Tom Sgouros at Maker's Faire- San Mateo May 3.

Adam writes:

My good friend and collaborator Tom Sgouros has a fantastic show that he'll be performing in the Bay Area on Saturday May 3 at the Maker's Faire. A fun and engaging show that asks the question: What is it like to be a robot? It's not quite clowning, but Tom is a very good clown, and the show is all about obstacle (and philosophy)

Judy the Robot will return once more to sunny California this coming weekend, at the Make Magazine "Maker Faire" at the San Mateo Event
Center (I think it used to be called the Fairgrounds). This is a very strange, but altogether delightful event that calls together people from
all over the place who like to make stuff, ranging from robot giraffes to bicycle-driven generators to catapults and sweaters that blink. So
Judy will fit right in. Judy will provide the Saturday night entertainment for the festival, 6:30 in the Fiesta Hall, May 3. There's
more about the festival at http://makerfaire.com .

PRESS RELEASE AT http://sgouros.com/judy/judyrel.pdf

	Judy -or- What Is It Like To Be A Robot? Written and Performed by Tom Sgouros
Since the dawn of the computer age, oceans of ink have been spilt writing about the intelligence of computers. Some researchers say that computers will eventually attain super-human intelligence. Others call these claims... um, poppycock. Oddly, in the search for the truth of the matter, both camps have overlooked an obvious strategy: interviewing a computer and asking its opinion. Intrepid researcher Sgouros has leapt into this lacuna, and presents some preliminary findings in a new not-quite-solo show. (You could call it "My Dinner with Android.")
	The central question is: if you build a robot smart enough to do the dishes, will it also be smart enough to find them boring?
Judy herself was built in Tom's basement, over the course of several months, from pieces of some old computers, a couple of bicycles, a copy machine, marine stove, and yes, someone's kitchen sink. After literally weeks of intensive tutoring in phonics, elocution, and the elements of logic, Judy made her public debut in January, 2000, at Providence's Perishable Theatre.
The seventh in a series of possibly comic monologues and solo dialogues, Judy is a story of a man and his, um, companion, discussing such topics as imagination, consciousness, stage magic, the uses of eyes, and what it's really like to wake up in the morning and confront your aluminum-and-steel face in the mirror each day.

Clown school in Norway June 24-July 20, 2008

International clown teacher Giovanni Fusetti will lead a class in Theatre Clowning in Kristiansand, Norway this summer from June 24-July 20. The class is limited to 14 students, and there are still a couple of places available. The class promises to be highly international-- thus far they have received applications from Austria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Norway, South Africa, UK, and USA.

The four week program will consist of the following:

First Week: THE CLOWN “STATE”-- Play, action/reaction and fun. From the Neutral Mask to the Red Nose.

Second Week: THE PLAY (le jeu)-- Playing with space, objects, hierarchy. Clown numbers and le bide (fiasco).

Third Week: THE SKILLS -- The actor’s skills in the service of the clown, The writing of a Clown Number.


Fourth Week: THE SHOW-- Devising a clown variety show, & public presentation of the show.

(a much more comprehensive listing is available on the website listed below)

Tuition is 950 euros, but reduction of tuition is offered to students traveling from
North America (-150 €), South America, Asia and Africa: (-200 €), and Oceania (-250€)

The tuition does not include accomodation. However, the organization will provide different options of affordable acccomodation. Rosegarden Theaterhouse also will provide the use of a communal kitchen space.

The official language of the workshop is English.
A basic understanding is required.

For practical and administrative information
please contact

AUDUN WEA
ROSEGARDEN THEATERHOUSE

post@rosegardenteaterhus.no

Telephone: +47 91648649
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, 09:00 am- 4:00 pm
norwegian time (GMT+1)



For further pedagogic information and applications please contact:

Giovanni Fusetti

e-mail: giovanni.fusetti@tiscali.it

Telephone: (+39) 349 7130121

Or visit Giovanni's website and click on workshops

Australia: The Deadly Serious Training Project

Subject: Teachers Training/NICA/ The Deadly Serious Training Project

Greetings all,

We would like to get the word out to as many people as Greetings all,

We would like to get the word out to as many peoplepossible, so apologies if you have already received this email. If there is a group, community or person you think might be interested in our upcoming project, please forward this email on.

NICA is currently Seeking Expressions of Interest from potential participants for: The Deadly Serious Training Project: Advance - Enhance.

After many wonderful discussions (and feedback) with the indigenous youth participants at the recent ACAPTA conference (and a number of years being partners in projects in various places around Australia), NICA is responding with a 2008 training project, 'Deadly Serious'. This one week project will train young leaders within the indigenous youth circus community, (16 yrs +) and will take place over a week in the National Institute of Circus Arts training space (in Melbourne), towards the latter part of the year. Participants will need to fund their accommodation, airfares and meals.

Objectives:
To provide an opportunity for leaders within the indigenous youth circus community to advance their circus and teaching skills
To raise the profile of Indigenous Youth Circus companies and projects
To enable indigenous youth leaders to make connections with an educational institute and in particular with professional circus trainers and tertiary circus students
To provide participants with the opportunity to create networks, collaborations and lasting partnerships
Deadly Serious: Advance- Enhance, will offer young, aspiring, indigenous circus performers the opportunity to:
Follow their passion
Dive headlong into a week of 'deadly serious' training
Enhance and advance current skills
Confirm previous achievements and extend them through new challenges
Create productive networks
Work with the dedicated and experienced multinational community of trainers at NICA

Please contact Andrea Ousley (aousley@swin.edu.au) or Matt Wilson (mawilson@swin.edu.au) by 23/05/08 to express your interest in this project.

Regards
NICA Social Circus Team
--------------------

NY Downtown Golden Nose Nominees

The 2008 NYDC Golden Nose Award Nominees

New York Downtown Clown would like to thank all the performers of our second year. Without each of their talents, innovations, and hard work, there would be no show on the third Monday of every month. The amazing clowns of New York City are brave, poetic, unique, and funny. New York Clowns are a strong community and the following Nominees represent some of the leaders of clown education, performance, and production from this past year.

AWARD CATAGORY EXPLANATIONS
The Audience Choice Awards go to the clown or clown group who received the most audience votes over the past year at The New York Downtown Clown Revue performances in a specific category. The four Nominees are the top four most voted for in each category. The clown or clown group with the most votes in a category is the winner of that category and will be announced at the Golden Nose Awards Ceremony on May 19th.

Clown Achievement of The Year goes to the company or group that has accomplished an outstanding clown achievement. This award goes to large scale achievements that serve the clown community as a whole or to achievements of clown work for commercial/mass appeal. Nomination and Award are at the discretion of New York Downtown Clown producers.
To be eligible for the Clown of The Year category, the clown must have appeared on stage or in a film of the current year's Clown Revue. This award is for individual clowns who work professionally and artistically and have also made contributions to the larger clown community through education, mentorship, directing, producing, and/or other forms. Nomination and Award are at the discretion of New York Downtown Clown producers.
-
GOLDEN NOSES Created and Provided by ProKNOWS, www.proknows.com
THE 2008 NYDC GOLDEN NOSE AWARD NOMINEES
(nominees appear in alphabetical order)

Audience Choice Best Clown Film:
Gravitational Fool, by Jeff Seal
Retard Midget Get Out of My Life, by Happy Hour

Audience Choice Best Clown Act:
A Clown Noir, by Butt Kapinski
At The Opera, by Those In The Nose
Coney Island Chris, by Chris Allison
Tea for One, by Nina Levine


Audience Choice Best Clown/Clown Group:
Chris Allison
Jef Johnson
Nina Levine
Those In The Nose

Clown of The Year:
Moshe Cohen performed in the September Clown Revue and is nominated as 2008 Clown of The Year for his work as Mr. Yoowho, his teachings of Zen and Clown, and his involvement with Clowns Without Borders USA.

Mark Gindick, whose Happy Hour films were featured in the October Clown Revue is nominated for 2008 Clown of The Year for his work on Big Apple Circus where he shared the role of Grandma, his teaching work at SUNY Purchase, and his coaching with Assortment of Fools.

Jef Johnson performed in the August Clown Revue and is nominated for 2008 Clown of The Year for his work on the international touring production of Slava's Snowshow, and his development of clown and clown training through Jef Johnson's Clown Lab.

Keith Nelson performed in the February Clown Revue and is nominated for 2008 Clown of The Year for his work as Kinko the Clown, the performance initiatives he has co-created through his company Bindlestiff Family Circus, and his teaching work at New York Circus Arts Academy, Wagner College, and several youth programs.

Clown Achievement of The Year:
The Brick Theater, producers of the New York Clown Theatre Festival will receive this year's Clown Achievement of The Year Award.

Congratulations to all the nominees.
More information at www.newyorkdowntownclown.com/awards

TICKETS NOW ON SALE
Get Your tickets now to the only Clown Awards Show in the Country!
THE NEW YORK DOWNTOWN CLOWN GOLDEN NOSE AWARDS
Monday, May 19th, 2008
Red Carpet 7:30pm, Show 8pm
All tickets $20
For tickets call or visit Smarttix at www.smarttix.com or call (212) 868-4444
At The Kraine Theater, 85 EAST 4TH STREET (BETWEEN 2nd & Bowery, 1st FL)
NO WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

The Combustibles Present Detritus

Celebrate Earth Day with the Combustibles and their new show Detritus.
Here's an email I got from them:

"Where does our trash go?" Research for DETRITUS began with the question, "where does our trash go?" But as we dug deeper, other questions bubbled to the surface, like "why do we have so much trash?" One thing we have learned is that nothing is simple when it comes to trash. Have a look at the Story of Stuff, a short video by Annie Leonard. It gets at the complexity of the big picture in a clear and fun way. The Story of Stuff Celebrate with us! How? Come see our work-in-progress performance this week then stick around afterwards, share your thoughts, and be a part of a conversation about sustainability. After the show we'll be at a nearby pub: The Parlour at 250 W 86th St. $4 well & drafts with your program Work-In-Progress Performances Artists of Tomorrow Festival Produced by Six Figures Theatre Company Saturday, April 26 @ 2:00 pm Sunday, April 27 @ 6:00 pm West End Theatre 263 W. 86th Street (Btwn Broadway & West End) Tickets: $15 - Buy Tickets Online Here More Info: www.detritustheplay.com Email Us: info@thecombustibles.com Reminder: The Sustainable Circus is coming! May 29th, 7-9:30pm

DETRITUS / THE PLAY

Conceived & Developed by the ensemble
Performers: Lynn Berg, Audrey Crabtree, Jeff Seal, Anne Sorce & Liza Zapol
Directed by: Larissa Lury
Assistant Director: Jill Beckman
Producer: Teresa Ryno
Bouffon Consultant: Eric Davis
Music: Dave Edson

In association with Ten Directions

DETRITUS is made possible in part with the public funds from the Manhattan Community Arts Fund, supported by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and administered by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

Clown Therapy Workshop SF (May 26-29)

Clown Therapy Workshop - Weekend Intensive with Paoli Lacy
May 24, 25, & 26
Saturday 2-6, Sunday 10-6, and Monday 10-1

Taught by Paoli Lacy, Godmother of Clown Therapy, this workshop will be an experiential, hands-on 2 1/2 day intensive. It will include practical kinesthetic learning of clown therapy techniques along with discussion of the theory and rationales for their use. A holistic approach to meeting psychological and physical challenges, Clown Therapy has been successful with health issues where mind, body, and a sense of humor need to converge. Clown Therapy is noted for serving special needs children at the crossroads of physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and creative arts, with Lucille Ball directing traffic.

All participants will receive a copy of the Clown Therapy Handbook for future reference.

Cost: $170.00
Discounts for AYCO members, Clown Conservatory and Dell ‘Arte graduates

Classes held at the Circus Center San Francisco
755 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117

Phone: (415) 759-8123
Email: info@circuscenter.org

WEBSITE: http://www.circuscenter.org

Photo of Paoli Lacy from Rebecca Longworth's Flickr Page
Permission to use photograph from Creative Commons License.

Nomadic Theatre: Shows & Workshops in Portland, OR

The Nomadic Theatre Co, based in Portland, Oregon, has been creating and performing original physical theatre shows since 2002. To develop a new show, Nomadic performers and directors take ideas which interest and excite them and delve into them in the studio. For example, they created How to Fly by physically exploring numerous aspects and avenues of the topic of flight. The three core company members – Michael O’Neill, Sarah Liane Foster and Heather Pearl – have performed and taught in communities across the United States as well as internationally. They are graduates of the Dell’Arte International School of Blue Lake, CA.

Over the next two weeks, they will be performing and teaching in Portland, OR.

WORKSHOPS

THEATRICAL CLOWN
Tuesday April 15th and 22nd, 7-10pm
Find what is funny about you - how to create an eccentric, humorous character by using and exaggerating your own attributes. Through individual physical analysis and group improvisational exercises, we will explore the process of finding profound funniness and learn how to create original material through honest, dynamic play.
$25 for one class or $45 for both
PHYSICAL COMEDY WORKSHOP
Saturday, April 19th, 10am-2pm
This workshop will focus on character and individual analysis through physicality and movement, with a
combination of group exercises and individual exploration. Comedy is many things -- you will find that it is more then just being silly.
$75/$50 students

All classes will be held at Theatre! Theater! (3430 SE Belmont, Portland). For more information or to
register, call 971.219.5781, or visit brownpapertickets.org.

And RUNNING INTO WALLS, their new, hilarious clown show is running for 2 more weekends at Theatre! Theater! Fri
& Sat @ 8pm, Sat & Sun @ 3pm. Info/tickets at brownpapertickets.com & www.nomadictheatre.org.

To find out more about the company, visit their website listed below:
http://www.nomadictheatre.org

NY Clown Training Opportunities

Training

New York Downtown Clown Playground Conditioning for the Physical Performer with Keith Nelson of Bindlestiff Family Circus May 5th 9-10 pm. Come learn excercises that will keep you in top shape. More info: http://www.newyorkdowntownclown.com/workshops.htm

New York Downtown Clown Slapstick Dojo - Every Wed- Info http://www.newyorkdowntownclown.com/workshops.htm

Maestro Antonio Fava Commedia workshop- April 26th, 2008 Register now http://fava.stolenchair.org

Columbus Program for more info or to sign up email columbus_program@hotmail.com

Jef Johnson's Clown Lab For info visit: www.nyclown.com

Juggling Class with Flying Karamazov Brother Roderick Kimball every Tuesday night. For info, visit http://www.jugglingclasses.com

Helen Donnelly

Helen Donnelly is an actor, instructor and theatrical, therapeutic and circus clown. In the past, she was a professional performance storyteller and appeared in over 300 schools and libraries, and as an actor toured various children’s shows in Ontario. She has been teaching clown and movement workshops in the US and Canada for over 6 years at high schools, colleges and art institutions.

Helen is a graduate from the University of Toronto with an Honours B.A., Specialist in Drama. Helen has studied clown with David Shiner (Cirque du Soleil, Fool Moon), Roch Jutras (Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize), John Turner and Mike Kennard (of Mump and Smoot fame), Grindl Kuchirka and Theatre Smith-Gilmour. She continues her study of the art form.

She has worked with circus groups such as Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Sublime, Cirque Eos, Zero Gravity Circus and continues her work with Circus Orange. Aside from her work in the theatrical clown realm, she is a professional therapeutic clown offering friendship and therapeutic play at Bloorview Kids Rehab and worked at The Hospital for Sick Children for 2 years. She is a member of The Canadian Association of Therapeutic Clowns.

In 2005, Helen formed her own theatrical clown company, Foo Productions. This company seeks to produce quality theatrical clown shows which entertain through parodying existing art forms. Its other mandate is to expose clown to a more multicultural audience as the language used presents no barrier. Posey’s Wig is a theatrical clown musical, performed entirely in gibberish (an invented language) with original music. The Foo Talk Show,created primarily for the corporate world, parodies the talk show formula as Foo the host interviews in gibberish with the guests responding in English. The format showcases Foo’s unique interview style and a musical sidekick (James Fisher), with original music.

Helen also teaches a number of workshops, including "Discover Your Clown" for beginners and "Flexing Your Clown Muscle" for intermediate students. These are offered a few times a year. Her website has a downloadable list of upcoming workshops.

To find out more about Helen's work, visit her website listed below:
www.helendonnelly.com

BAMBOUK show in NY starting April 16

Bambouk brings their Vaudeville-inspired silent comedy to NY for a limited run from April 16-27.

Bambouk is the creation of two American theatre clowns, Matthew Duncan and Brian Foley. Matthew and Brian juggle plates, flip hats, ride a sixfoot unicycle, play the accordion, ukulele and musical saw, even make an audience member float in mid-air! They wear no makeup, just red noses and tuxedos.

BAMBOUK has opened for the Drifters, the Platters and Charo, and shared the stage with award-winning circus artists from the Moscow Circus, Nanjing Acrobatic Troupe, Big Apple Circus and Cirque du Soleil. Together and individually they have been the featured physical comedians in stage productions, ice shows, cruise ships and theme
parks since 1990. BAMBOUK has been seen multiple times in China, Japan, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean islands, and throughout the contintental U.S.

BAMBOUK Bald Comedy. In Tails.
WHEN: Opens April 16 - April 27, 2008
WHERE: American Theatre of Actors located at 314 West 54th Street, 2nd Floor
SCHEDULE: Tuesday-Friday at 8pm; Saturday 2pm and 8pm; Sunday 2pm and 7pm
PRICE: Tickets are $30 for Adults, $20 for Children aged 8 to 13

OTHER NOTES: Not suitable for children under 8. Recommended for Adults.
Call SmartTix at 212-868-4444 or visit www.smarttix.com
Running time is 1 hour, 45 minutes with one intermission

More information: http://www.bambouk.com/