September 4, 2010
Famous People Players Were Fighting Gravity First
As America’s Got Talent moves into the finals, there’s a group of young, funky, awe-inspiring performers called Fighting Gravity that could go all the way.
They’re Barry’s favorite act, and one of my faves too. They’re former college students — 13 brothers from the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Virginia Tech — and they’ve mastered the art of blacklight theater.
They do a great job, and they could certainly pull off an entire Vegas show that has the potential to run for years.
As Barry says, “Move over, Blue Man Group!”
But I’m still surprised every time I hear AGT judge Howie Mandel say how unique they are. As a fellow Toronto native, I expect that Howie would have heard of the Toronto-based Famous People Players, who have been “fighting gravity” using blacklight for almost 40 years.
They’re a world-renowned act of learning-disabled adults who run a blacklight dinner theater, and have caught the attention of celebrities like Tom Cruise, Paul Newman, William Shatner, Alex Trebek, and the Rolling Stones.
I wrote about founder Diane Dupuy as one of our LWL Hidden Heroes just over a year ago, and I’ve interviewed her several times before that.
Here’s a clip of the Famous People Players at work:
Granted, the Famous People Players mostly use puppets, whereas Fighting Gravity turns several of their troupe members into the live puppets. That’s really cool.
But I just couldn’t help bringing some of the originators of the art into the spotlight, as the act that they may have inspired to some degree goes on to an undoubtedly fantastic career.
The message Diane Dupuy wants to give the world is that we should always strive for new heights of excellence, and achieve even the most impossible of our dreams.
Fighting Gravity has a similar motive; the group wants to “inspire others by showing that through hard work, determination, and some good lighting, anybody can accomplish their dreams.”
So go, guys, and get that dream!
Keep Unwrapping the Mysteries of Life!
You might also like:
Comments on Famous People Players Were Fighting Gravity First »
I am so impressed that Heather Vale is writing the truth about FIghting Gravity. I have been a big fan of Famous People Players and have seen their show in Las Vegas with Liberace, Radio CIty Music Hall and of course on Broadway. I did much research and found out that the Famous People Players performed at Fighting Gravity’s school years back which is no doubt where they got the idea and stole it from true working professionals. Famous People Players is still going strong in fact 7th Heaven did an entire episode around the troupe which not only performs the most amazing show but also inspires its audiences the world over with its positive messages from its founder Diane Dupuy who is the first Canadian to receive the Library of Congress Award. Famous People Players has performed form Queen Elizabeth II as well as the Emperor of Japan and many more Presidents around the world. FIghting Gravity is nothing short of a rip off act which has taken advantage of good people. Thank you Heather for calling the kettle black on this one and I hope everyone will visit the Famous PEOPLE Players website to see the truth
http://www.fpp.org — From New York, New York