Howard Gayton

Howard Gayton (born 1966) is a British actor, director and theatrical teacher. He co-founded the Ophaboom Theatre Company with Geoff Beale in 1991; and has directed and performed in all of the company's shows since 1993.

Ophaboom specialises in creating and performing contemporary works in the Italian Commedia dell'Arte tradition. Working in a variety of languages, the company has traveled and performed all across Europe, as well as in Korea, Canada, and the United States. Ophaboom's role as a leading company in the development of English Commedia has been documented in the following publications: "Commedia dell'Arte: A Handbook for Troupes" by John Rudlin and Olly Crick (Routledge Publisher, London and New York, 2001); "New Theatre Quarterly 67", edited by Clive Barker and Simon Trussler (Cambridge University Press, 2001); "Shakespeare Survey 50" edited by Stanley Wells (Cambridge University Press, 2002), and "Faust: Icon of Modern Culture" by Osman Durrani (Helms Information Ltd., UK, 2004).

In addition to his work for Ophaboom, Gayton has created and directed puppet shows for Little Angel Theatre in London, performed in shows for both the Little Angel and Norwich Puppet Theatre, and has directed children's theatre for the ESMAE Theatre School in Porto, Portugal. He has taught physical theatre, mask performance, and directed shows for other companies in the UK and abroad. He also writes articles on theatre, radio plays, poetry, and fiction. His poetry collection "Poems for the Desert" was published by Trix Press in 2007.

Gayton was raised in Oxfordshire, studied drama at Exeter University and physical theatre at the Desmond Jones school in London. He has also studied the use of masks in Native American and Mexican-American communities in Arizona with the aid of an Arts Council England grant.

Notability Reference

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/1287883.stm] [http://www.britishtheatreguide.info/news/burkeandhare.htm]

External links

* [http://ophaboom.blogspot.com The Ophaboom Theatre Company]
* [http://www.myspace.com/ophaboom Ophaboom MySpace page]
* [http://www.littleangeltheatre.com/ Little Angel Theatre website]
* [http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/howardgayton/ A biography of Howard Gayton]
* [http://www.endicott-studio.com/crossroads/crFTheatre.html A "fairy tale theatre" journal by Howard Gayton]
* [http://www.puppetcentre.org.uk/mask.html "Mask and Movement" by Howard Gayton on the Puppet Centre Trust website]
* [http://trixpress.blogspot.com Trix Press]