Performance

Magic and Stage Hypnosis

My shows have reached audiences of 800 in large ballrooms as well as a group of 5 in living rooms for as few as 5 people. Theme parks, summer camps, dorm rooms, Church basements, school gymnasiums and auditoriums, to name a few. From regional theaters to suburban backyard birthday parties, I've seen a lot!

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As a Certified Hypnotist through the National Guild of Hypnotists, my comedy stage hypnosis show has had a 100% clean and safe track record wherever I've taken it.

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Devising & Composition

Creating New Works

Unbeknownst to me, I got my interest and first lessons in creating new works when I started performing magic as a young boy. This, along with my traditional Stanislavsky based acting, ultimately lead to my recruitment at The Ohio State Universities MFA in Theatre program. It was there, along with eight other brilliant actors in my cohort, I meticulously trained to become a globally present 21st century performer, preparing to enter the profession as a strong solo artist and trusted team collaborator.

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In and out of school I create works that drive my creative spirit while enriching the minds of my audiences.

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This is an example of a new ensemble work-in-progress piece I conceived, created, and directed while at Ohio State. The piece, titled The Silverstein Project, is made up of children's poetry by Shel Silverstein, and features members of the MFA Acting cohort.

Hear We Go is a piece I created with Erin Alys while at Ohio State. The thesis of the piece was to create a new work that featured live foley performance and traditional pantomime (see below). Erin and I worked together from August, 2019 - February, 2020 to create a 30-minute piece which we continue to tour.

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Tour Stops for Hear We Go

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• Southeastern Theatre Conference, Louisville, KY, February 28, 2020

• Boulder International Fringe Festival, Boulder, CO, August 12-23, 2020

• The Lab Series, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, September 14 & 15, 2020

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Mime & Motion Capture

There is a pattern you may begin to notice as you learn more about my work. The many circles of the Venn diagram that is my work interests at one point, illusion.

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My interest and education of the art of Mime began as an undergraduate student in the BFA in Theatre (Performance) program at the University at Buffalo under the study of Vincent O'Neill. Professor O'Neill is a graduate of Marcel Marceau's competitive three-year training program in Paris, France. With Professor O'Neill I not only learned several of Marceau's basic techniques, but also the endless possibilities that mime has to offer in any style or genre of performance.

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Following my graduation, I began teaching workshops to local performers and students in Buffalo, NY.

I continued my training as a mime artist at The Ohio State University under the close mentorship of Jeanine Thompson. Professor Thompson was one of Marceau's close friend's and student from 1985 until his passing in 2007. Professor Thompson was named by Marceau as one of only three American legacy holders of his teaching and technique. With Professor Thompson I examined the technique, composition, and pedagogy of mime at an advanced level.

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Here is a piece I conceived, created, and performed in Professor Thompson's Mime and Motion Capture class.

I continued exploring the possibilities of mime performance and pedagogy in Ohio State's Advanced Computing Center for Art and Design (ACCAD).

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While there I worked with Professor Thompson, Vita Berezina-Blackburn, and MFA in Design graduate, Tori Campbell.

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Press

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

"In Graham, [Thompson] says, the production had a lead actor 'who could not only figure out how to do the mechanics of this, but who could transform these moments into artistic expressions of life that move those watching to a richer depth of understanding of humanity."

​Jeanine Thompson

Hailey Stangebye and Mary Alice Casey​​

Ohio State Alumni Magazine

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"Graham, who is onstage throughout, is entirely credible as Christopher, shaping the strictly verbal portrait of the book into a physically vivid and precise performance. He ranges from the self-contained boy logically explaining the reasons for his actions to the heartbreaking one overwhelmed by a world of too much noise, sound and raw, inexplicable emotion."

Margaret Quamme

The Columbus Dispatch​

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Junie B. Jones is Not a Crook

“...Handsome Warren, played with cool and charm by Connor Graham.”

Ben Siegel
Buffalo News

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Stupid F*cking Bird

“Connor Graham plays the central role of Conrad...Conrad is beside himself, while Graham is immersed in his being.

Graham is a beautifully articulate actor, barreling through Aaron Sorkinesque insults and monologues like a freight train. He possesses an unusual confidence for a performer of his presumably young age, the way Matthew Broderick ice skated through “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” charming his way to authority. Conrad is a more agitated character than that, but Graham handles him like a professional. This is one of the more stunning performances I’ve seen locally in some time.”

Ben Siegel
Buffalo News

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“In the central role of the woebegone would-be writer, Connor Graham tackles both the comedy and drama with aplomb and his audience interaction is impressive and fun.”

Gail Golden
Buffalo Theatre Guide

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“[Graham] has us laughing at ourselves while we’re laughing at him. He plays us and plays with us, giving an audience member he knows a beer and asking for an audition from a producer in the front row. He is hilarious and sad and pitiful and is great in this role.”

Ann Marie Cusella
BuffaloVibe

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Design for Living

"The Irish Classical Theatre production is most successful in the more rapid-fire exchanges. These land very successfully. For that reason, the third act, with its larger population of actors, and shorter exchanges, is particularly strong. In the same vein, some of the smallest characters resonate quite vividly under Mallinson’s direction...Connor Graham and Anna Krempholtz are acerbically funny as incompatible Henry and Helen Carver."

Anthony Chase
Artvoice

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Over the Tavern

“Connor Graham a package of fury as mid-teen Eddie with his memorable “moving out” shutdown of his father.”
 
Doug Smith
Niagara Gazette