"Oh no, not the coat hanger! Yup. The coat hanger." - Barto setting up his trick where he fits his whole body through a coat hanger
Barto is a contortionist, acrobat, rope walker, juggler, and comedian who brought his unique comedy stylings to the Renaissance Festival for the 2002 through the 2005 seasons. The positions that he could get himself into were very impressive and he had other interesting tricks to go with his acrobatics, most of which you couldn't see in any other acts at the faire. We can safely say he is the only performer we've ever seen stick their whole body through a wire coat hanger! Another one of his tricks involved him blowing up a kitchen glove while it was on his head ("big enough?"), and his finale involved juggling fire while walking on a slack rope held up by 'volunteers' from the audience. Even though Barto's English was not always that easy to understand, his comedy transcended any language. In fact, because of the little amount of English he did use in his show, his lines were always even more memorable.
We miss having Barto at the festival and can't believe how long it's actually been since we last saw his show live. He always had audiences laughing and cringing at the same time with his talents and hopefully he'll make a return to Revel Grove one day to impress audiences once again.
Photos
2002-2005