CLOWN COLLEGE
No experience required, 19 +
Clown College is twelve three hour classes (36 hours total) of clown training with a student showcase at the end.
Weeks 1 - 5: LE JEU:
Rediscovering your unique pleasure to play, intro to physical theatre grammar (complicté, fixed point, rhythm, sharing with the audience).
Le Jeu is about pleasure. The pleasure to play, the pleasure to be on stage, the pleasure to be seen. If the performer has pleasure, the audience has pleasure. Theatrical pleasure can be elusive and difficult to tap into. You get the opportunity to explore your unique relationship to pleasure as it relates to performance (and life, too). I help guide you towards your personal formula for finding it, even on the worst days. All this happens as we play children’s games in a theatrical context.
Weeks 6 - 10: CLOWN:
Using your pleasure to play, honing your audience sensitivity, and practicing physical theatre grammar in order to do the Clown’s job: making the audience laugh.
You'll tune into and sharpen your audience sensitivity order to find where your pleasure to play intersects with the clown’s job - making the audience laugh. You’ll get a nose and put together a costume, too.
Weeks 11 - 12: CLOWN REHEARSAL:
Coming up with ideas for Clown acts, trying things out and getting direction and notes from the teacher in preparation for your student showcase.
STUDENT SHOWCASE!
The date of the student showcase will be set when class begins based on the availability of participants. The location of the student showcase depends on venue availability.
COST:
350 + HST.
All classes require a $50 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot in the class. This amount will be placed towards the total cost of the workshop. Full fees are due before the second class.
*30% off for returning students
LOCATION: The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John’s.
Photo by Syed Raza
CLOWN COLLEGE (50+)
No experience required, 50 +
Clown College (50+) is eight three hour classes (24 hours total) of clown training.
*This class is meant to offer a chance to explore the world of clown among other 50+ folks, and without the pressure of a student showcase. If you would like to study clown more intensively and develop an act, please feel free join the standard 19+ Clown College course.
Weeks 1 - 3: LE JEU:
Participants will rediscover their unique pleasure to play through children’s games in a performance context, while learning physical theatre techniques that help you to share that pleasure with others.
Weeks 4 - 8: CLOWN:
Using your pleasure to play, training your sensitivity and practicing physical theatre techniques in order to do the Clown’s job: making the audience laugh.
You'll tune into and sharpen your audience sensitivity order to find where your pleasure to play intersects with making people laugh. You’ll get a nose and put together a ridiculous costume!
*A casual show for invited guests will be discussed and decided upon by class participants.
COST:
275 + HST.
All classes require a $50 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot in the class. This amount will be placed towards the total cost of the workshop. Full fees are due before the second class.
LOCATION: The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John’s.
BOUFFON
Photo by Syed Raza
Participants must have taken Clown College, Le Jeu or have equivalent experience.
19+. Bouffon is eight three hour classes (24 hours total) of Bouffon training.
“The world laughs at a clown; a Bouffon laughs at the world.”
BOUFFON is the malevolent, satirical cousin of Clown.
Bouffons are the beautiful and horrible people of the swamp - the banished; the forgotten children of God. They take pleasure in mocking the society that has forgotten about them. Bouffons are excellent liars expert tacticians - using their unique charm and (inner) beauty to get away with mocking those who deserve it.
Participants will explore and hone their unique charm and beauty, and unlock the pleasure to relentlessly mock.
*A showing for invited guests will be discussed and decided upon by participants of the class.
COST: 275 +HST
All classes require a $50 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot in the class. This amount will be placed towards the total cost of the workshop. Full fees are due before the second class.
LOCATION: The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John’s.
**Participants will provide their own costuming materials and theatrical/halloween makeup.
***Memorization of text is required in this course.
LE JEU:
Play for Performance
Photo by Syed Raza
No experience required, 19 +
LE JEU is six three hour classes (18 hours total)
This course is geared towards (but not exclusive to!) performers of all kinds: musicians, actors, improvisers, comedians, circus performers, burlesque artists, magicians, public speakers…you name it. LE JEU is an excellent way to shake up your performance practice, rediscover your unique pleasure to play, and learn practical tools for sharing that pleasure with your audience.
Le Jeu (The Game in English) is about pleasure. The pleasure to play, the pleasure to be on stage, the pleasure to be seen. If the performer has pleasure, the audience has pleasure. This kind of pleasure can be elusive and difficult to tap into. You get the opportunity to explore your unique relationship to pleasure as it relates to performance. I help guide you towards your personal formula for finding it, even on the worst days. All this happens as we play children’s games in a theatrical context.
*LE JEU is a foundational course for all Clown College class offerings, and is an excellent option if you’d like to dip a toe before diving into clown.
*What’s the difference between Le Jeu and Clown? Le Jeu is about having and sharing pleasure in performance, whereas Clown is about making your audience laugh.
COST: 225 +HST
30% discount for Clown College alumni
All classes require a $50 non-refundable deposit to confirm your spot in the class. This amount will be placed towards the total cost of the workshop. Full fees are due before the second class.
LOCATION: The Lantern, 35 Barnes Road, St. John’s.