Rhett and Link's T-Shirt War

Not saying these guys are actually clowns, but there are a lot of great clown ideas here, and really well executed use of stop motion.  The gag of pulling real stuff out of the shirt or vice versa is really well used.  Almost an object lesson in one-upsmanship and clowning, but in a film form that would be a little harder to pull off on stage.    And their marketing of the shirts afterward is great too.

A couple of these effects have me thinking...

You can find out more about these guys at their website: http://rhettandlink.com/

I'm definitely planning on taking a look at the rest of their pieces, based on this one.

Pochinko workshop in Brooklyn 3/21-4/22/10

WORKSHOP
Character Mask to Clown With Deborah Kaufmann
Inspired by the teachings of Richard Pochinko, Canadian clown master teacher


"If we face the six directions of self, we can't help but laugh at the beauty  and ridiculousness of all that we are." -- Richard Pochinko

This investigation is an inspiring way for the artist to make direct connection to aspects of his/her true self. In the spirit of physical discovery and playfulness we will visit our childhood room, experience a bittersweet goodbye, and find the personal meaning in the colors of the rainbow. 

Then we will each make six masks: North, West, South, East, Above and Below. We will connect to and physicalize each direction and then create a clay mask. The masks are explored and a character is developed for each one. All six characters are combined to create a persona that is unique, with a deeply personal mythology and imagined environment that can be used for exploration and the development of new material. 

For artists in all disciplines and the seriously curious.
March 21 through April 22, 2010 (First Day of Spring to Earth Day).
Sundays and Thursdays; 5 weeks
March 21 3-8 pm, Then Thursdays, 6-9 pm, Sundays, 4-7 pm
$500.00, Scholarship available
Maximum 12 Students
Brooklyn Studio


Deborah Kaufmann has performed and taught Clown and Hospital Clowning in the US, and around the world. She has been the National Creative and Educational Coordinator of Big Apple Circus Clown Care since 1994. In that capacity she trains, coaches and directs, as she oversees the artistic quality and growth of more than 80 unique “clown doctors.”  Of her 2006 performance at the New York Clown Theatre Festival,  nytheatre.com said, “this performance gleams most brightly, with true mischief and solid will operating unfettered at maximum strength.”     http://www.tooshorttofallover.com

“It's a dream to find a teacher who combines a sharp directorial eye,  intuition as a clown, and a deep knowledge of techniques and material.
                  --Tanya Solomon, clown and burlesque performer 


The supportive way in which Deborah taught really resonated for me.”
               --- an Australian Student 

CONTACT: debdib@verizon.net
            www.tooshorttofallover.com

Troy Wunderle directing Ringling clowns.

'Incredibly serious work'

Local man trains Ringling Brothers clowns

By HOWARD WEISS-TISMAN

CircusSmirkus artistic director Troy Wunderle of Cambridgeport gets a kissfrom his daughter Ariana Wunderle during the Circus Smirkus performancein Brattleboro. (Reformer file photo)

CAMBRIDGEPORT - There is a lot of pressure in being one of the most important clowns in the country. For the past month, Rockingham resident and Circus Smirkus artistic director Troy Wunderle has been in Tampa, Fla., training two groups of clowns for the upcoming season of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
Wunderle, 36, was invited to go to Florida and even though he was already busy with Circus Smirkus, as well as with his own company, Wunderle's Big Top Adventures, he could not pass up the opportunity to work with Ringling Brothers.
"Clowning is incredibly serious work," Wunderle said while taking a break from his 12-hour work days. "Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey have been producing the best American clowns for generations and this was a golden opportunity. There are very high expectations. There is a lot of weight on my shoulders."
Wunderle graduated from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College in 1995 and has been working with Circus Smirkus for 13 years.
Although at this point he is a seasoned performer, and professional clown, Wunderle admits that the time he has spent over the last three weeks has been very intense.
Along with working with the young clowns, Wunderle has also been responsible for developing all of the routines. He is in constant communication with costume designers, makeup artists and prop specialists, along with pyrotechnic experts, sound engineers and circus producers.
He went to Florida with the intention of developing the main show that Ringling Brothers will take across the country next year, and last week he accepted the offer to also develop the clowns for a secondary show that is performed in smaller venues around the country.
To further challenge his sense of humor, and every clown needs a sense of humor, Wunderle is working with aspiring clowns who speak six different languages, and his crew in the smaller circus is from Italy and does not speak a word of English.
And though he is being pushed and challenged, Wunderle said he would most likely return if he is invited.
"As far as clowning is concerned, this is the pinnacle," he said. "One person gets to be the director of clowning for Ringling Brothers. This is what I love."
The call from Ringling Brothers came out of the blue, Wunderle said.
After graduating from the Clown College, he kept in contact with circus producers and invited them to Vermont to see Circus Smirkus.
He did not apply for the position, and was not even sure he would be able to fit it into his schedule. When the offer came, he could not turn it down.
"The ideal candidate for this job is not just someone who is funny," said David Kiser, director of talent for Ringling. "We look for someone with excellent communication skills, someone who can communicate not just with performers but with the entire creative team. We found that in Troy."
Once the circus starts touring, Wunderle's work will be mostly over.
All of his work is compacted into about a month and he expect to be home just in time to direct Circus Smirkus performers at First Night in Burlington on Dec. 31.
He will hand over the day-to-day responsibilities at Ringling Brothers to the boss clown, and will also be around to answer questions.
If there is a major problem while on tour, Wunderle might be asked to fly to wherever the circus is set up.
Along with the creative satisfaction of designing a full show, Wunderle said it has been special for him to work with young entertainers who are just entering the world of clowning.
Wunderle graduated from the Maryland Institute of Art, and got into clowning after enrolling in the Ringling Brothers Clown College.
His decision to pursue a life of clowning has taken him across the country, and world, and now he is helping other clowns as they begin their careers.
"In my opinion, clowning is one of the hardest disciplines in the circus and now I am working with the best of the best," he said before finishing his interview and getting back to work. "This is the ring where I started my career and it's great to come back and be able to give back to the next generation of clowns."

Dick Van Dyke on Slapstick

Thanks to Drew Richardson, Dramatic Fool for pointing this out -- a hilarious mini-lecture about how slapstick is no longer funny, and then Mr. D.V.D. proceeds to schlap the shtick all over it.

This is an object lesson in how to build a physical routine where the audience know what's coming, but they can't help themselves from laughing anyway.

Hotel Bananas - This week at the Flea Theatre (NY)

Hotel Bananas

The NY Goofs
July 23 – 25
Clowns check in but they don’t check out

at the Flea Theater, 41 White Street (between Broadway & Church Streets)

An evening of raucous laughter with the New York Goofs

America’s Got Clowns, Season Two, proves exactly what the title says, that America has some rocking physical comedians. New York Goof co-founders Dick Monday & Tiffany Riley bring together their Clown School faculty and professional clowns to create a hilarious show. Expect to see eccentric dance, musical entrees, bad magic, feats of tossing and manipulation (juggling), Godly and unGodly characters, and a lot of very physical comedy.

The New York Goofs have presented three original clown theater productions at The Flea over the last ten years.

The performances are July 23 – 25 at 7pm. Tickets may be purchased by visiting the Flea website here

More information about the goofs at http://nygoofs.com/

Parallel Exit Goes Broadway!- Literally!

Well, don't say that doing a preview show won't get you anywhere.

In November, Parallel Exit previewed their tap show TIME STEP at the Joyce Theatre. It got great reviews on a limited four day run, and more than likely they broke even or lost a little money on that venture.

However, people saw it, and the gods smiled, and a little something called SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE? raised the profile of one of the dancers (the fabulous Ryan Kasprzak, who didn't make the show (cut at the last minute for his younger and equally talented dancer brother Evan)

And now-- well, and now, they've got a slot at the New Victory Theatre come April!


Mucho congrats to the Parallel Exit crew for this coup, and hopefully this is the start of a much deserved round of recognition for their work.

More about Parallel Exit below and at their website http://www.parallelexit.net

A brand new kind of tap show! 3 aging hoofers reminisce about their glory years as they prepare for one final performance. Fresh, funny, and filled with visual magic, TIME STEP pushes tap in a new direction by conveying a story entirely through rhythm and choreography. Perfect for audiences of all ages!

“It’s a reminder of how eloquently the body can speak and of how little it takes to create entertainment.”

- The New York Times

TIME STEP

Roberto Benigni does Dante

NY Times Article about Roberto Benigni, who is apparently a Dante scholar, and is performing next week in NY in a very short tour of a Dante show, “TuttoDante,” a monologue about Dante’s “Divine Comedy” that mixes literary insights with off-the-cuff political jokes. In Italy, where he has been doing the show regularly for three years, it has drawn more than a million people. Sounds a lot like my Italian hero Dario Fo.

Great quote from the article:

“Only comedians can talk about death, life, God and Virgin Mary,” he said. “If was a tragic actor, I couldn’t allow myself. But with this accent I can do it. I can talk with death in person because I am a clown. Yes. And I am proud to be a clown — very much.”

Here are the North American Tour Dates:

May 26 2009 - San Francisco - Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall
May 30 2009 - New York - Manhattan Center
June 3,4 2009 - Montreal - St. Denise Theatre
June 6 2009 - Boston - Berklee Performance Center
June 7 2009 - Toronto - Casino Rama
June 10 2009 - Quebec City - Grand Théâtre de Québec
June 12 2009 - Chicago - Harris Theater

Find out more about the show at http://www.tuttodante.it

FULL ARTICLE BELOW:

Funnyman Takes on Dante’s ‘Comedy’
By BEN SISARIO
Published: May 22, 2009

Roberto Benigni leapt up with a riff on the 26th Canto of Dante’s “Inferno,” in which fraudulent advisers are engulfed by flames that scorch them. “It’s like landing in Los Angeles or Manhattan, full of little lights like a skyscraper,” he exclaimed in his frenetically choppy English. “Dante describes the lights like fireflies, like a farmer who sees billions of fireflies. And every single firefly is hiding a fraud — people like Madoff. Very cunning, very shrewd. These people are hiding inside the flame because they are hiding in life. The Florentines, you know, they invented finances.”

The delivery is familiar: Mr. Benigni, of course, is the endearingly manic Italian comedian whose Holocaust tragicomedy, “Life Is Beautiful,” won three Oscars in 1999. But for Americans, at least, the subject of Mr. Benigni’s latest project is almost incongruously new. Next week he will begin a short North American tour of “TuttoDante,” a monologue about Dante’s “Divine Comedy” that mixes literary insights with off-the-cuff political jokes. In Italy, where he has been doing the show regularly for three years, it has drawn more than a million people.

“We need to have the nerve to understand why a man with a big nose 700 years ago had the heroic shamelessness to write,” Mr. Benigni, 56, said in an interview the other day at a Manhattan hotel. “Really this is the most daring, bold poetry ever. In 2,000 years of Christian poetry they never surpassed this. They never produced such a scandal of beauty. Never, never, nobody.”

Mr. Benigni’s love of poetry has never been a secret. In “Down by Law,” the 1986 Jim Jarmusch film that introduced Mr. Benigni to American audiences, he cites Walt Whitman and “Bob Frost.” Collecting his Oscar when “Life Is Beautiful” won best foreign film in 1999, he quoted Dante and Blake (after climbing over the seats and blurting, “I want to kiss everybody!”).

“This face that he puts forward as a sort of clown is only a very small percentage of Roberto’s personality,” said Mr. Jarmusch, who also cast Mr. Benigni in “Night on Earth,” from 1991, and in a segment in the 2003 compilation film “Coffee and Cigarettes,” and who remains a close friend.

“TuttoDante” (“Everything About Dante”) introduces Americans to the savant-intellectual side of Mr. Benigni. In each performance he recites a canto in Italian from memory, with detailed explications of poetics and history in English.

For this tour, which begins in San Francisco on Tuesday and comes to the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York next Saturday, Mr. Benigni will perform Canto V from “Inferno,” with the story of Paolo and Francesca, the adulterers who spend eternity tossed by gales of lust.

“He’s a natural scholar,” said Robert Hollander, the Princeton professor. “He calls, and we just talk about Dante. He calls from Rome and says, ‘Bob, what do you think about this passage?’ ” Mr. Benigni wrote a preface for an edition of “Inferno” translated by Mr. Hollander and his wife, Jean, in which he asks whether Dante has been receiving royalty checks in Purgatory.

Mr. Benigni says he sees himself primarily as an entertainer, not a teacher. That means a lot of political jokes, often about his old nemesis, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister. Mr. Benigni mocked him relentlessly during Mr. Berlusconi’s first term of office in the 1990s, and he clearly relishes the chance to banish Mr. Berlusconi to Dante’s depths.

“You know, Berlusconi, he passed a lot of laws just for him, just for one man,” he said. “So maybe his punishment could be to build for him a circle in hell, but very personal, just for him: ‘Eh, this is just for you, Mr. Berlusconi!’ ”

“TuttoDante” could also be seen as a kind of purgatory for Mr. Benigni, or perhaps a way out of one. Since “Life Is Beautiful,” which grossed $229 million around the world, his movie career has stumbled. There was no shortage of offers from Hollywood, but Mr. Benigni said that most roles were Italian stereotypes like the pizza man or the Mafioso. He was even urged to make a “Life Is Beautiful” sequel.

“Never in my life will I do this,” Mr. Benigni said, shaking his head.

So he continued making movies in Italy, but with mixed results. “Pinocchio,” in 2002, was a moderate hit in Italy but did poorly elsewhere. Mr. Benigni’s decision to cast himself — then 50 years old — as the puppet boy struck many critics as perverse. “The Tiger and the Snow,” from 2005, which Mr. Benigni also directed, did even worse at the box office.

“Maybe sometimes I have been wrong with some movies,” he said. “Anyway, I try to do my best. I was sincere. I was honest. But I am sure this path that I took is the right path.”

After “The Tiger and the Snow” he began to devote himself to the Dante readings. And although he said he is eager to return to filmmaking (“I would like to make not a divine comedy but a comedy”), Dante is his foreseeable future: requests for the show, he said, keep pouring in, from Korea and Japan, from South America, from towns in Italy he has not been to yet.

“Only comedians can talk about death, life, God and Virgin Mary,” he said. “If was a tragic actor, I couldn’t allow myself. But with this accent I can do it. I can talk with death in person because I am a clown. Yes. And I am proud to be a clown — very much.”

Think Foolishly: Tips From a Pro

Drew Richardson, the Dramatic Fool, is hard at work again.

His blog, Think Foolishly, is currently featuring his takes on how to Think Foolishly. He's got 60 great tips across five categories on how to create a clown logic for your work, how to enhance, create, or otherwise extend a clown routine in a logical and foolish way. He's currently on #18, so you've still got plenty of time to read all of the tips before they overwhelm you.

With tips like # 13: Give Up and #12 Never Give Up, you can see that you are in for a little bit of a blender ride. Although he doesn't specifically say so, I think it's safe to assume that you probably shouldn't do ALL OF THESE AT ONCE. (although that might be very funny) But as one of my teachers Daniel Stein would say, "If you follow all of the rules of great theatre, you are guaranteed to make mediocre theatre."


If you are looking to transform one of your clown ideas, try approaching the problem from one of these 60 ways, and see if that changes how you are feeling about your potential clown idea. If that approach isn't working for you, try another. Maybe even try two at once. After all, you've got 60 potential keys to unlock the secret to your new routine, and one or more of them might solve the problem. Well, right now there are only 18 ways, so maybe you should just wait 40 days before doing anything else... then come back to your creative difficulties (if you can remember them)

Read his blog here: http://www.thinkfoolishly.com
Find out more about Drew's work: http://www.dramaticfool.com

CONEY ISLAND BOOM-A-RING THIS SUMMER.

The Greatest Show On Earth hits the boardwalk this summer for the very first time in its 139-year history! SEE DATES


Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents THE CONEY ISLAND BOOM A RING, an action-packed seaside circus spectacular where the energy bursts out of the ring, into the audience and bounces back to electrify the Ringling Bros. performers. Get a one-of-a-kind, up-close and personal experience as you sit just feet away from international performers, thrilling acts, and amazing animals!

The uniquely talented Justin Case will have you gasping and laughing with his extraordinary and hilarious bicycle daredevilry, leading an amazing cast of aerialists, acrobats, and comics. You'll be on the edge of your seat as you experience the thrills of seeing a family of motorcyclists race at speeds of 65 miles per hour in the Globe of Steel, a daring never-before-seen crossbow demonstration that takes archery to a shocking new extreme, and a gravity-defying performance on the whirling Wheel of Steel high above the arena floor.

The amazing animals will leave you mesmerized; miniature acrobatic Dachshunds jump, roll, and dance in perfect synchronization, beautiful white tigers offer high-fives, and majestic Asian elephants dance elegantly around the arena floor.

THE CONEY ISLAND BOOM A RING is a rare NYC summer time experience that engages all the senses and offers Children Of All Ages a day at The Greatest Show On Earth they never imagined possible!

Arrive an hour before show time for the All Access Pre-show - FREE to all ticket holders - and meet Ringling Bros. performers and animals, learn circus skills and enjoy a taste of the circus before the show even starts!

BUY TICKETS

SEE ALL TICKETMASTER CIRCUS TICKETS

SEE RINGLING SHOW-PAGE

Golden Nose Award Winners

I attended the Third Annual New York Downtown Clown Golden Nose Awards last night.

This now annual event was a lot of fun-- not because of the awards (although it's great to see deserving people get awards) but because of the community that has been created/nurtured by founders of New York Downtown Clown Christopher Lueck and Amanda Pekoe. It's great to see all of these really funny talented people all in a room together. It's even bettter to have a drink with them before (and after the show)


This year's award ceremonies were a little different-- there were only two People's choice awards (that got voted on) and three number of honorary awards. The nose awards were designed by ProKnows

HONORARY AWARDS

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT IN CLOWNING
Hovey Burgess got a lifetime achievement award. Hovey, who is truly one of the instrumental early instructors of circus and clown, has been a constant presence in the NY Downtown Clown Scene. As one of the presenters noted-- not only does he go everywhere, sees every show, but everybody likes him. He's a tireless advocate for circus and clowning, and a great circus historian and archivist to boot.

Wearing a formal suit and a very large tie (not shown here) He told a very funny story about John Ringling North, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and Lady Godiva which ended up crediting LaGuardia for the development of pasties and a G string (he was the mayor that raided Minsky's Burlesque) He also read the famous "But Dr. I am Pagliacci" joke from Watchmen in his best Rorschach voice. (It's the old famous joke--a man goes to the doctor, who checks him out and says "There's nothing wrong with you. There's a famous clown Pagliacci in town-- go see the show, and he'll make you feel better." To which the man replies in tears "But Doctor-- I am Pagliacci!")

CLOWN ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR:
Clowns Without Borders USA received a Clown Organization of the Year award for their work bringing laughter and clowns to strife ridden places. I've featured them on this site a number of times. Deven Sissler, who had just come back from Haiti, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. For more information on the great work they do, visit http://www.clownswithoutborders.org



CLOWNS OF THE YEAR:
Dick Monday and Tiffany Riley of the NY Goofs Received the Clowns of the Year award for their dedication and enthusiasm for clown arts. They've been teaching clowning in NY for over 10 years, and though they are now based in Dallas, they are also truly integral members of the NY Downtown Clown Scene. For more information about their work, visit http://www.nygoofs.com

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

Audience Choice Best Clown Act
WINNER-- Musique, by Joel Jeske, Mike Richter, and Christopher Lueck
OTHER NOMINEES:
Eccentric Dance and Hat Act, by Spencer Novich
Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir, by FOOLS ON FIRE (Butt Kapinski, Chris Manley, ChrisRoberti and Jeff Seal, Dir. Eric Davis)
The Pajama Men, by Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez

Audience Choice Best Clown Character:
WINNER: Spencer Novich
OTHER NOMINEES:
Emily Carragher
Nina Levine
Tweedy

Hey-Ya Brothers in NY at Urban Stages

Hey-Ya Brothers- now performing at Urban Stages!

The Hey-Ya Brothers is a two-man slapstick comedy variety show with clowns and physical comedians Joel Jeske and Christopher Lueck.

This 45min show is a mixture of classic comedy, slapstick, juggling, magic, and music. The Hey-Ya Brothers create a memorable show full of laughs. Now with special guest performer Mike Richter!

WHEN: SUNDAYS, March 15 – April 5, 2009 at at 2pm.
WHERE: Urban Stages, located at 259 West 30th Street (between 7th & 8th Avenues)NYC
TICKETS: $10 To purchase, email urbanstages@gmail.com or call 212-421-1380. Tickets are also available at the door.

Running Time is 45 minutes, ages 3 +

For More Info vsit www.heyyabrothers.com or www.urbanstages.org

Maximum Clown Class with Eric Davis (NY)

Eric Davis-- He of the Red Bastard, and director of some top notch bouffonery, is teaching a clown class in NY.

It's a one week intensive designed to take you farther than you've ever gone before...
(AND THEN SOME!)

An invitation and a challenge to yourself!

One concentrated week of extreme overindulgence and fun.

Participants will explore taking an impulse (an emotion, an attitude, a concept) to its wild and ridiculously extreme conclusion. A particular concentration will be given to the paradox of "staying true and real" and "committing" to an impulse.

CLOWNS GO TOO FAR! They indulge themselves and their inner impulses!

With the only rules being we do not hurt ourselves, we do not hurt others and we do not hurt the space, let us pass through something cute or novel and enter deep into the edges of something wild!

What unknown and ridiculously fun territories might we reach?

Have an impulse to take this workshop?

INDULGE IT!

Space is limited.

Reserve now.

REGISTER HERE WITH PAYPAL
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=3724344


Dates & Times

Sunday April 5, 1-4 PM
Monday April 6, 6:30- 9:30 PM
Wednesday April 8, 6:30- 9:30 PM
Thursday April 9, 6:30- 9:30 PM
Saturday April 11, 1-4 PM

15 hours total.
Cost: $250
Location: NYC . TBA

Zing Zang Zoom- Discounts on new NY Ringling Show

Ringling sent me this comeon/discount for their performances and I thought I'd pass it along.

It's a fantastic bargain, no matter which way you slice it (well, as long as you bring your popcorn from home, and don't buy any plastic novelties or cotton candy. Because that's where they get you my friends!)

ALL TICKETS $10*
for weekday performances!

SAVE 20%*
on weekend performances!

when you order by Fri. FEB. 13!
Use Customer Code 3986R


New York Metro Area Performances

• Prudential Center (Newark, NJ) - MAR. 5 - 8
• IZOD Center (East Rutherford, NJ) - MAR. 11 - 15
• Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum (Uniondale, NY) - MAR. 18 - 22
• Madison Square Garden (New York, NY) - MAR. 26 - APR. 13

To Charge By Phone, Call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.
or buy tickets online

*Exclusions may apply. See SPECIAL NOTES for details

*SPECIAL NOTES These offer excludes Circus Celebrity ($150.00), VIP Gold ($70.00), and VIP ($50.00) seating. April 10 - 13 performances are not valid for these offers. Special savings offer are not applicable on facility fees included in ticket prices (Facility Fees: $3.00 in Newark, $4.50 in New York City). Seats are sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Popular performances sell out quickly, so act now! This special eBuzz ticket offer is available online or by phone only thru Fri. FEB. 13. This offer is not valid at ticket outlets. This offer may not be combined with any other offer and does not apply to group sales orders. This offer valid only for show dates and times listed above. Use your American Express, Discover, Mastercard, or Visa (service charges, facility and handling fees may apply).

Jeff Raz as a talking head.

Happened to find this video of Jeff Raz speaking at the Commonwealth Club of California in June of 2008.

Jeff was a teacher of mine at Dell'arte, founder of the San Francisco Clown Conservatory, and recently returned from a year-long tour as the lead clown (The Dead Clown) in Cirque du Soleil's Corteo.

There's a lot of good stuff that Jeff says about his theory of clown teaching, comedy, and he also teaches a couple a clown slap to a bunch of people who are basically sitting down.

The video is kind of long, esp. the two minute introduction of Jeff, but worth it.

Enjoy!

Find out more about Jeff at http://www.jeffraz.com

Rory Raven- Mentalist at the Frigid NY Fest

My friend Rory Raven is going to be at the Frigid NY festival. Rory is a mentalist who's got a pretty good show. He's been performing at Bright Night for the last few years, and he always rocks the house.

Although it's not really a clown show or even physical comedy, there's a fair amount of "mental comedy" in the show. And it's at the Red Room, same theatre complex as the NY Downtown Clown Revue. Close enough for me!

Anyway, if you have the opportunity, check it out. (and you'll get a discount too!)

FRIGID NEW YORK PRESENTS RORY RAVEN in BRAINSTORMING Rory Raven will read your mind. Thoughts will be revealed, spoons will bend. This one-man show is an interactive tour through the world of the mind and its powers, both real and imagined .... "A mind-reading, spoon-bending good time." - Newport Daily News "A mind-reading act that was quite a fascinating head-scratcher." - Providence Phoenix Thursday, Feb. 26, 9:00p Saturday, Feb. 28, 8:30p Monday, Mar. 2, 6:00p Tuesday, Mar. 3, 10:30p Saturday, Mar. 7, 2:30p Sunday, Mar. 8, 5:30p @ The Red Room 85 East 4th Street (between 2nd & 3rd), NYC Tickets ($10) available through Smarttix (212-868-4444) or online at www.FRIGIDnewyork.info FRIGID Press Contact: Emily Owens emily@emilyowenspr.com (972) 743-3746 Contact Rory: rory@roryraven.com (401) 454-0977 More info about Rory: http://www.roryraven.com

Discount Code When ordering you tickets for Brainstorming at Frigid Fest through Smarttix, use the discount/coupon code "CORVUS" for $2 off your ticket. Corvus is Latin for Raven, of course.

Photos from the Clown Reunion

FUNAMBOLIKA 2008 (Italy July 5-8)

Funambolika 2008 is the 2nd edition of the summer circus arts festival particularly focused on clowns, and conceived by Italian clown and director Raffaele De Ritis.
It takes places in Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy, in the open-air Teatro D’Annunzio on the Adriatic beach. This is the same 2000-seats arena where Pescara Jazz, one of the oldest and most prestigious jazz festivals in the world takes place (www.pescarajazz.com). Funambolika is organized by the same company

Last year's festival featured Jango Edwards and David Larible. This year's festival will have three evenings of entertainment:







July 5
DUEL
(Paul Staicu, piano – Laurent Cirade, cello)
The comedy musical revelation of last year’s Edimburgh and Avignon Festival




July 7
PETER SHUB
The legendary clown with his solo theatre show “Nice Night for an Evening”




July 8
GRAN GALA DU CIRQUE
Guest star: Andrei Jigalov
An evening of international circus acts (from Monte Carlo Festival, Kiev School, Moscow Circus, Cirque du Soleil appearances) including among others juggler Boul, acrobat Maxim Popazov, contorsionist-swimmer Aqua and others, around a special guest star: clown ANDREI JIGALOV, the king of contemporary russian laughmakers.






Pescara is a ten minute drive from Aereoporto d’Abruzzo (www.abruzzo-airport.it ), and is easily connected to via many major cities. For all other destinations, the Rome Fiumicino airport is 2 hours drive.

For more information visit the following websites:

Funambolika blog: www.funambolika.blogspot.com
General program: www.entemanifestazionipescaresi.it
Myspace: www.myspace.com/funambolika

Tickets: (39) 085-6920057 – (39) 085-4221463
Organization: (39) 085-693093 • (39) 085-4503036

Email: info@entemanifestazionipescaresi.it
Artistic direction: rderitis@hotmail.com

Rough and Tumble: Theatre That Doesn't Suck

Rough & Tumble is a ten year-old theatre company that has made a name for itself in Boston for its inventive physical comedy and bold theatricality. The company develops original works, produces new plays by Boston playwrights, and stages guerilla theater events around Boston (such as an elaborate chase scene through the Boston Public Library and a playfully bizarre tour along the Freedom Trail).

While not quite clowns, they use clowning, circus skills, melodrama, masks, and just about anything else they can get their hands on to make theatre that, in their own words, "doesn't suck." (Yes, that's part of their mission statement/manifesto)

They've got a great manifesto up on their website (listed below)

Here's part of it:

Our stuff looks different, is outside the norm, linear narrative, realistic, method/classical stuff because we are looking for new, more alive ways to engage and exhilarate our audience. If that means setting up a bedroom on the Boston Common: OK. If that means creating a show with no spoken dialogue: right-on. If that means adapting a movie script for the stage: brilliant. We love a creative challenge because it's fun, and it presents opportunities to give our audiences glittering moments of awareness. We experiment with the form for the sake of what we create, not for the sake of experimenting.

Our motto is "Theater That Doesn't Suck" because we think most theater does suck. If we could call what we do something other than "plays" and "theater" without confusing people, we'd do it. Most theater is talky, bland, self-important and preaching to the choir. Most theater ignores completely what is unique and exciting about the form. We want to make theater that is more like seeing a great rock concert: dizzying and exhilarating and euphoric and communal and there's a chance you might get laid. And we don't think that's experimental, as much as we think that's what theater should be like, and everyone who isn't trying for that is doing it wrong.

Their next show is a mostly true story of famous airship captain Hugo Eckener's effort to fly the Graf Zeppelin around the world in 1929, carrying dozens of journalists, photographers, paying passengers, and the physician to the King of Spain. They are combing through the many histories and newspaper reports that chronicled the event to recreate the atmosphere of media frenzy, populist pride, and futurism that swirled about the voyage. In addition to all of the historical research, they will be making a bunch of stuff up wholecloth.

The show will be at the Factory Theater, 791 Tremont Street in Boston from April 11-27.

To find out more about Rough and Tumble, visit their website http://www.rough-and-tumble.org

Think Foolishly

Drew Richardson (aka The Dramatic Fool) has been busy blogging. His blog- Think Foolishly, features exercises, comments, interviews, and examples of his work in the really hard work of the clown- creative problem-solving. Or, how to do stuff logically that's just wrong, but doesn't seem wrong to your character.

Sometimes when I'm teaching clowning and improvisation, I call this "predicamenting"-- finding or manufacturing the predicament that your character (or characters) get into. It takes skill and talent to set up the proper scenario.

Over at Drew's blog-- he's got several assignments to learn how to be a better predicamenter-- the last one as of today was to build a "Foolish Tool Kit"-- a kit that fits in your suitcase that can be used to solve (and create) a number of problems. His before and after photos are funny!

Also on the blog are film clips of masters (and of Drew's latest work) , an interview with creativity coach Eric Maisel, and other exercises to help you Think Foolishly. Definitely worth checking out!

Workshop with Ronlin Foreman 3/2 in Chicago

On Sunday March 2, Master Clown Teacher at the Dell'arte School RonLin Foreman and Joe Krienke will teach a class entitled: The Powerful Presence: Effort, Risk Momentum, Joy. The 3 hour workshop, at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, will include work on the actor's presence, physical efforts, movement and improvisation.

Ronlin was one of my teachers at Dell'arte. And while I certainly didn't agree with everything that he said (in fact, at one point he told me that "I misunderstood the nature of education."), I have to say that he is an amazing clown, and for certain people, can be an excellent teacher. Years later, I feel like I am incorporating some of the things in my work that I didn't understand at the time (and that RonLin didn't help me understand at the time, either-- which made it a frustrating experience then) I highly recommend studying with him.

One of the pieces that I continue to use when thinking or teaching now: The clown must truly fail in order to succeed. Not pretend to fail. Not fail at something with low stakes. The clown must be at the point of failing, and at that moment, the audience will ALLOW the clown to succeed. This point of view is obviously more useful in the theatre than in the circus, where you need to get on, do your funny, and leave. But it still applies.

This is the bio from Ronlin's classes at the Clown Festival two years ago:

A provocative teacher and director, Ronlin Foreman is Director of Pedagogical Research and Master Clown Teacher at the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in California. Zany and poignant, Foreman's uniquely confrontational and poetic brand of physical theatre has been featured at major international Movement, Theatre and Clown festivals in Mexico, Spain, Canada and the U.S.

Foreman's hallmarks are his character (drawn from the fool, the clown, and the grotesque) and his ability to play profoundly with comedy, and irreverently with the profound, and outrageously with an audience.

The workshop at Steppenwolf will go from 10am-1pm. From 2pm-6pm, auditions will be offered for admission to the Dell'arte School of Physical Theatre.

Space is limited to 35 people.

Participation fee of $100 required at time of reservation. Space preference and fee waivers are available to serious program applicants.

To register, email Louise at louise@dellarte.com

WHEN & WHERE
Steppenwolf Theatre's Garage Space
1650 N. Halsted St., Chicago, IL. (south side of the parking lot)
Workshop: 10am to 1pm
Auditions: 2pm to 6pm

To find out more about Dell'arte, visit their website listed below:
www.dellarte.com