Date and Time
Sunday, February 2, 2025
3:00 pm (Doors open at 2:30 pm)
Jackson Gillman
A Mid-Winter Night’s Dream
What better way to celebrate Groundhog Day than with a performance of “A Mid-Winter Night’s Dream” by Stand-up Chameleon Jackson Gillman? Early in his performance career, Jackson was dubbed a chameleon for his penchant to change into many different characters while entertaining audiences of all ages. During this surreal wintry tale, one of those characters will be an adventurous groundhog named Dreyfus. But is it a groundhog or Jackson who leaves his den to go on a snowy walkabout, tracks an otter, goes airborne after an exhilarating slide, plunges into icy water, somehow survives hypothermia and dances under the Northern Lights with an angel? Jackson swears that much of these winter adventures are true-life. This warm-hearted story will surely be a wild ride, and intriguing fun trying to divine fact from fiction.
This fanciful escapade is generally performed for adults, but school-age children can easily follow and enjoy the story and songs as well!
About the Artist
“Stand-Up Chameleon” Jackson Gillman magically transforms himself into a wide array of eccentric characters through his many talents as mime, actor, songsmith and storyteller. As adept with children as he is with adults, his interactive performances are seasoned with skillful dialect, song, dance, mime and sign language. Shining through Jackson’s wit and extraordinary versatility is his bemused, warm-hearted honesty. Jackson’s humor evolves from finding that which is funny in human beings trying to be human and often tripping over their own being in the attempt.
In 2013, Jackson was featured at the National Storytelling Festival in Tennessee for the fourth time. He has thrice been Teller-in-Residence at the International Storytelling Center and has performed at festivals and schools throughout the country. For twenty years Jackson hosted a summer concert series of comedy, music and New Vaudeville on Mount Desert Island. Presenting a new thematic program each year, he set up comedy/music shop every summer and toured the rest of the year. Year-round he now brings his unique brand of one-man theater to diverse audiences across the nation. Whether performing on concert stages, at colleges, business functions, festivals, school assemblies or libraries, Jackson Gillman delights his audiences with his inventions while touching them with his warmth.
Jackson in Action
Reviews
”"Jackson Gillman is a very funny fellow... a zany kind of comic mutant -- what you'd get if you worked up a mold for an entertainer that was one part mime and actor, one part stand-up comedian, and one part sheer storyteller."
Maine Public Broadcasting
”"Jackson is a consummate artist, displaying his joyous, bombastic, lovable side along with his sensitive, caring side. At one moment he can have you laughing about the human condition; at the next moment, you are seriously contemplating ecology and our role in the future. One may find many deserving, qualified performers, but one could never err in selecting Jackson Gillman. He's incredible!"
Missouri Storytelling's Perrin Stifel
”"Jackson is like a rare gem when it comes to his performances. His energy and dedication for exceeds the normal expectations of a festival presenter. His performance was impeccable. His zany humor, intermingled with his stories, mime, song and dance provided a delightful, fun filled and warm-hearted evening of entertainment for the mixed audience of adults and children in attendance."
The Jackson Storyfest's Judee M. Royster
