Christel Bartlese Actra/Equity PDF
“Overflowing with charisma…impeccable comedy timing, a manically gifted actor” Christel began performing at the age of three after her parents put her in a recreational ballet class. Fifteen years later she was dancing full time and competing across Canada and the U.S. as well as acting in her home town of Kitchener, Ontario. She loved to dance but decided to move to Toronto, Ontario to pursue her true passion, acting.
She is a graduate of The Second City Conservatory Program as well as the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts where she first met comedy partner Christina Sicoli, in an improv class. In 2001 they formed The Burnt Marshmallows, and together created, produced and performed in four full mounted shows, Burnt on a Stick, U-Haulywood (Canadian Comedy Award Nominee) The Holiday Special and STUCK, directed by Michael Kennard which had a sold out run at the Toronto Fringe Festival 2003 earning them “BEST ENSEMBLE” and voted one of the “TOP 10 COMEDY SHOWS OF 2003” (NOW Magazine) earning them rave reviews at both the Toronto and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. Other Burnt Marshmallow shows include Les Femmes Fatales: An Evening of 5 Fabulous Female Comediennes at the Tim Sim’s Playhouse (Dec. 2003) and Comedy March:A Parade of Comedy (March 2004) and The Clodhopper Christmas Comedy Special with The Rumoli Brothers.
She has studied clown intensively with John Turner and Michael Kennard (Mump and Smoot) as well as Sue Morrison, Philippe Gaulier and Francine Cote. She also studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Shakespeare & Company, Equity Showcase Pro Actors Lab and currently with Jeff Seymour (Jeff Ltd). Christel has performed at the Chicago Improv Festival, the Toronto Improv Jamboree, The Women’s Show, March of Dames, Hysteria, Toronto International Clown Festival, Buskerfest, Cheap Queers and is a regular performer at Lunacy Cabaret, Clown Chowder, & Toronto Clown Festival. She has taught improv, movement, and clown at the Toronto Film School, Second City, at Unionville High School and currently teaches Physical Comedy at Humber College. She has worked in many other schools in the GTA teaching, as well as performing School Bound, a one woman show about bullying, created by Emil Sher. (Breadbox Theatre)
Favorite rolesinclude Tifulbeau in The Hollow written and directed by Michael Kennard, and Pugg in Mump and Smoot in Something (with Pugg)
She débuted her one woman show, CHAOTICA, directed by Diana Kolpak in August 2008 at the London Fringe Festival. There she won the Impresario Award and CHAOTICA was nominated for a Brickenden Award in the category of “Outstanding Touring Production”.
Christel also continues working on the full length production of Siegfried and Roy with Sandra Battaglini which was first performed at Zero Gravity Circus, Dec 2008 and at The Big Comedy Go- To (London, ON, 2009).