus journal,"Spectacle."

At San Francisco State University, where he is Professor of Theatre Arts, he teaches theatre history courses and lectures on puppetry, circus and carnival in a course called "Popular Theatre." In 1990 he received a Fox Fellowship from Yale University to investigate circus performance in Moscow. He has also coordinated a statewide summer arts program in circus arts for California State University, and delivered lectures on satire and circus clown history at Circus Center's Clown Conservatory in San Francisco. (Dr. Schechter writes and lectures about other topics, too; this summary refers mostly to his work in the field of circus.)

Wendy Parkman joined the Pickle Family Circus in 1979, she performed solo trapeze, juggling with Judy Finelli, and all-around performer with the Pickles. Wendy co-founded along with Judy Finelli the Pickle Family Circus School in 1984 (Later it became The San Francisco School of Circus Arts). She teaches drama & circus arts at The Urban School of San Francisco since 1989. Wendy continues to be involved with the San Francisco School of Circus Arts as a board member.

Sam Payne & Sandra Feusi are award winning professional circus acrobats, currently performing a duo pole-climbing act called Vertical Tango - most recently winning a Silver Clown and the Audience Favorite Award at the 2008 Festival International du Cirque de Monte Carlo. In 2005 Vertical Tango won a gold medal at the 2005 Festival Mondial de Cirque du Demain in Paris, as well as the Prix de la Ville de Paris, and the Prix du Cirque Eloize. In 2006 they received the Bay Area’s Isadora Duncan “Best Choreography” Award, which marks the first time the award has been given to a circus act. Performance: These days, Vertical Tango performs mainly in Teatro Zinzanni in San Francisco and Seattle, and in various venues in Europe, most recently performing with Switzerland's circus Knie, the grandaddy of European circuses.

Previous work: The couple toured worldwide for 5 years with Cirque du Soleil's 'Saltimbanco', toured with the New Pickle Circus for two years.

Training: Sam and Sandra trained for four years with Mr. Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Center. Sandra attended the Dimitri School for physical theater in Switzerland. Sam is a graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio.

Caroline Orrick has been involved in community nonprofits ever since moving to the Bay Area in 24 years ago. Her early activities include Planned Parenthood (board and pregnancy counseling, 1988-1994) and Docent work at the California Academy of Sciences (1988-1991). Later she joined the Edgewood Board (2000-2006), the Circus Center Board (2000-present), she was a founding board member of the Parent Education Network (2002-2003). Her most rewarding experiences have been with the Circus Center. She began taking acrobatic classes in 1997 and joined the board in 2000. She studied at the San Francisco Clown Conservatory, headed by Jeff Raz.

This entire site © 2006 Denker Filmworks. All photographs herein, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted. No part of this site, or any of the content contained herein, may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission of Denker Filmworks.