Dancer, famed mime and physical comedian, Robert Shields, is half the Emmy Award-Winning team of Shields and Yarnell. The team was born on the streets of San Francisco where Shields was the first street mime plying his craft as an artist getting slugged, hassled and arrested four times while showing people themselves. A clearly dangerous act, but one which made him the top tourist attraction after the cable cars. He was born and raised in California where the struggles of his odd childhood masked the brilliant talent that then catapulted him to a flurried life of fame. Constantly striving to perfect artistic expression and learn from all life experiences, Robert became an acute observer and thinker. He interprets and conveys life from a completely unique and off beat perspective.
Now, with years under his belt, Robert Shields is bursting out again with yet another surprising reinvention of himself. This is not Robert Shields as we have seen him before. We’ll see an active exploration as he breaks in new material. He has a lot to say and he says it through his body as he embodies the Trickster, a character that appears frequently in Roberts’ various art forms. “The Trickster is not the devil” he said, darting about his house retrieving books and drawings to illustrate his point. “He’s a boundary crosser who shakes things up. Every culture has its Trickster; Hermes, Mercury, the Coyote. They’re important to have around!” He pointed to a highlighted fragment in a book: He who dupes others and who is duped himself.
Through mischief, myth and art, Robert Shields takes his brilliant mastery of mime, dance and mask, and weaves it with soul baring philosophy. As he evolves, so does his work. With the flavor of Alan Ginsbergs’ social satire and the high tech robotic characters which Robert Shields created, the work in progress reveals a new and surprising facet to a familiar face.
“There are, perhaps, 35 great clowns left in the world. Robert Shields may be the best one there is.” Red Skelton
“I learned the robot moves when I was a kid watching and studying Robert Shields on TV.”
Michael Jackson
“Robert Shields is a phenomenal talent.”
Mikhail Baryshnikov
“Robert Shields is the greatest mime in America.”
Marcel Marceau
Wit, sensitivity, imagination, agility – all the attributes of a brilliant performer are his.”
Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle
“Robert Shields is the greatest mime in the world.”
Prince
"We all wear invisible masks. We laugh when we feel pain. We say 'fine' when we aren't. Some people succeed in removing these masks. Others never do. The mask defines an emotion and a feeling that has always been an integral part of my work as a mime artist."
Robert Shields
