Hilary Chaplain

Hilary Chaplain has been recognized as one of America’s foremost professional physical comediennes, performing her original solo and ensemble work for over a decade throughout the United States, Canada, South America and Europe. Uncovering the humor in everyday life, Hilary’s extraordinary work has won accolades worldwide. She is also a founding member of the New York Goofs (est.1998) appearing with them in prestigious New York venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, the American Museum of Natural History, Symphony Space, and on tour at Wolf Trap with Bob McGrath from Sesame Street.

As an actress, Hilary was an original cast member in Bill Irwin’s Largely/New York and appeared on Broadway and at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park as the Goddess Ceres in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of The Tempest directed by George C. Wolfe. Regionally, Hilary has worked with the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and with Israel Horowitz’s Gloucester Stage Company. She also played a featured role in the 1994 Oscar winning movie Forrest Gump, a lawyer on Law and Order Criminal Intent and made a special appearance on Late Night with David Letterman.

Hilary is an adjunct professor of clowning at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts (since 1994). She has also been entertaining children in NYC hospitals as “Nurse Nice” of the renowned Big Apple Circus Hospital Clown Program® (since 1987) and has been invited to teach Hospital Clowning internationally, most recently at the FILO Festival in Londrina, Brazil (spring 2004).

A graduate of Hampshire College with a BA in Theatre Arts, Hilary spent time studying mime in Paris, France and in South Paris, Maine where she became involved in physical theatre and clown. She has worked with such teaching greats as Tony Montanaro, Avner Eisenberg, Julie Goell, Philippe Gaulier, David Shiner, Dick Monday, Ami Hattab, Bob Berky and Bill Irwin, to develop her unique style of performance.

Hilary has toured her solo shows to a number of major festivals, including the Prague, Melbourne, & New York Fringe Festivals, Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, Carcajada in Buenos Aires, FILO Festival in Londrina, Brazil, the Atlanta Fool’s Festival, the Funny Women Festival in Chicago, the Crazy Women Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, PSNBC in New York City, Caroline’s Comedy Club, Surf Reality among others.

For more information about Hilary, visit her website listed below:
http://www.hilarychaplain.com