Trying to be funny isn’t very funny. But oh my word is it funny to be authentic. The clown, above all, seeks to be one hundred percent purely, authentically (even overly and embarrassingly) committed to the truth in the moment. And hence, the ha-ha.
In this clown workshop, explore how chasing beauty, depth and vulnerability on stage can lead to comedy on a level that hits harder than you could have ever imagined. Find the funny through the not-so-funny and be amazed by the hilarity in being exactly who you are.
We will use writing and performance prompts and exercises designed to reveal and break down beliefs about what is and isn’t funny, what should and shouldn’t be shown on stage, and what is and isn’t the fourth wall. The clown doesn’t adhere to (or even understand) the societal constructs around us, so embodying our clowns gives us permission to dissolve made-up rules and connect with ourselves and the audience to find the ha-ha and boo-hoo in truly profound ways.
A safe (but deep) dive into the parts we don’t want to show, where we can find the power of clowning, guided by Claire Woolner and John Norris (award-winning absurdist comedian/clowns who have earned their accolades by crying on stage so much that the audience laughs and bewildering the audience into fits of snorting hysteria, respectively.
There is no pressure to be, do or make anything funny and no prior clowning experience is required–we will just explore the depths and see where they lead. But my gut tells me we’re gonna find some pretty absurdly hilarious shit.
About the clowns who claim to be teachers:
Claire Woolner is an award-winning absurdist comedian and clown who trained and performed with Cirque du Soleil’s John Gilkey, was a member of The Idiot Workshop’s Flagship clown ensemble The Murge (directed by Gilkey), and runs the clown incubation theater PDA. She has taught clowns across the country and helped usher many a clown show into the ether. Her newest solo clown show ‘A Retrospection’ was awarded Top of the Fringe (HFF ‘23), Platinum Medal (HFF ‘23), Encore Producer’s Award (HFF ‘23), enjoyed a soldout run at Edinburgh Fringe 2023 with four and five star reviews, and was The New York Times’ comedy pick for “What to do in New York”.
John Norris has a background in multiple comedy and performance disciplines. He started out spending a decade performing and studying improv and sketch comedy (UCB, Groundlings, iO West, Second City). For the past 8 years he has been training, performing, and teaching Clown and Bouffon technique. He began teaching at the Idiot Workshop in Los Angeles in 2017. He has performed at festivals and venues all over the world and has been lucky enough to work with several live entertainment companies of note, including Cirque Du Soleil and Spiegelworld, the latter of which hired John to host the Vegas smash hit show, Absinthe (2023.)
John loves introducing new people to these techniques and ways of being on a stage. BUT his favorite thing in the entire world is writing about himself in the third person. It feels completely normal and right.