My evening with a man of a thousand faces

Thanks to J Moore Bannister, a master at hiring the best talent in North America, I had the privilege not so long ago to have dinner with a man that for over an hour had me enthralled more than I think I'd ever been entertained by a performance artist. But I had the prickly, uncomfortable feeling of coming to the table actually knowing less about him than I would have someone that I was seeing for the first time.

Click on the videos on these links:

Face the Music

The Mask Messenger

Rob Faust is the Executive Director of FaustWork Mask Theater and a brilliant performer. His one-man (basically) shows are highly entertaining as he changes masks and transforms instantly between a strangely double jointed ballet dancer to a creepy monster and on and on. The audience which I was a part of, is typical, Rob said of most of his audiences. We were hesitant when he came out, arms crossed, daring him to win us over. By the third "character" he had some of the most sophisticated people in the United States (not me, the other people) enthusiastically cheering. And, by the end, it was quite obvious that he has a message during his wordless show that is profound for adults just as it is for children. I won't ruin it by telling you what the message is, as no matter what your age you will be so proud of yourself by figuring out the secret (along with every single other audience member).

But, back to dinner. Because this is a man of masks...he makes the spectacular masks with his own hands, creates the characters (some it has taken more than three years to develope) and frenetically changes personalities several dozen time in the space of sixty minutes, he becomes like an empty bottle that takes on the taste of whatever is poured into it. So, I didn't know what to expect. For an hour he was whatever I wanted him to be, or more specifically, he was whatever he wanted me to think he was.

Rob is an engaging, amazingly open and curious conversationalist. He doesn't talk a lot, but what he says is thoughtful. And he is intensely curious about the people he meets. Which is refreshing to find in a performance artist -- I've had dinner with plenty after performances in which they are incredibly self-indulgent. None of that here.

He's been doing this for decades. He performs for schools, for corporate events and to the general public in large theaters. He performs anywhere and he's brilliantly easy to work with and accomodating.

If you ever have reason to book talent for an event -- a fund-raiser, special event for clients/employees, or character building event for students -- and you want to hit a home run, you've got to book this guy. And absolutely buy him dinner afterward, it will be a special treat for you. If you don't ever get a chance to have a say in hiring for an event, go out of your way to make an evening of it if you learn that Faustwork Mask Theater is coming to a venue near you!

Here's what the critics say:

"Tickles some sort of primal funny bone... hilariously hyperbolic..."
The New York Times

"Totally unique... I have never seen anything like it and neither have you. It is simply stunning."
Mike Wallace, 60 Minutes

"Inventive, magical, never less than completely absorbing..."
The Toronto Star