• Giuseppe Condello's artistic and academic pursuits have spanned a period for more than 50 years. Italian-born in the village of Bovalino Marina in the District of Reggio Calabria in Southern Italy, Giuseppe is recognized here in Manitoba, nationally and internationally as a stage performing artist and for his work in fostering and promoting Corporeal Mime:The Actor's Art of Movement. He’s a professional Actor and is a former graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, Quebec. As a Corporeal Mime, Giuseppe trained under the tutelage of the late Master and Father of Corporeal Mime, Etienne Decroux in Paris, France. As a Yogi, he was trained and certified at Toronto’s East to West Yoga and Pilates Studio. . Academically, Giuseppe is a Certified Educator and has earned himself an Interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Theatre/Mime/Education from Meridian University International in Louisiana, U.S.A., a Master of Education Degree in Drama from the University of Manitoba in conjunction with Durham University in England, a Bachelor of Education Degree in Theatre/English from the University of Manitoba, and is accredited as a Dramatic Arts Honours Specialist, English & Visual Arts - 1 Educator from OISE - University of Toronto. He’s a member of the Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA), the Alliance of Cinema, Television & Radio Artists (ACTRA), the Ontario College of Teachers, and the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.
• During 1952 and 1953, thanks to the sponsorship of Don Carlo Mazzone who owned and operated the famous "Rancho Don Carlos Nightclub" in Winnipeg, Giuseppe and family emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada. Years later in 1967, Giuseppe was selected to study Acting at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, Quebec. Soon thereafter, upon graduation in 1970, he established for himself a career in the Traditional Theatre with such companies as the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, Young Peoples’ Theatre in Toronto and the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre in Canada. Thanks to Jean Gascon, former Artistic Director of Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre and co-founder of the National Theatre School of Canada, to British-born actor Powys Thomas, co-founder of the National Theatre School of Canada, who also played an important role in the development of theatre in Canada and to Jeff Henry, former movement instructor of the National Theatre School of Canada to mention but a few, Giuseppe’s natural physical talents were quickly recognized and was strongly encouraged to study the Art of Movement for Actors in Europe.
• In July of 1972, his dear friend the renowned International Pantomime artist Marcel Marceau, recommended Giuseppe to study under the Master and Father of Modern Mime, Etienne Decroux in Paris, France. Following his training from 1972-1974 & 1983 under the tutelage of his beloved master Etienne Decroux, Giuseppe and his wife Kathryn then became acquainted with acclaimed actor/mime Jean-Louis Barrault and with the prestigious playwright, Samuel Beckett, and were later invited as guests to attend private rehearsals and opening night performances of Beckett's plays "Rockaby" and "Play" starring Jean-Louis Barrault. This encounter further inspired Giuseppe’s interest in exploring the differences and similarities between the Traditional Actor of Realism and the Actor of Corporeal Mime.
• From 1975-1991, Giuseppe as Artistic Director/Producer/Actor along with his wife Kathryn Condello as Associate Artistic Director/Administrator/Actor, founded Winnipeg's 40 Below Mime Inc., a not-for-profit charitable organization and of the world’s most acclaimed International Mime Festival. The company later branched out into Ottawa, Ontario and Hull, Quebec producing world class artists such as: Marcel Marceau (France), Yves LeBreton (Italy), Polivka (Czechoslovakia), Leonard Pitt (U.S.A.), Theatre de l’Ange Fou (England), Omnibus (Canada), and Le Theatre a L’Oblique (Canada) to mention but a few. From 1985-1990, under the auspices of Canada's Department of External Affairs in Ottawa, Ontario, Giuseppe was appointed as Canada's Cultural Ambassador representing his International Mime Festival travelling Europe, U.S.A. and Canada, auditioning and making contact with talented physical theatre performing artists.
• On July 4, 1991, Giuseppe had the honour of accepting an invitation by Her Majesty's The Lord Chamberlain to attend the Queen of Englands Garden Party at The Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Since 1992, Giuseppe has been busy conducting workshops, lecture/demonstrations, appearing in several films and television episodes, and performing his own distinct Corporeal Mime productions. Plays such as Future Shokk, D.P. and The Attic were created in collaboration with International artists such as: Etienne Bertrand Weill from Paris, France - well known for his visual Metaformes stage background images - and with performing artist Kathryn Condello from Winnipeg, Canada; with performing artist/author Thomas Leabhart from Claremont, U.S.A.; and with musician Anne Southham from Toronto, Canada to mention but a few. These plays have been performed internationally from Winnipeg, Canada to Richmond, England; from San Francisco, U.S.A. to Budapest, Hungary; and from Toronto, Canada to Paris, France to critical acclaim.
• In 2002, with the generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Toronto Arts Council Dance Department, Giuseppe created, and performed in Il Sogno: The Dream which was an artistic cultural fusion of mime artists, dancers and actors and was later premiered in 2004 at the Dancemakers Studio in Toronto.
• In 2007, Giuseppe performed the distinguished mime role as Picasso in: Picasso: A Portrait of a Man and His Art, which was co-created with his niece Sarina Condello and performed to an overwhelming audience at the Dancemakers Studio in the Distillery section of Toronto. Following his performance of Picasso, Giuseppe was commissioned as a “featured guest artist” by International violinist Mayumi Seiler, Artistic Director and founder of Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra to create a series of Corporeal Mime performances in collaboration with her musicians to the music of Apollon Musagete by Igor Stravinsky.
• In February of 2008, Giuseppe’s performance of L’Homme du Salon in collaboration with Mayumi Seiler and her Via Salzburg Chamber Orchestra was premiered at the Richard Bradshaw Theatre/Four Season's Centre for the Performing Arts and at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto to standing ovations.
• In April of 2009, Giuseppe brilliantly performed three original mime vignettes entitled Butterfly, Horse and Fish as part of The Vintage Dancers performance at the Betty Oliphant Theatre in Toronto. All proceeds for this event were donated to The Big Little Caravan of Joy Foundation, helping the children AIDS Orphans’ in Africa. Also, in June of 2009, Giuseppe was honoured with an invitation to perform Fish and to conduct a lecture/demonstration on his work to an enthusiastic audience at the Toronto Festival of Clowns, masters gala event in Toronto.
• In September of 2012, Giuseppe was commissioned by Larry Beckwith, Artistic Director of Toronto Masque Theatre to re-create Etienne Decroux’s 1931 masterpiece The Carpenter as the “centrepiece” for the company's February 2013 musical repertoire Les Roses de la Vie: A Parisian Soiree production. The Carpenter was accompanied by soprano singers Teri Dunn and Agnes Zsigovics, instrumentalists Christopher Bagan on Harpsicord and Justin Hayes on Viola da Gamba, and played to the music of Francois Couperin’s Troisieme Lecon de Tenebres. This multi-media presentation of The Carpenter, also included video mime clips of the late Etienne Decroux and the late Jean-Louis Barrault with pre-performance talks on Giuseppe’s theatrical background and in particular, Corporeal Mime. The evenings sold-out performances, which also included Tenor, Colin Ainsworth, Kathleen Kajioka and Larry Beckwith on Violin, and poetry readings by actor Nicolas van Burek, were accepted with much warmth and accolades!
• In May of 2013, with a further successful run of The Carpenter at the Toronto Clown Festival, Giuseppe soon thereafter performed two of Etienne Decroux’s masterpieces The Washing & The Carpenter at “Winnipeg’s 2013 Fringe Festival” to critical acclaim.
• In November of 2014, after a long awaited and wonderful month long tour of Italy, Giuseppe had the privilege of accepting an offer from Lori Nichol, Canadian International Olympic Figure Skating Champion, Choreographer and a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame, to instruct a series of Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement to her three levels of the most talented and outstanding Figure Skating pupils. Included in the daily senior class was Carolina Kostner from Italy, who is recognized Internationally as one of the World’s Figure Skating Champion’s and who recently won a Bronze Medal at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Events, in Russia. A private session was also conducted with Carolina and her Choreographer, Lori Nichol. Needless to say, Giuseppe’s engagement with the company was a huge success and one that is promised to be as an ongoing creative working relationship!
• In May of 2015, Giuseppe, at the request of Andrew Miller, Artistic Director of Toronto’s first Cirque North Festival, with its theme on “Focus on Finland Circus,” was called upon to represent Canada as its distinguised physical theatre performing artist. At its opening night, which was held at the Daniel Spectrum Theatre, Giuseppe conducted a lecture/demonstration on his craft and on his observations of circus as a culture to share, with specific emphasis on the actors “Art” of movement to an enthusiastic audience comprised mainly of distinguished government officials and festival aerialist performing artists from Finland. This was then followed by Giuseppe conducting a two week intensive workshop on Corporeal MIme: The Actor's Art of Movement.
• In July of 2015, again at the request of Artistic Director, Andrew Miller, Giuseppe performed a segment of The Washing to an over-crowded and enthusiastic audience at the Figment Circus Exhibition which was held in the Lagoon Theatre in Toronto’s Olympic Island. This was then followed by private and public workshops on Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement, which were held at the Pia Bouman Dance Studio in Toronto, to eager participants of various artistic backgrounds.
• From May 13-15, 2016 and with the support from The Winnipeg Arts Council, Giuseppe successfully premiered The Immigrant, a fusion of authentic immigrant stories, Corporeal Mime, Dance and Yoga at the SpringWorks Festival in Stratford, Ontario.
• In November of 2016, Giuseppe had the privilege of conducting a series of Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement workshops to Film Animators at UBISOFT Toronto. These workshops concentrated on the process of recording an actor’s movements and emotional expressions, better known as “motion capture,” which enables film animators to become better acquainted when animating a digital character in a movie or video game. A most inspiring and successful event!
• In April of 2017, in celebration of Giuseppe’s 50th anniversary of working as a professional performing artist and educator and in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary, Giuseppe successfully performed The Immigrant at Toronto’s Pia Bouman Theatre Studio to an enthusiastic full house. The week-end was then followed up with intensive public and private workshops on Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement to a group of 32 energetic artists. These events were both produced by Foo Productions of Toronto, with Helen Donnelly as the Artistic Director.
• In March of 2018, Giuseppe was commissioned by Nicole Matiation, Executive Director of On Screen Manitoba to conduct a Master Workshop on Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement to a group of film animators, dancers, actors, stunt persons, educators, and other media production professionals on how to work with movement in a Motion Capture context. This was then followed up with further successful workshops at The School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg and in Toronto with Helen Donnelly’s Therapeutic Clowns from the George Brown College, including public workshops for actors, dancers, mimes, and architect designers.
* In December of 2019 with the generous support from The Winnipeg Arts Council, Giuseppe along with his son Anthony Condello was commissioned by Daniel Ontiveros, Artistic/Producer of the Parnaseutica Mime Training Centre in Monterrey, Mexico to represent Canada with a series of Master Workshops, Lecture/Demonstrations and the Screening of Giuseppe's Documentary Film on Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement with Music by Juno Award-Winning Composer, Marjan Mozetich. This was indeed a great success!
• To his academic credentials, Giuseppe has earned himself an Interdisciplinary Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Theatre/Mime/Education from Meridian University International in Louisiana, U.S.A., a Master of Education Degree in Drama from the University of Manitoba in conjunction with Durham University in England, including a Bachelor of Education Degree in Theatre/English. He’s also accredited as a Certified Dramatic Arts Honours Specialist, English & Visual Arts-1 Educator from OISE - University of Toronto. Giuseppe has taught at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in Manitoba, The School of Contemporary Dancers in Winnipeg, University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, University of Victoria in British Columbia, at Canada’s Private International Baccalaureate Toronto French School in Ontario, was founding Director/Curriculum Designer and Department Head of the Drama/Dance programs at G.L.Roberts Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Oshawa, Ontario, and was the former founding Artistic Director and Department Head of the Movement/Mime programs at Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec.
• Giuseppe is a recipient of numerous Arts Awards, many of which include: the Canada Council for the Arts, the Manitoba Arts Council, the Winnipeg Arts Council, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s-Jean Murray-Moray Sinclair Theatre Scholarship, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council Dance Department, and the Department of Secretary of State, to mention but a few. He’s also received two consecutive Sir Tyrone Guthrie Awards from Canada’s prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theatre in recognition of his artistic work with the company. From 1985 - 1990, under the auspices of the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa, Giuseppe travelled to Europe, England, U.S.A . and Canada representing his International Mime Festival as its Cultural Ambassador.
• To this present day, Giuseppe continues to hold public and private workshops, lecture/demonstrations, performances, and screening of his Documentary Film on Corporeal Mime: The Actor's Art of Movement, and is in the process of completing his second Documentary Film of his artistic work to date. Students as far away as Portugal, Brazil, England, Italy, Mexico, Japan, Algiers, U.S.A., and within Canada have come to learn of his much appreciated acting style, physical technique and artistic philosophies.
