Partial List of Awards and Nominations 

Winner: Innovation Award, Wellington Comedy Awards, 2022

Winner: Best Show, Wellington Comedy Awards, 2021 

Shortlisted: Malcolm Hardee, Most Original Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe, 2014 

Winner: Best Circus, Adelaide Fringe (as the director of the show) 

Winner: Best Circus, Melbourne Fringe (for “I Forgot To Fly Today”) 2014 

Silver Medal: Best International Production, Amsterdam Fringe, 2013 

3-Time Winner: Best Cabaret Comedy, Victoria Fringe, BC 2011-2018 

Winner: Outstanding Technical Achievement, London Fringe (for “Fish Saw”) Nominee: Best Comedy, Just For Laughs/Montreal Fringe, 2013 

Champion: Monobrow Solo Storytelling Competition, Victoria BC 

Latest

''There’s the danger, with these kinds of critically-adored, community-worshipped acts, that they become part of the wallpaper. Even if Baumann and his partner-in-crime Sachie Mikawa weren’t responsible for supporting and mentoring so much of the Wellington comedy scene (their company Monfu’s Soapbox series of “open-hearted-open-mics” Have a lot to do with this), we’d still have shown up. I think we should be rooting for Trent H Baumann. No ceiling is too high for him or Mikawa (who composed a gorgeous score for the set). A real highlight of the fest and our city, stop the noise and go see their shows!'' 

-Art Murmurs on “Stop The Noise. Listen To The Music.” (At the New Zealand International Comedy Festival 2024)  

Read Full Review Here: http://www.artmurmurs.nz/theatre/trent-h-baumann-stop-the-noise-listen-to-the-music

On “BIRDMANN AND EGG” 

“UTTERLY ENDEARING IDIOSYNCRATIC GENIUSES” -The Scotsman 

PLANK, Vancouver B.C., Canada 

By Danielle Benzon 

The Birdmann is fantastic. I got more and more drawn in. This man on stage was charming after all. And quietly, clumsily, I found myself really relating to his story. He reached in to my slightly lonely, note very exceptional, rather shy, but hopeful heart and took a piece of it up on stage with him. And he took it dancing. Like a rockstar! And by the end, I felt so joyous and liberated and in love with my life. Like I could be fantastic too. The Birdmann was inspiring in a way I didn't think stand up comedy could be. It was heartwarming, occasionally disgusting, witty, and a little sad. He took pointlessness to a whole new level. In a rather beautiful way. I can guarantee you won't get what you're expecting, but I loved the Birdmann. He is fantastic.

THE AGE Melbourne 

By Helen Razer 

SITUATIONIST heart-throb Birdmann delivers chic subversion in a suit. He makes no sense and he happily chops up sequences to the point where an audience is gasping for narrative air. Nonetheless, he is funny. 

Dressed rather like an undertaker, this local performer is one of an admirable few who is willing the bloody demise of orthodox comedy. In true post-content style, he offers jokes that are not jokes. They are, rather, critiques of jokes and the nature of performance. 

Birdmann shows us the underskirts of his act. Just to underscore the point, he also manages a spot of frenzied strip tease. He's just as happy to reveal his unflattering underpants as he is to stick a distinguished middle finger to performance convention. 

It's invigorating to see such a messy triumph. 

VANCOUVER COURIER 

“SEE IT. DON’T MISS IT! Australia’s Trent Baumann creates a unique, quirky world in which Birdmann looks for love but accepts that, maybe, we don’t need love, “we just need things.” It’s 21stcentury vaudeville with a Post Modern twist. A huge reveal at the end will fill you with joy and laughter. Baumann is one of a kind and the show is what every Fringe performer in this particular genre aspires to. I’d see it twice but would feel greedy depriving someone else of the great pleasure. Oh, what the heck, I’m going to see it again!” -VANCOUVER COURIER “5 ★★★★★ STARS” 

Culture Vulture, Victoria B.C. 

“The dedication to sharing an out-there performance that is equal parts weird & wonderful is the perfect example of what the Fringe Festival is about... having come to Victoria multiple times & leaving a mark on the city’s Fringe history." 

www.melbartsfash.com

"Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of what a Fringe Festival is all about, but this show is reaffirming. A breath of fresh air. The Birdmann is hilariously funny and technically brilliant. This show is possibly the cleverest, funniest and most well-crafted thing you will see this festival. DO GO and SEE IT!” 

TIMES COLONIST - 

“5 ★★★★★ STARS” – Times Colonist 

Stuff NZ 

PALMY FRINGE, Regent Theatre 

“A well-sustained and original piece of off-the-wall whimsy that was part solo circus act and part stand-up comedy... unconventionally engaging winner” 

https://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/107715412/wacky-wonder-just-too-baldly-bonkers-and-awkw ardly-executed-to-buy-into 

“The Birdmann’s unique style sets him apart from pretty much any other show in the festival… there’s a sense that The Birdmann creates in isolation, channelling the vaudeville of old to create 

a genre that is all his own” 

- The Groggy Squirrel, Melbourne 

“Great visuals,odd tricks… charismatic vaudeville stylings with twistsofoddity" inspired by the traditionaland the contemporary” 

– Metromix, New York 

“The ideas he plays with sparkle with originality, approaching the art of comedy from the most obtuse angles… ingenious” 

– Chortle Comedy, London 

“THE BIRDMANN HAS BEEN EARNING STANDING OVATIONS-DO YOURSELF A FAVOUR AND

SEE THIS SHOW!”- CULTURE VULTURE VICTORIA 

“GENIUS”- FREE PRESS 2011 

★★★★ “FRINGE SHOW LIKE NO OTHER”- VUE WEEKLY 

★★★★“ONE-MAN SHOW LIKE NO OTHER” - CBC 

“FANTASTIC”- GEORGIA STRAIGHT 

★★★★ “OFF-THE-WALL FRINGE SHOW” -EDMONTON SUN 

★★★★“RIOT’- MONTREAL GAZETTE 

On “ODDACITY” -A Circus Comedy Cabaret 

Premiered at NEW ZEALAND FRINGE- BATS Theatre, 2020 

https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=12173 

The three performers of Oddacity (Vinyl Burns, Trent Baumann and Sachie Mikawa) are veterans of a number of international Festivals. This is abundantly evident from the moment they strut onstage, exuding confidence and professionalism that has the audience eating out of their hands from the first millisecond we see them. 

What follows is an utterly entertaining circus of oddities peopled by larger than life characters and mesmerising personalities. Their energy is infectious and the audience is totally on board throughout. From Vinyl Burns' amazing skills with his spinning diablo, Baumann’s hilarious (and I’m assuming therapeutic) use of a teapot to Mikawa’s character of Egg (who should have a show of her own!) these three vaudevillians clearly enjoy creating a relationship with us and taking us along for a wild ride through their “weird yet wonderful world”. 

A series of individual acts of comedy, juggling and music, Oddacity is billed as a “best-of special”. Each individual act moves seamlessly into the next and we hardly have time to catch our breath before the next equally amazing trick or joke. However the individual pieces never really coalesce into a greater whole. The lack of any really structure or dramatic shape to the show means that when the piece ends it feels a little like we’ve been short changed. 

The trio has created such a detailed and dynamic world of mayhem, performed at such a high level of skill and pace that when they come on stage for their bows it feels like the rollercoaster we’ve been on has suddenly stopped

halfway down an exhilarating drop. We’re left hanging not really believing that the ride is over so quickly. They seem to have taken to heart the old adage ‘leave your audience wanting more’. 

This is really the only criticism of a truly brilliant example of what makes for a great (almost perfect) fringe show. 

https://wellingtonista.com/2020/03/09/review-oddacity/ 

Oddacity promised an “award-winning, best-of spectacular with a cast of international luminaries performing stylish acts”, under the beautiful skylight in Bats’ Heyday Dome. I wasn’t sure what to expect, knowing the theatre wouldn’t suit aerials or acrobatics, but I hoped for clowns. I was not disappointed in that sense. 

Oddacity is usually Sachie Mikawa, Trent Baumann, and Fraser Hooper, all accomplished clowns with various talents in music, juggling, and performative absurdity. Hooper sadly couldn’t perform on Saturday night, but in his place was Vinyl Burns, our very own Las Vegas showman, and he was absolutely the right man to tag in. Each performer is seasoned and polished, and with their own unique style. Mikawa is a childlike doll of a clown, providing a genuinely innocent whimsy to her parts. Whether inviting an audience member onstage to simply toast her birthday, playing a little tune on her horn, or playing Lovely Assistant to Baumann in an inexplicable egg costume, she’s 100% committed to her persona, and it’s completely charming. 

Baumann is a little jaded, slick, and sardonic, juggling plastic bags and pouring water up one nostril and out the other. It’s weird and a little silly, but he’s smooth as silk even when the soundie messed up his cues a little. Burns is a brilliant character, and his diabolo juggling doesn’t miss a beat, even when it does. Burns and Baumann both show off their balancing skills, and Burns’ is impressive, at one point balancing a stool on his chin while he played guitar to a loop track and never dropping character at all. 

We all loved the soft toy fight they instigated, we all clapped along and laughed throughout the performance, throwing the roses we’d been given when the time came. But rather than a full variety show, it was more a tasting platter, a bare 45 minutes to dip our toes in. With the calibre of the cast I’d happily have stayed for more, and perhaps felt a little let down at the brevity of it. But it will absolutely inspire me to check out more of Vinyl Burns’ shows – he’s local, and a staple of our festival season, and he’s bloody brilliant. 

For a taste of tomfoolery and hijinks from internationally recognised performers,

http://www.artmurmurs.nz/theatre/oddacity?fbclid=IwAR1maEWXJr3gCUyiYbgl2WuVkOVoqkLcYQzSMUTW8Vlo mw5QJxM5uGf4Bqs 

Oddacity is delightful, hysterical, and ridiculous. The show is a collection of circus, cabaret, and comedy sketches, each more silly than the last. It’s one of those shows that when you try to explain, you have to preface your description with ‘it sounds stupid but…’. Oddacity is the definitive ‘you had to be there’ show, and you do not want to miss out. 

Oddacity’s cast is made up of three unlikely superstars. First up: a seedy Las Vegas rock and roller with a bad toupé and impressive circus skills played by Vinyl Burns. Then Trent Baumann, dressed like a budget magician in a shiny silk black suit with gelled mohawk. Finally Sachie Mikawa as a trumpet-playing clown, celebrating her birthday. Oh, and there’s also a cameo of an egg, also played by Mikawa. Together, they craft a show that is both an entry in the circus genre, and a satirisation of it. From moment to moment you can never be sure if you’re going to be gasping in genuine awe at impressive balancing acts or groaning at terrible dad jokes. At one point Baumann threatens to do a backflip off a stool - will he do it? Or is it the lead up to a joke? This is the kind of show where either could happen - you never know what to expect. 

I am impressed by the show's ability to drift between genuine circus and satire. It shows a real mastery of tone. There is never that awkward moment - Uh, do they want me to laugh or clap here? The cast's easy rapport with the audience means that they can guide us through the scene, and the interaction was part of the fun. 

Oddacity is hysterically funny. My personal favourite scene is a soft toy fight, which was exactly what it sounds like. There is something so liberating about throwing a stuffed elephant at a group of international award-winning comics. I know, it sounds stupid, BUT I was crying with laughter. It was the way you laugh when you’re eight years old, high on sugar, sliding down the stairs on a rubbish bag. There’s nothing witty about it, no nuance, just pure silliness and joy. It’s not often that you get to feel such giddy delight as an adult, and this is an unexpected pleasure that I wish entertainment gave us more often. 

Despite its silliness, Oddacity is a well crafted show. In sketch shows it’s easy to forget about transitions, as you treat the scenes as separate pieces. However, Oddacity makes the transitions into part of the joke. Purposely

mishandled lighting cues, and clumsy movement of the set mean that the laughter doesn’t stop when the performers leave the stage. 

Also, Oddacity does feel like it’s over very quickly, partly because time flies when you’re having fun, but also because it’s a 40 minute show rather than the advertised 60 minutes. I would have loved them to use the full time, as I wasn’t ready for it to be over. 

Oddacity is super silly, super fun, and something that you need to experience to understand. This is a show for anyone who wants to experience some childlike delight all while laughing their arse off. 

On “Fish Saw” -A Multimedia Solo Theatre 

Premiered in Espacio Transparente, Buenos Aires, Argentina in May 2017 

Full review from Theatre Review in New Zealand, 2020 

https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/review.php?id=12467 

A UNIVERSAL AND SPECIFIC STORY SKILLFULLY TOLD 

Sachie Mikawa is a generous and expressive performer. Her posture and facial expressions are enough to make the audience laugh, as well as her tone of voice. In the moments that are tender, she becomes more heartfelt, which puts a smile in our hearts. 

Mr Fish is the star of the show. What’s not to love about a big sequined fish who smokes cigars? I eagerly await the moments when Mr Fish would come back on stage. 

Mikawa is a skilled storyteller.

The tech elements – the music written by Mikawa and the animation – work together harmoniously to create gorgeous moments of interaction. 

I especially enjoy when Mikawa mimes making noodles and then transitions into a beautiful dance. 

Fish Saw is both universal and specific. It is a Japanese story, something which I find refreshing. It’s also a story about stories, people, and what happens when the sea, a wondrous entity which can give us so much, like friendship, can equally take this away, and more, with a tsunami. Or can it? “Stories we held on to for so long have their own lives now,” Mr Fish tells us, “and maybe we will meet them again. But for now, I say, let them swim! Let them swim! Let them swim!” 

Fish Saw is a show I would gladly see swimming back to New Zealand. 

Full Review from apt13, Ottawa 

https://apt613.ca/fringe-review-fish-saw/ 

Fish Saw 

by Sachie Mikawa & George Lewis 

45 min / Solo, Multimedia,Experimental / PG 

As one may anticipate from a play about the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, a broad range of emotional experiences are present in Fish Saw. The play packs a lot into a short time, with a series of (almost all true) stories about multiple generations of Sachie Mikawa’s rather extraordinary family. These vignettes lead up to the tsunami and the effect it had on the family, who lived in Sendai, one of the hardest-hit cities in Japan. The set is simple and effective. A handful of sand, scattered in one corner of the stage, is used to track the ongoing renovation of the family home overlooking the sea – as the family grows, more rooms are built; sketched in the sand. A screen and projector on one side of the stage display short animated scenes during costume changes, and title cards to introduce new stories. Sometimes Mikawa interacts with the scenery or characters on the screen in beautifully choreographed performances. 

Opening night had a few sound and projection cues which were slightly mistimed, due to only having had one tech run, as Mikawa had arrived in Ottawa earlier that day. These were all dealt with gracefully and with humour, and future audiences can look forward to a smoothly flowing show. 

Mikawa moves easily between characters, from a young girl, to the fish she rescued, to a noodle chef, to the family’s progenitor – a man who just wanted to drink sake by the ocean and enjoy the sound of the waves. Nearly

every story has a thread of humour woven through its more serious themes, for a full experience of the complexities of everyday life. Come for the blue sequined fish costume, stay for a beautiful, funny, tragic, touching play about the endurance of memory in the face of human mortality. 

Full Review from New Ottawa Critics 

https://newottawacritics.com/2017/06/15/go-fish-saw/ 

Go: Fish Saw 

This adorable little show, about a family who survives a tsunami in Japan, is weird-artsy as all get-out, and charming to boot. 

Co-Creator/Performer Sachie Mikawa weaves a magically-real tale about a young girl, resident in a rambling inter-generational noodle house by the sea, and her relationship with a denizen of the deep known as Mister Fish, who is also the tale’s narrator. 

I really enjoyed a lot of this show, beginning with Mikawa’s endearing performance. From the moment the lights come up, I was hooked, line and sinker, on the story. Mikawa is telling a story inspired by true events, when her mother and sister were missing for three days following the very real Japanese tsunami in 2011. The script is quite hilarious, in a weird sort of way, with laughter bubbling out of the audience seemingly at Mikawa’s will. I will warn you, however, that if something about the sound of slurping noodles makes you uncomfortable, this is a show you definitely ought to miss. For my part, I immediately left the theatre in search of ramen. 

Mikawa makes frequent use of beautiful projections as an atmospheric and storytelling tool, and I really enjoyed the moments when the actor interacted with the projections in small magical bits of sleight-of-hand, and evocative imagistic moments. Unfortunately, the projections also gave rise to the part of this production that worked the least well, particularly the integration of the projections with the basic storytelling and narration. Part of this is no doubt simply a limitation of the LNS studio space in which the piece is performed, but I found, for example, the fish costume bobbing in and out of the blue front-projected light from the undersea projection incredibly distracting. I have a feeling, based on the strong physical performance Mikawa displays throughout the piece, that with a bit more time to work in the space and the presence of her usual director or stage manager (who was unable to make

it to the run in Ottawa), these issues would transform from a distracting side-effect, into a seamless integration of live performance with digital projection. 

Despite some strange technical hangups, and a brand new stage manager, this show will have you slurping noodles and feeling feels. 

Audience Quotes 

“Fish Saw was so beautiful, funny, and poignant. Every movement and every space was just perfect and I absolutely LOVED it! Great concept, too.” - An audience member in Seattle 

“I feel compelled to tell you that I can't get Fish Saw out of my head - it was heartbreakingly beautiful.” -An audience member in Seattle 

“It was gorgeous”- An audience member in Seattle 

“I saw what the Fish Saw...it was fantastic... was difficult to hold my tears at the end. A performance not to miss!” - An audience member in Seattle 

“It made me cry and laugh at the same time! What a beautiful story” - An audience member in Vancouver B.C. 

“I absolutely loved it. It was funny, sad and so beautiful. It was quite brilliant. And I loved the simple animation, it was so effective. I also loved your music, it all worked so well.” 

- An audience member in Wellington, NZ