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Doug Skinner (born January 7, 1955) is an American composer, writer, and performer.
Music
Skinner has written music for many dance companies, including
ODC/Dance
ODC, formerly the Oberlin Dance Collective, is a contemporary dance and arts organization founded in 1971, in Oberlin, Ohio, by current artistic director Brenda Way. ODC relocated to San Francisco in 1976 and in 1979 became the first modern danc ...
in San Francisco and
Margaret Jenkins
Margaret Jenkins (born 1942) is a postmodern choreographer based in San Francisco, California. She was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1980 and in 2003, San Francisco mayor, Willie Brown, declared April 24 to be Margaret Jenkins Day.
Biography
Jenkins ...
.
mjdc.org
/ref> He has often written for the theater: in particular, he has had a long association with the actor/clown Bill Irwin
William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. He has made a n ...
; he wrote and performed the music for Irwin's ''Murdoch'' ('81), ''The Regard of Flight'' ('82), ''The Courtroom'' ('85), ''The Clown Lecture'' ('02), ''The Harlequin Studies'' ('03), and ''The Regard Evening'' ('04). He often performs his songs in NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
clubs. In the '90s, he frequently gigged with the ukulele and vocal trio White Knuckle Sandwich.
Performance
As a performer, he has been active as actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, monologist, and occasional ventriloquist
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...
. His full shows include ''Pay Attention'' (1984), ''An Attractive Production'' (1985), and ''Eddie Unchained'' (1993). He regularly shows cartoon slide shows on Robert Sikoryak
Robert Sikoryak (born 1964) is an American artist whose work is usually signed R. Sikoryak. He specializes in making comic adaptations of literature classics. Under the series title ''Masterpiece Comics'', these include ''Crime and Punishment'' re ...
's long-running Carousel
A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...
. He has also created many puppet shows and videos with performance/video artist Michael Smith.
According to the online magazine ''nth position'', for which he occasionally writes, Doug Skinner has also played piano on the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, cello at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
, and ukulele on the ''
Joe Franklin Show''. He also appeared as the character referred to as "Toilet Citizen" in the
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
film ''
Crocodile Dundee II
''Crocodile Dundee II'' is a 1988 action comedy film and the second of the ''Crocodile Dundee'' film series. It is a sequel to ''Crocodile Dundee'' (1986) and was followed by ''Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles'' (2001). Actors Paul Hogan and Lin ...
''.
Writing
In recent years, Skinner has devoted more time to writing and lecturing, particularly on
Fortean subjects. He has contributed to ''
Fortean Times
''Fortean Times'' is a British monthly magazine devoted to the anomalous phenomena popularised by Charles Fort. Previously published by John Brown Publishing (from 1991 to 2001), I Feel Good Publishing (2001 to 2005), Dennis Publishing (2005 to 2 ...
'', ''
Fate
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although often ...
'', ''
The Anomalist'', ''
INFO Journal'', ''Strange Attractor Journal'', ''
Weirdo'', ''Nickelodeon'', and other publications, writing on such subjects as
Richard Shaver
Richard Sharpe Shaver (October 8, 1907 Berwick, Pennsylvania – November 5, 1975 Summit, Arkansas) was an American writer and artist.
He achieved notoriety in the years following World War II as the author of controversial stories that were pr ...
,
John Keel
John Alva Keel, born Alva John Kiehle (March 25, 1930 – July 3, 2009) was an American journalist and influential UFOlogist who is best known as author of '' The Mothman Prophecies''.
Early life
Keel was born in Hornell, New York, the son of a ...
, the early
Fortean Society The Fortean Society was started in the United States in 1931 during a meeting held in the New York flat of American writer Charles Hoy Fort, in order to promote his ideas. The Fortean Society was primarily based in New York City. Its first presiden ...
,
John Dee
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, teacher, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divinatio ...
,
Boris Vian
Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sulliva ...
, the scientific method, the cultural history of Darwinism in the US, and hoaxes. Regular features have included the column ''Let's Ask Skinner'' for
Crimewave USA
''Crimewave'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter al ...
and the comic strip ''It's Fortean'' for the kids' paper ''
ZUZU
Zuzu is an administrative ward in the Dodoma Urban district of the Dodoma Region of Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the A ...
''. His translation of the alchemical text ''Three Dreams'', by
Giovanni Battista Nazari Giovanni may refer to:
* Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname
* Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data
* '' Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend ...
, was published in 2003 by Opus Magnum Hermetic Sourceworks in Glasgow.
He has also been a frequent speaker at the
International Fortean Organization
The International Fortean Organization (INFO) is a network of professional Fortean researchers and writers. John Keel, author and parapsychologist, in both his writings and at his appearances at INFO's FortFest, said "the International Fortean O ...
(INFO) Fortfests and the ''Fortean Times''
UnConventions.
Bibliography
*
Visions of a Subterranean Wonderworld, ''The Anomalist'', 1995, about
Richard Shaver
Richard Sharpe Shaver (October 8, 1907 Berwick, Pennsylvania – November 5, 1975 Summit, Arkansas) was an American writer and artist.
He achieved notoriety in the years following World War II as the author of controversial stories that were pr ...
's art
* "The Immortal Count", ''Fortean Times'' #146, 2001, about the
Count of St Germain
The Comte de Saint Germain (; – 27 February 1784) was a European adventurer, with an interest in science, alchemy and the arts. He achieved prominence in European high society of the mid-18th century. Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel considere ...
*
What's This? A Shaver Revival?, ''Fate'', June 2005, about Richard Shaver
* "Doubting Tiffany", ''Fortean Times'' #200, 2005, about the
Fortean Society The Fortean Society was started in the United States in 1931 during a meeting held in the New York flat of American writer Charles Hoy Fort, in order to promote his ideas. The Fortean Society was primarily based in New York City. Its first presiden ...
*
The Blood Still Boils, ''Fate'', July 2006, about
Saint Januarius
Januarius ( ; la, Ianuarius; Neapolitan language, Neapolitan and it, Gennaro), also known as , was Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benevento, Bishop of Benevento and is a Christian martyrs, martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern ...
* "A Fortean Album from the papers of Theodore Dreiser", ''Fortean Times'' #207, 2006, about recent finds of early photographs of
Charles Fort
Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...
* ''Considerations on the Death and Burial of Tristan Tzara'' by Isidore Isou. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Document Series No. 8, 2012)
* ''How I Became an Idiot by Francisque Sarcey'' by
Alphonse Allais
Alphonse Allais (20 October 1854 – 28 October 1905) was a French writer, journalist and humorist.
Life
Allais was born in Honfleur, Calvados (department), Calvados. He died in Paris.
Work
He is the author of many collections of whimsical writ ...
. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Documents, Interim Edition: No. 00, 2013)
* ''Captain Cap (Vol. I): Captain Cap Before the Electorate'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Document Series No. 11, 2013)
* ''Captain Cap (Vol. II): The Apparent Symbiosis Between the Boa and Giraffe'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Document Series No. 14, 2013)
* ''Captain Cap (Vol. III): The Antifilter & Other Inventions'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Document Series No. 17, 2013)
* ''Captain Cap (Vol. IV): The Sanatorium of the Future'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Document Series No. 20, 2013)
* ''Captain Cap: His Adventures, His Ideas, His Drinks'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, , 2013)
* ''Selected Plays of Alphonse Allais'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, , 2014)
* ''The Unknown Adjective and Other Stories'' by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, , 2014)
* ''Horoscrapes'' by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, 2014)
* ''The Zombie of Great Peru'' by Pierre-Corneille Blessebois. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, 2015)
* ''The Doug Skinner Dossier'' by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, 2015)
* ''Sleepytime Cemetery: 40 Stories'' by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books, 2016)
* ''I Am Sarcey'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: 2017)
* ''The Doug Skinner Songbook'' by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: 2017)
* ''Charles Cros: Collected Monologues'' by Charles Cros. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books:2018)
* ''The Alphonse Allais Reader'' by Alphonse Allais. Compiled & translated by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: 2018)
* ''2 + 2 = 5'' by Alphonse Allais. Translated by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: 2021)
* ''Upside-Down Stories'' by Charles Cros & Émile Goudeau. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Documents Series No. 35, 2019)
* ''The Pope's Mustard-Maker'' by Alfred Jarry. Translated from the French by Doug Skinner. (Black Scat Books: Absurdist Texts & Documents Series No. 37, 2019)
References
External links
*
Doug Skinnerat the
Internet Theatre Database
The Internet Theatre Database (ITDb) is an online database with information about plays, playwrights, actors, legitimate theatre, musical theatre, Broadway shows, and similar theatrical information.
The website is run by several volunteer theat ...
*
Profile at the Film and Video Art Web SiteNth Position profileFortFest Tapes featuring Doug Skinner
Reviews
from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' (1984)
An Attractive Production from ''The New York Times'' (1985)
(2003)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, Doug
American male composers
21st-century American composers
American fortean writers
Ventriloquists
1955 births
Living people
21st-century American male musicians