Kenny & Brenda Ahern

Kenny Ahern is a clown and performer based in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. A graduate of Ringling Clown College, Kenny has also studied with Bill Irwin, Chris Bayes, and Pavel Groditsky of the Soviet School for Circus and Variety Arts.

Kenny has been performing for nearly 25 years. He does a number of shows aimed at the corporate, educational, and family markets. He has two shows aimed at school age audiences "Through the Eyes of a Fool" and "School Matters."

His theatre show "A Slippery Universe" is designed for proscenium stages. Kenny also has his own Variety stage that he brings to fairs and festivals.


His corporate work features original shows created specifically for a company, as well as a show titled "A Day In The Life" which features parodies of the life of an office worker.

Kenny has also taught clowning at a number of places, including schools, clown camps, and Ringling Clown College.

Kenny's wife Brenda is also a graduate of Ringling Clown College. Currently an elementary school teacher, she also presents shows to libraries and schools throughout the Wisconsin area.

To find out more about Kenny and Brenda's work, please visit his website listed below:

http://kennyahern.com/

They were also featured in a recent article in the Watertown Daily Times.
Read the article
(Please note, this article may go away after a few days of this post.)

Festival Preview: Orianne Bernard

Orianne Bernard is a French actress, clown, writer, and director. She studied with Jacques LeCoq in Paris and at the Ecole Internationale de Kiklos . Since then, she has studied with a number of people, including Giovanni Fusetti, who has directed her latest work.

Orianne has also done quite a bit of work as a hospital clown, both for sick children and also for adults who are dealing with Alzheimer's and other ailments. Oriane has also taught clowning in France and Europe.

Since 2002, she has been creating stories and shows around her clown Mmlle Oberniche

The NY Clown Theatre Festival is the first stop on an international tour.

To find out more about her work, visit the website listed below (in French)

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C'est La Nuit Qu'il Faut Attraper La Lumiere
(It is The Night That Should Catch the Light)

(performed in English)
A Depressive Comedy with Miss Oberniche

Strasbourg, France, Companie Accès-Soir
Director: Giovanni Fusetti,
Performer: Orianne Bernard

Miss Oberniche invites you into her home to show you her universe, her habits, her friends and above all, her charming prince. She is usually funny, but not always. Sometimes she is on the edge of tears. In her home, you will also meet Santa Claus and her boss, God.
So, world, hold her tight and make her dance a waltz. Then take her for an extra turn: a turn of laughter, a turn of love, a turn of life!
Is anybody looking when no one is there?
www.oriannebernard.com
www.giovannifusetti.com
70 minutes

Sun 9/7 at 5pm
Fri 9/12 at 10:30pm
Sun 914 at 5:30pm
Thurs 9/18 at 8:30pm

Festival Preview: The Birdmann

The Birdmann is an Australian circus/vaudeville/sideshow performer who combines magic, theatre, circus skills, and inspired nonsense to create a show that is unique. Acts include plastic-bag juggling, knife-throwing, and nostril tea-drinking. The act has displayed in fifteen countries internationally, and goes directly from the NY Clown Festival back home to the Melbourne Fringe in Australia.

Here's what The Groggy Squirrel, an independent publication that reviews Australian comedy has to say about the Birdmann (reviewing a previous show, Birdmannifesto:

The Birdmann is a curious creature. A character comic who has invested so much into the one character that you find yourself forgetting that this is just a persona. A performer who performs tricks that would normally be the domain of clowns with a straight-faced intensity that makes them as impressive as any serious circus performer.

Every element of this show, from the opening “is this a dagger I see before me” (no, it’s an umbrella) to the crab impersonations and costumes screams absurdity, but the straight-faced delivery ensures that the audience never feels lost or confused. These things might seem ridiculous coming from any other performer, but here they are just part of the Birdmann experience.

While this show is very tightly scripted and performed, Birdmann is also comfortable breaking out into casual improvisation to deal with any unforeseen input. Constant creaking of the roof and the late arrival of enough punters to double his audience were dealt with amusingly and without any break from the world that he has created for us.

There’s something uniquely special about Birdmannifesto, a quality to it that screams “this show is a great show”. It’s not the funniest show in the festival, and the circus skills aren’t the most impressive I’ve seen, but something about it as a whole makes it stand out from the crowd. The fact that this is also one of the cheapest shows in the festival (only $10 in a laugh pack or on Tuesdays) makes this arguably the best value for money to be found in the festival. I can’t imagine how anyone, regardless of their comedy tastes, could walk out of this show and not feel thoroughly entertained.

You can find out more about his work at http://www.myspace.com/trentbaumann
His website http://www.thebirdmann.com.au/ is currently under construction.

The Birdmann will be at the NY Clown Festival at the Brick on:

Sat 9/6 at 7pm
Wed 9/10 at 10pm
Sat 9/13 at 9pm
Tue 9/16 at 7pm

Festival Preview: Kill Me Loudly: A Clown Noir

Fri 9/19 at 8:30pm
Sun 9/21 at 5pm
Fri 9/26 at 10:30pm

CAUTION. May or may not contain clown nudity. Not for children.

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Sex! Murder! Clowns?!

Ever wanted clowns to admit how miserable, desperate and obsessive they really are? Director Eric Davis (Red Bastard, Cirque du Soleil, Bouffon Glass Menajoree) pushes under the freaky-happy façade of clowns to reveal a cast of cutting-edge comedians ready to whip out their dark sides.

In this dream-like murder mystery, a clown trio attempts to stage a film noir. But beware! No one returns unscathed from the depths of depravity! Meet the clowns who get caught up in the corruption, perversion and betrayal of their own twisted tale!

Here is a clown show is full of drug-addled bums, brain-battered boxers, high society pedophiles, and of course, the barely-clad-yet-deadly femme fatale. Here is an ever-changing cityscape of lonely office buildings, dead-end alleys, glitzy clubs, and old-timey neighborhoods.

Here is a show in black and white, in light and shadows, angles and corners. It's a "Caligari"-esque, expressionistic hallucination of the 40's crime genre that defined an American archetype. Done by clowns.

Here is a show in which good-natured comedy-makin' turns into vicious back-stabbing, horrible revelations and plenty of nervous breakdowns.

Here is a clown noir. Very good intentions. Very bad clowns.

THE PLAYERS. Butt Kapinski, Jeff Seal and Chris "Buttons" Manley have performed around town at theaters like the Kraine, Theatre For The New City, the UCB, the PIT, the Magnet, Galapagos, the Brick, and on the streets of New York. Eric Davis, internationally-renown Red Bastard, has been a clown with Cirque du Soleil, directs Bouffon Glass Menagerie (NYIT award winner: Outstanding Production), teaches clown and bouffon, and is a Co-Director of the Brick Theater Clown Festival. Costume design by Molly Austin, set design by Antonio Zito, lighting design by Brian Aldous, Assistant Directed by Jason Leinwand and Andy Dickerson of Cirque This! Set construction by Chris Roberti. Music by Mitchell Yoshida.

To find out more about the show, visit the website:
http://www.clowninadirtytown.com/

To find out more about the festival, visit the website:
http://www.bricktheater.com/clown/

Otsie Kerplotsie

Otsie Kerplotsie is Brooklyn clown and NY Downtown Clown Impresario Christopher Luecke.

Christopher was born in Milwaukee, WI. He is a graduate of The Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, CA and has also earned a BFA in Acting from Brooklyn College (Cum Laude). Most recently he has studied clown with the New York GOOFS. Christopher is an actor and clown for stage and film. He has performed in many venues including the Brooklyn Public Library, dirty little theatres, and the Grand Ole Opry and has also appeared in many small films. When not performing Christopher teaches puppetry in the New York Public Schools with Puppetry in Practice. He is also a certified instructor of Japanese samurai sword fighting and enjoys beating people up in competitions.

In his role as Otsie, Christopher performs at birthday parties, social gatherings, and many other events. In fact, he even offers a discount-- call him and mention WEB, and you'll get $25 off your show.

To find out more about Otsie Kerplotsie, visit the website listed below, or just give him a call.

http://www.otsieclown.com/
347-585-9767

RIP, Mr. Snot

Joe Kudla, half of the team of Puke and Snot, passed away on Monday. He was 58 years old, and had been performing Ren Faire stages for over 30 years, including letting young upstarts Penn and Teller open for them.

Read more below (obit from the Pioneer Press) or visit the Puke and Snot website, listed below for more details. At the website listed below, Joe's partner Mark Sieve shares stories and fan email about Joe.

PUKE AND SNOT WEBSITE: http://www.magaga.com

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Actor Joe Kudla of 'Puke and Snot' team dies at 58
By Dominic P. Papatola
dpapatola@pioneerpress.com
Article Last Updated: 08/11/2008 06:30:56 PM CDT

Minneapolis actor Joe Kudla - half of the "Puke and Snot" comedy team that entertained crowds at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival for more than three decades - died Monday at the age of 58.

Kudla died at his home in Northeast Minneapolis, according to his performing partner, Mark Sieve. A cause of death was not immediately available.

"I'm wondering if Bud Abbott felt this way when Lou Costello died," said Mark Sieve, who played Puke in the popular comic duo that mixed swordplay and groaner jokes. Sieve said he and Kudla were supposed to go over some new material Monday, but that Kudla wasn't returning phone calls.

"I was complaining to my wife about my irresponsible partner not answering his phone," Sieve said, honoring his late partner with a bit of gallows humor. "Turns out he had a good excuse."

Kudla was already a fixture on the local performing scene when he and Sieve conjured the idea of a pair of medieval types who would crack wise and cross swords. The first iteration of the duo, dubbed Mouldy and Wart, premiered at the 1973 festival.

Puke and Snot appeared the next year. At the height of their fame, the opening act for their routine was a young pair of comic-magicians named Penn and Teller. Kudla and Sieve trained others their shtick, and have been a fixture at Renaissance festivals across the country ever since.

In 2007, Kudla took a break from playing Thomas Snot, earning rave reviews in the History Theatre production of "The Baron," a paean to old-school professional wrestling in which he played, among other famous grapplers, Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon.

Sieve intends for the show to go on when the Minnesota Renaissance Festival opens later this month. "It would be a great tribute to Joe to keep it going," he said, "but I don't know. I might break down in the middle of the routine."

Circus Amok Summer Schedule

Circus Amok, New York’s radical, community oriented, political free Summer in the Parks Circus is up and about again for summer 2008.

This year's show is called "SUB-PRIME SUBLIME" and will feature the following:

Acrobatic Economists, Fantastical Free-Falling Free Markets, Tenanacious Tenants, Querelous Quarks, Neurotic Neutrons, Vaulting Villains, Stupendous Stilters, Disco Dorothy, Lions and Tigers and Zebras Oh My!

They will be performing throughout the five boroughs of New York, primarily in the parks from Sept 5-28.

Here's the schedule:


SAT, SEPT 6 – UPPER WEST SIDE – Riverside Park - 2pm & 5pm
79th Street & Riverside Drive

SUN, SEPT 7– CONEY ISLAND, BROOKLYN – Coney Island - 2pm & 5pm
West 10th Street & Surf Avenue

MON, SEPT 8– EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN – MLK Park - 5pm
Miller & Dumont Avenues

WED, SEPT 10 – FT GREENE, BROOKLYN – Ft. Greene Park - 5:30pm
Myrtle Avenue & St. Edward's Street

FRI, SEPT 12 – SOUTH BRONX – St. Mary's Park - 5pm
St. Ann’s Avenue & St. Mary’s Street

SAT, SEPT 13 – LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS – Socrates Sculpture Park - 3pm
Broadway & Vernon Boulevard

SUN, SEPT 14 – PROSPECT PARK, BROOKLYN – Prospect Park - 2pm & 5pm
Enter @ 9th Street & Prospect Park West
Show is at the base of the grassy hill near the dog beach.

WED, SEPT 17 – LOWER MANHATTAN – Columbus Park - 5:30pm
Mulberry & Worth Streets

FRI, SEPT 19 – SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN – Sunset Park - 5:30pm
6th Avenue & 41st Street

SAT, SEPT 20 – GREENWICH VILLAGE – Washington Square - 2pm & 5pm
University Place & Washington Square South

SUN, SEPT 21 – HARLEM – Marcus Garvey - 2pm & 5pm
Madison Avenue & 122nd Street

WED, SEPT 24 – WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN – Bedford Playground - 5pm
Bedford Avenue & South 9th Street

FRI, SEPT 26 – LOWER MANHATTAN –Battery Park - 1pm & 5pm
Castle Clinton Plaza

SAT, SEPT 27 – LOWER EAST SIDE – Seward Park - 4pm
Canal & Essex Streets

SUN, SEPT 28 – EAST VILLAGE – Tompkins Square - 12pm & 3pm
Avenue A & East 7th Street

Visit WWW.CIRCUSAMOK.ORG for late-breaking news and weather updates


They are also seeking volunteers for each and every show. You can run away and join the circus for the day. If you'd like to join them for the day, please send an email to circusamokinfo@gmail.com, or call 802-274-0502.

SEE YOU AT THE SHOW!!
================================

CIRCUS AMOK is NYC's internationally-acclaimed one-ring FREE traveling circus. Since 1994 they've been bringing fabulous, political circus spectacle to more than 10,000 diverse audience members in the parks of NYC each season. From East New York to the East Village, Jamaica to Harlem, CIRCUS AMOK dazzles audiences with their mix of circus skills and variety arts, puppetry and music, glitter, grime and glamour as they tackle tough issues that touch New Yorkers: immigration, affordable housing, quality public education, police-community relations, healthcare for all.

For more info, visit http://www.circusamok.org

Here's a video from YouTube:

Besserwisser

What do you get when you take two European Cirque du Soleil performers who decide they want to focus a little bit more on clowning and a little bit less on spectacle? Besserweiser. Which in English translates roughly as "Know-it-all" , features two very skilled performers from Cirque who do just that.

In their own words:

In our society we are constantly trying to be faster, better, and smarter… only to realize that we are consistently trying to reach unattainable goals. Rather than be content with where we are, we deform ourselves to reach an ideal that we have self created or bought into. This pushes us to the ridiculous, eventually becoming a know-it-all, hence a Besserwisser.

Jesko and Guennadi present their comedic duo “Besserwisser”. They offer unique situations with extraordinary objects to reveal the human interaction between he who thinks thar “he knows” and is perfect, and he who tries to aspire toward perfection. Two sides of the same psyche… A besserwisser, Nothing more annoying…

The artists
Jesko von den Steinen
Jesko von den Steinen was a solo clown with Cirque du Soleil’s “Saltimbanco” for 5 years. He is currently also performing with Familie Flöz, a Berlin based, physical theatre company. Jesko works on occasion in Paris, France with Philippe Gaulier, as his teaching assistant. He recently co-wrote co-directed and choreographed a film for Bravo! TV. The film “Corps” uses acrobatics and contemporary dance as its form of narration. It has been selected for various international film festivals.

Guennadi Tchijov
Guennadi has performed with Cirque du Soleil for 12 for years. Creating the role of “The Dreamer” for Saltimbanco and later working in Mystere. He originates from the Ukraine and is a former student of Valentine Gneuschiev. He subsequently has worked as Character and clown, for example with Rolf Knie’s “SaltoNatale” and has performed in various Varietés such as Roncalli’s WinterGarten.


You can find out more about the duo on their website, listed below:

http://www.jesko-guennadi.com

NY Clown Festival 2008 at the Brick

The schedule for this year's festival has been announced.

Although my time is limited this year (expecting a baby in late August) I plan on blogging for the festival as I did last year.

I'll be previewing a bunch of the acts here over the next couple of weeks or so.

Looks like a very exciting lineup with a big international component.

You can find out more about the festival by visiting their website:

http://www.bricktheater.com/clown

SCHEDULE ORGANIZED BY DATE.

Fri, 9/5
4:30pm Clowns in Union Square Park
5:30pm Subway Parade from Union Square
7:00pm Pie Fight!
10:00pm Free Preview Cabaret

Sat 9/6
3:30pm Ten West
7:00pm Birdmann
9:00pm Little Business/Pants
10:30pm Ten West

Sun 9/7
3:00pm TBA
5:00pm C'est la Nuit
7:00pm Ten West
8:30pm CanCan/Pants/2 Chairs

Tue 9/9
7:00pm Big & Little/Magnifico
9:00pm Manifesto

Wed 9/10
7:00pm Manifesto
8:30pm Big & Little/Magnifico
10:00pm Birdmann

Thu 9/11
7:00pm Big & Little/Magnifico
9:00pm Manifesto
10:30pm Cabaret

Fri 9/12
7:00pm A Glass of Wine
8:30pm Little Business/Pants
10:30pm C'est la Nuit

Sat 9/13
5:30pm Running into Walls
7:00pm Magic Behind the Slapstick: Ben Model
9:00pm Birdmann

Sun 9/14
5:30pm C'est la Nuit
7:30pm A Glass of Wine
9:00pm Running into Walls

Tue 9/16
8:30pm Running into Walls
10:15pm Birdmann

Wed 9/17
7:00pm Nosdrachir Sisters
8:30pm A Glass of Wine
10:00pm The Big Bang

Thu 9/18
7:00pm Bury My Heart
8:30pm C'est la Nuit
10:30pm Cabaret

Fri 9/19
7:00pm Party of One
8:30pm Kill me Loudly
10:30pm Nosdrachir Sisters

Sat 9/20
2:30pm TBA
4:00pm Bury My Heart
6:00pm Nosdrachir Sisters
7:30pm The Big Bang
9:30pm Party of One

Sun 9/21
3:30pm Party of One
5:00pm Kill Me Loudly
7:30pm Bury My Heart
9:00pm Brazilian Hulk/Crow's Funeral

Tue 9/23
8:00pm Number's Up

Wed 9/24
7:00pm Soiree
8:30pm Brazilian Hulk/Crow's Funeral

Thu 9/25
7:00pm Number's Up
8:30pm Brazilian Hulk/Crow's Funeral
10:30pm Cabaret

Fri 9/26
7:00pm 12 Hours
9:00pm Soiree
10:30pm Kill Me Loudly

Sat 9/27
5:30pm 12 Hours
7:00pm Number's Up
8:30pm Soiree
10:00pm Free Cabaret

Sun 9/28
6:00pm Clown Funeral Procession (from N.7 and Bedford Ave.)
7:30pm Funeral Service (at The Brick)
8:00pm Closing Night PArty

NPR Story about Circus Smirkus: Training Clowns On Tour

The article features Circus Smirkus, Ringling's Vice President of Talent Tim Holst, and former Ringling clown (and Bindlestiff musician, Peter Bufano

Listen Now [4 min 13 sec] 

August 6, 2008 · Where do the clowns of tomorrow come from? Some of them are coming from Circus Smirkus, an award-winning touring training camp for aspiring aerialists, jugglers and rubber-nosed pranksters.

Smirkus is an incubator of sorts, where scouts for big time big tops, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, hire new talent.

At a recent show in Wellesley, Mass., Circus Smirkus looked and sounded like a traditional European-style show, with its canvas big top covered with stars. But there is a main difference: The troupe's performers are kids, some as young as 10.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93089871&ft=1&f=1046

Bill Irwin & Co. Get 5 Barrymore Nominations

Bill Irwin's show THE HAPPINESS LECTURE just received 5 Barrymore nominations.

The Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre are the Greater Philadelphia region's only comprehensive theatre awards program, recognizing artists for excellence and innovation while serving to increase awareness of the richness of the local theatre community.

Each year, over 100 productions produced by the region's professional theatres are reviewed by the Barrymore nominating committee. At the annual awards presentation each Fall, the Barrymore Awards are presented to honor excellence in acting, design, choreography, music, education, community service and lifetime achievement.

The 5 nominations:

Ensemble - Bill Irwin, Aaron Cromie, Jennifer Childs, Ephrat Asherie, Melanie Cotton, Makoto Hirano, Nichole Canuso, Cori Olinghouse and Lee Ann Etzold
New Play - Bill Irwin
Choreography - Bill Irwin
Supporting Actress - Lee Ann Etzold
Sound Design - Jorge Cousineau

This year the award ceremonies are

Monday, October 6, 2008
6:30PM at the Crystal Team Room
Wannamaker Building, 9th Floor
100 Penn Square East, Philadelphia

Tickets go on sale Thursday, August 7!
MORE INFO: http://www.theatrealliance.org/barrymores/

International Clown Week is this week

Somehow it escaped me that this week is International Clown Week. I don't really celebrate it per se. In fact, I mostly shun this kind of stuff. The problem is that the kind of clown stuff that I am interested in (and hopefully, if you are reading this, you are interested in too) is not the cutesy stuff, of which most things like International Clown Week seem to perpetuate. I am interested in the funny, not the cute. See the examples on the left as the emblems of what I think of as cute. And although it's not perfect (I don't love Stupid as a Synonym for clown, although I do love The Stooges as a synonym for clowns) See my take on an emblem above. You can find out more at the celebration at http://nationalclownweek.org/ Apparently, Richard Nixon (Mr. Clown himself) was the guy who signed the proclamation for National Clown Week in 1971. Clown week is promoted primarily by Clowns of America International (COAI) a group that has as its purpose to bring together serious-minded amateurs and professionals. They have a number of "Alleys" around the country (and world, even) and host competitions in paradability, ballooning, facepainting, gags, and other stuff. Most of the performers in the group are amateurs, people who clown as a hobby, and take very seriously the Clown Commandments I love a lot of the ideas behind COIA, and I suppose I follow a lot of the Clown commandments (I don't show up drunk at a gig-- not because it's a commandment by an organization that is invested in keeping up the good name of clowns, but because it's good business sense) but I got into being a clown as a theatre artist, to create shows and plays, and not to join organizations or for my love of the word Clown. And while my goal for clownlink is in some ways exactly the same as the goal behind COIA, I don't think we share the same aesthetic or vision of clowning (although a lot of the elements are the same, I'm sure.) I'm not big on the competitive aspect. But to each his own, and if this will bring more exposure for good clown-work--and good clowns-- who am I to judge? More power to you, COIA! If any of my readers are members of COIA, please comment below. I'd love to find out what you like about COIA, and why you are a member, and what you get out of it. Perhaps I'm missing the boat here.

Deborah Kaufmann- Veni Vidi Vici (NY)

Deborah Kaufmann spent her childhood in dance and acting classes. She earned a degree in Visual Art from Bennington College. After brief careers as a production potter, a sign language interpreter, a props mistress, a typesetter and an aluminum can inspector, Deborah stumbled into her life as a clown. By seeking out master teachers such as Richard Pochinko, Tony Montanaro, Bob Berky, Avner Eisenberg and John Towsen, she has studied the art of clowning in its many facets. She was part of the production team of the First and Second NY Clown Theatre Festivals presented by If Every Fool, Inc. in 1982 and 1985.

Since its inception in 1986, Deborah has performed with The Big Apple Circus Clown Care (sm). “Dr. Dibble” brings her own brand of buffoonery to hospitalized children and their caregivers. As the Creative and Educational Coordinator for Clown Care, she auditions and trains new performers, and oversees the ongoing artistic development of almost 100 unique “clown doctors.” She has taught hospital clowning in Brazil, France, The Netherlands, Finland and Australia.

As the tuba player for The Baltic Street Blowhards, an eccentric band, she played NYC Parks, Symphony Space and Avery Fisher Hall.

Deborah has performed her original works in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Brazil and Australia. Of her performance at the 2006 New Clown Theater Festival nytheatre.com said, “this performance gleams most brightly, with true mischief and solid will operating unfettered at maximum strength.”

Deborah will be performing that same work, entitled Veni Vidi Vici, for three nights only at the Access Theatre in Manhattan.

Take equal parts of dance, theater, and circus clown, add Native American mask work, flavor with a pinch of bouffon, a touch of true mischief, and a nod to "Harold and the Purple Crayon, " and you get this delightful look at greed and acquisition.

"An exploration of human instincts at so basic a level that thought can be put aside and impulse thoroughly enjoyed . . . this performance gleams most brightly, with true mischief . . . unfettered at maximum strength." --nytheatre.com

VENI VIDI VICI Written for adults, appropriate for children over 7 Dates: Sunday-Tuesday, August 17, 18, 19, 7:30pm Place: Access Theater - 380 Broadway, 4th floor, at White Street (two blocks below Canal) Subways: A, C, E, N, R, Q, W, 6, J, M, Z to Canal St; 1, 9 to Franklin Tickets: $10.00 theatermania.com, 212-352-3101, or 1-866-811-4111

Get Your Bouffon On!: Drop In Bouffon Classes in NY Mondays.

Through August 28, Audrey Crabtree (co-organizer of the NY Clown Theatre Festival at the Brick and who plays Laura in the Hilarious Bouffon Glass Menageree) , is hosting a drop in class in Bouffon. Mondays, 8-10 pm, Classes are $10 each, 521 West 26th Street, 2nd floor (between 10th and 11th)
(More info below)

For those not in the know, Bouffon is a clown style that is perhaps best described as what happens when birthday clowns are hit with a dose of gamma ray radiation, and turn evil, misanthropic, and MORE than a little sinister. And yet somehow, they still manage to be very funny.

The form was re-captured from a French Renaissance tradition, and re-created by renowned clown teacher Philippe Gaulier in the 1970's-80's. Since then a lot of people have come to study and create bouffon characters and plays, and create theories about the Bouffon.

Eric Davis (The Red Bastard, who directed above mentioned Bouffon Glass Menageree) writes in a description of one of his classes:

While the clown is completely vulnerable, the bouffon shows no vulnerability. He exists to mock the society which has cast him out for being deformed. (this could be physically, spiritually, socially?) The Bouffon is the manipulator. Deformed, yet charming. Grotesque, yet beautiful. He is smart, entertaining and like the most brilliant idea, or deadly of viruses — utterly infectious. A bouffon's perfect day? While making a mockery of the mayor to a huge laughing crowd, the mayor wanders by to see what all the fuss is about. When the mayor sees that the crowd knows who he really is, the mayor has a heart attack and dies. Hip Hip Hooray!

And Trav S.D., vaudeville historian and theatre critic, describes it this way in an article about aforementioned show:

The novice is immediately misled by the similarity of the form’s name to “buffoon.” But that is a blind alley. “Bouffon” is to “buffoon” as a wet gremlin is to a dry one. To complicate matters, many bouffon practitioners are also clowns, and similarities exist between the two forms. The get-ups and behavior are grotesque; laughter is produced. But if these are clowns, they are cousins to Stephen King’s “Pennywise”, or the real-life John Wayne Gasey, that inveterate serial killer and sometime children’s birthday party entertainer. No one is jolly in bouffon. The carnation squirts acid; the joy buzzer releases a thousand volts. One laughs uproariously throughout, but one is constantly checking oneself: “Was that okay? No, that wasn’t okay. It goes against everything I’m supposed to think and feel as a civilized human being. If I laugh, it must be because I am possessed by devils”. Actually, one only starts to think those thoughts before being cut off by the next appalling remark or action onstage.

All this by way of saying that if you are interested in bouffon, the drop in class that Audrey is running is definitely the place to be.

Here's the class info. Enjoy. Or spread your infection (whichever is more appropriate to you!)

Bouffon Workout Lab Drop-in “So I have studied bouffon…now WTF do I do with it?” Come to this weekly drop-in Lab! In this playful and supportive environment, we will begin with warm-ups, bouffon basics, and we will focus on the creation and showing of new material, development of character, and group work, led by Audrey Crabtree. Looking for people who have a bouffon base and want to expand on it. Get your Bouffon On! Monday nights July 28th-August 25th 8-10pm $10 Week202! Last week we had a lot of fun, and found out 2 hours is a very short time. Please bring a costume to play in. I will be there early to stretch outside-the closer everyone is to a little before 8pm the better. This week we will warm up, play together and spend the last 30 minutes showing some material that people would like feedback on. Here is the location: The FAR Space 521 West 26th Street, 2nd Floor Between 10th and 11th Avenues Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan Cell phone for more info: 917653-1547 Important do NOT the use elevator walk up to 2nd floor and ring buzzer.

Nicole Feld in the NYT

Nicole Feld, daughter to Kenneth Feld, and heir apparent as Big Boss of the Ringling shows, has an article in the NY Times today, under the column: THE BOSS.

When I was at Clown College, Nicole came to the final graduation-- she was probably around 9 or so, and it was a big deal, because she was grading you along with everybody else, and the word was that if she didn't think you were funny, that was it-- you were out! I didn't get selected to go on the show (which was fine with me-- I didn't actually go there to work for Ringling-- I wanted to learn new theatrical skills-- it was only afterwards that I realized that I really loved being a clown.)

It's probably ACTUALLY true now, if Nicole doesn't think you are funny, you are OUT.


Anyway, here's the beginning of the article:

The Boss

The Call of the Circus

By NICOLE FELD; as told to AMY ZIPKIN

Published: August 3, 2008

MY grandfather Irvin Feld was a promoter. He bought Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1967. My father, Kenneth, joined the company, now Feld Entertainment, in 1970 and is C.E.O.

Skip to next paragraph

Heinz Kluetmeier

NICOLE FELD

Executive vice president of Feld Entertainment

AGE 30

HOMETOWN Washington, D.C.

FAVORITE QUOTATION “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” — Thomas Edison

When I was younger, my sisters and I would play with the clowns when school was out for the holiday, and they would have a project for us. We would make clothes for our stuffed animals and petticoats for our dolls.

When I was 8 or 9, the clowns made clown costumes, complete with big shoes, for my two younger sisters and me. We wanted to wear them and perform in the show.

Our father agreed to let us be in the show when the tour came through the Baltimore-Washington area. He told us that if we wanted to be in the show, we would have to perform on the work schedule of the other performers. Saturdays are always three-show days.

The clowns put clown makeup on us, and we were in all three performances. We got paid $3 a show. We were exhausted by the end of the day and fell asleep during the car ride home. Being a clown is a lot harder than it looks.

A year or two earlier, in a talent search, my father came across what looked like a one-horned goat. I don’t know where he found it. He created a show called “The Living Unicorn.” The “unicorn” became a torment to me during the entire two-year run of the show. I would come home from school crying, saying: “The kids called me a liar. There is no such thing.”

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Kathie Horejsi's Blog: Clown Mommy

I've featured Kathie previously on the blog here But that was before she had a blog!

She's got a relatively new blog Clownmommy.com It's a personal account of her trying to do her work as a mom. So far I've read through most of it, and it definitely talks a lot about the struggles I have now (and I'm sure will have soon, as our baby is due to arrive in the next 4 weeks or so)

I didn't know about her blog until my personal news alert for my unique last name let me know that somebody had posted it somewhere (Oh my God, The Clown Signal!) Kathie was talking about a conversation that we had about female clowning about 16 years ago. And sadly, her blog conks out in the middle of the story. I'd really like to find out what I said!

And if you've got a clown blog out there where you are talking about your work as a clown, please let me know-- I don't promise to post it, but I'll give it a read at the very least!

First Episode of The Bindlestiffs is up

Click the image to see the first episode.

It's really great and looks to tell the hard-scrabble story of the Bindlestiffs

http://thebindlestiffs.com/ep1.html

NY Times Article on Kendall Cornell's Clowns Ex Machina

Kendall Cornell & Co scored a NY Times article about their work and upcoming show!

THE WHEN, WHERE AND HOW:

Thursday, July 31st at 7:30 pm
Friday, August 1st at 7:30 pm
Saturday, August 2nd at 7:30 pm

updated venue!
Manhattan Children’s Theatre,
52 White Street (between Broadway and Church) in Tribeca MAP

Advance tickets: $15 at theatermania.com or 212-352-3101 (or weird.org)

At the door: $18 general admission/$10 students and seniors (cash only)

For more info about the festival and tickets: www.weird.org

And here's the beginning of the article:

Exploring the Bozo Mystique, and Defining Funny on Their Own Feminine Terms

Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

Amanda Barron at rehearsal with Clowns Ex Machina. Members said their creativity had been stifled in mixed-gender troupes.

By APRIL DEMBOSKY

Published: July 29, 2008

Judi Lewis Ockler maneuvered into a black Victorian blouse, plucking the puffed velvet sleeves into place. She rummaged through her gym bag for a long green cloak and a pair of yellow socks with daisies. Then she pulled out a pink polka-dot baggie for the final touch: a red nose.

She took her place among five other women gathered in a circle — one dressed in a pink tutu, others in various combinations of red-, black- and gray-striped tights, silver sequins and puffy bloomers — as they stretched and limbered up in a dance studio in Lower Manhattan.

“All right, everybody put your noses on,” said the director, Kendall Cornell, clapping her hands.

Ms. Cornell founded Clowns Ex Machina in 2005, when it was known as Kendall Cornell’s Soon-to-Be-World-Famous Women’s Clown Troupe. In her own 22-year performance career, Ms. Cornell said, she continued to hit the glass ceiling of clowning: She was always pushed to be the female sidekick, had few female role models and could not find a space to explore her particular brand of humor.

“You had to be like a man to do this work, to open the door,” Ms. Cornell said. “I don’t find too many people interested in investigating what women have to offer that is different.”

While some clown routines are scripted — wander on stage, slip on banana peel, fall down — most are developed through improvisation. Physical humor, involving one’s own or another’s body parts, is the hallmark of clowning. And that was the main roadblock Ms. Cornell kept facing, in one professional workshop after another.

“It becomes sexual for the men,” Ms. Cornell said. “I remember coming to the center of the circle, I started to dance and some guy says, ‘Take it off!’ And I said, ‘How can I work like this?’ ”

Ms. Cornell’s work depends on an all-female environment to transform the taboo into the funny, the sexual into the silly. “Oh, for a world where dropping your drawers meant comedy, not promiscuity!” she wrote on her Web site, www.notjustforshockvalue.com. The troupe draws a sophisticated audience, more the theatergoing type than the slapstick Barnum & Bailey fan.

“It’s not the ‘be dump bump’ here’s the laugh,” Ms. Cornell said, referring to standard rimshot humor. When people come to the show, “they have to rediscover their relationship to what’s funny.”

A lot of rediscovery happens around women’s bodies. The group has developed full vignettes that rely on breasts as punch lines. It turns out, for all the fanfare they get in car ads and movies, that breasts are pretty funny.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE

Goofs & Bongar at the Flea August 7-9

Michael Bongar, former Ringling clown, graduate of clown college and now one of the most well-versed and influential of the variety bookers in the NY Area, is coming out of retirement for one set of shows as part of a NY Goofs reunion night at the Flea Theatre. Billed as his "Farewell Tour", I'm sure there will be lots of ribbing, poking fun, and that old-fashioned stuff... Oh yeah, comedy.

Other Goofs will also be performing, including Dick Monday, Tiffany Riley, Hilary Chaplain, Mark Gindeck, Watson Kawecki, Joel Jeske, Evelyn Tuths, Michael Preston, Larry Pisoni, Mike Smith, Jay Stewart, Therese Schorn, Kim Winslow

AUGUST 7, 8 & 9
7 PM
$20
Tickets - 212-352-3101

The Flea Theatre
41 White St
New York, NY 10013
(212) 226-0051
or visit
www.theflea.org

Historic & Triumphant Return of the Flea Circus to Coney Island

A little bit of a shameless plug, but truthfully, I've done most of my best work by being shameless. It's when I get shameful that I have to worry!

Anyway, it's probably the last flea circus gig before the baby is born (unless something happens in the next week!) so come check it out if you can!

Click the image for a larger poster.

The Flea Circus Returns To Coney Island!

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WHAT: Acme Miniature Flea Circus at the Coney Island Museum

WHERE: Coney Island Museum, 1208 Surf Ave. Brooklyn NY 11224-2816

WHEN: Sunday July 27, 2008 at 4pm.

COST: $5

MORE INFO: http://www.coneyisland.com

MORE INFO: http://www.trainedfleas.com/coneyisland.html

CALL: 718 372 5159

ELECTRONIC PRESS RELEASE: Press Release PDF (707K: must have Adobe Reader)


PUBLICITY PHOTOS: Press Images of the show

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