BENTON TOWNSHIP — Billed as a “Certified Lunatic and Master of the Impossible,” the one and only Dr. Professor Tomáš Kubínek is a comic genius, virtuoso vaudevillian, and all-round charmer who will deliver an utterly joyous experience at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, on The Mendel Center Mainstage at Lake Michigan College.

This physical poet, verbal acrobat, needless risk-taker, professor of fantastically useless inventions, and arduous advocate of the commonplace miracle has played to packed theaters around the world. Transcending categorization, his work will leave audience members clutching their sides with laughter, breathless, and madly in love. After a sold-out run on Broadway, The New York Times lauded his work as “Absolutely expert!”

Kubínek was born in Prague. His parents smuggled him out of the country at the age of three to escape the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. After two months in a refugee camp in Austria, the family was granted asylum in Canada. There, in St. Catharines, Ontario, a five-year-old Tomáš witnessed his first circus. He became passionately interested in clowns, circus, theater, and magic.

At age nine, he presented his first performance before a circle of elderly magicians. By age 13 he had an agent. He performed in coffeehouses between folk-music acts and while still in his teens, he made his circus debut with a Brazilian clown duo as the rear half of a two-person horse. There was no turning back.

Working any and all jobs related to showbiz, the enterprising Kubínek was able to save money and travel to Europe to study with some of the world’s greatest teachers of theatre including Monika Pagneaux, Pierre Byland, Jaques Lecoq, and Boleslav Polívka.

These studies, combined with his own tireless experiments in the art of live performance, led to the creation of his award-winning solo stage shows which play to capacity crowds at theaters, international arts festivals, and in television broadcasts throughout the world.

Kubínek has worked with theatre artists around the globe. He has been featured on Czech National Television with the celebrated actor and clown Boleslav Polivka on Mr. Polívka’s annual TV Specials. With writer and comedian Frank van Keeken he has performed in numerous guerilla-style absurdist theater sketches at the HBO Workspace in Los Angeles. He has appeared with the U.S. theatrical circus Circus Flora. As “guest villain,” he masterminded an elephant kidnapping, terrorized spectators, and later plummeted 40 feet into the ring after fencing on the high wire with Tino Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas.

Kubínek is the recipient of numerous international awards including The Moers Comedy Prize from The International Comedy Arts Festival in Germany, The Schneestern Award from the International Festival of Humor in Arosa, Switzerland, and The Samuel Beckett Theatre Award from The Dublin Theater Festival in Ireland.

Tickets for Tomas Kubinek: Certified Lunatic and Master of the Impossible start at $15 and are available at www.TheMendelCenter.com, and through The Mendel Center Box Office at (269) 927-1221, Monday through Friday, 2 to 6 p.m. Special rates are available for groups of 10 or more. For information about group rates, pre-show party options, and other special arrangements contact the Box Office.

A pre-show cash bar will be available in the front lobby one hour before show time. Special Mendel Center drink cups are available for purchase, which allow patrons to enjoy their beverages inside the theater. Additional services include valet parking for $6.

This performance is made possible, in part, by the Gast Young Peoples’ Performance Endowment. WSJM-FM 94.9 is sponsoring this performance by Tomáš Kubínek.

The 1,517-seat Mendel Center Mainstage Theatre offers state-of-the-art acoustics and comfortable seating in elegant surroundings. Other amenities include free parking, handicap accessibility with usher-assisted advance seating opportunities, and an array of special services including newly added valet parking, catering and bar service for private pre- and post-show events, booster seats for children, hearing-assist devices, non-spill cups for beverages inside the theatre, and recently added premium seats in the Stage Side section.

The Mendel Center is a short 30-minute drive from Niles and within a 40-minute drive from Kalamazoo and South Bend. It is located on the Lake Michigan College campus at 2755 E. Napier Ave., Benton Harbor, Michigan. The Mendel Center is one mile east of I-94 (Exit 30) and one mile west of the US 31 Bypass (exit 24).