These are the courses I currently teach…
Don't act like a clown, be a clown! - Initiation Clown Workshop
“Is the street a theatre? Is life a circus? Are we all clowns?”
A clown is not an actor. An actor can create a character which is totally unlike his own. The clown, however, exists within us. We can clown the moment we tune in to the clown frequency. Putting on a costume, make-up and a red nose will not automatically make others laugh. But being honest, open, and 100% human will.
We´re all capable of being ridiculous, even you!
In order to tune into the clown frequency you have to become very interested in yourself and the world around you. Observe how you react, what tics you possess, the way you express yourself, and the things you do when no one else is looking. The things that make you feel alive and playful are the ones to exploit on stage. Allowing yourself to be just the way you are will make others laugh, it’s up to you to experiment and have fun in the process.
In this workshop you will learn to:
Feel more comfortable on stage, not act the clown but be a clown, communicate with the audience and just be yourself (which is the hardest part!).
Themes we will investigate:
• Overcoming nerves and fears
• Honesty
• Vulnerability
• Recognizing and exploiting failure
• Recognizing and exploiting success
• Clown expressivity
• Getting carried away
• The enjoyment of being ridiculous
• Reacting and responding to an audience
Both in the morning and afternoon we’ll kick off with a warm-up session. These sessions will include group games and exercises to help with confidence, attention, presence, receptivity and playfulness.
You’ll then be invited to improvise, and to participate in clown exercises that explore these qualities. You’ll also be asked to be an active audience member. The group as a whole will help each other discover the important elements that make up their individual clowns.
You´ll be helped and guided by me on ways to make people laugh with nothing other than your own natural gestures and tics, your personal sense of humour and your unique way of dealing with problems and difficulties. I’ll listen to, and work with, individual needs. I´ll push you to discover what works and encourage you to follow you own crazy comic impulses.
What's so funny? - Initiation Clown Workshop
Funny things occur all the time…
but mostly we don’t pick up on them. The comedy of life passes us by because we fail to see the bigger picture or what’s just under the surface. Seeing the humour requires a shift in our normal perspective. Once we connect the dots, and give up seriousness, the absurdity all around us (and within us!), becomes obvious.
Clowns look at life and their own humanity through a comic lens. This is what they share, with an open, honest generosity. Their friendly, innocent nature will unwittingly draw their audience in. When the audience laughs at the clown’s actions, complicity is established (which is also one of the most important elements in triggering more laughter). Their shared enjoyment of events breaks down the division between them; then all the norms begin to waver and an atmosphere of general permissiveness takes over. That’s when things start to get really crazy…and hilarious.“What’s so funny” looks at the different ways to establish, maintain and strengthen a close relationship between clowns and between clowns and audience. Within the workshop we’ll be asking the question, “What do I find funny?”, with the aim of focusing our sense of humour. We will also continue to explore the unique universe of your clown through solo, duo and trio clown improvisations.
In this workshop you will learn…
• Increase your ability to listen to others when performing
• Turn your audience into your ally
• Play with rhythms
• Recognize a game proposal from fellow clowns
• Develop the games that work
• Tune up your comic responses
• Use the audience’s reactions to your advantage
Themes we will investigate:
• Feeling relaxed and comfortable onstage
• Being honest
• Simplicity / clarity/
• Focus
• Receptivity / acceptance of failure and recreation of success
• Comic emotional responses / exaggeration
• Enjoying being ridiculous.
An open disposition towards the work is essential. Come prepared to give and receive, reinvent your self-image, and experience new sensations. Working with the clown, means working with your heart.An open disposition towards the work is essential. Come prepared to give and receive, reinvent your self-image, and experience new sensations. Working with the clown, means working with your heart.
The rule of three - Initiation Clown Workshop
The art of clowning is likely to prove elusive unless you bear in mind the following guidelines: Be authentic. Play. Express what you feel. Share with your audience. Have problems. Be foolish. Be interested. Think simple. Fail. Be vulnerable. Apply your sense of humor. Exaggerate. Feel the comic beats. Repeat successes. Enjoy yourself. Be honest. Step over the boundaries. Rediscover the world. Be stupid.
However, awareness of these guidelines is not the same as being able to apply them on stage. In order to become a professional, able to make any audience laugh under any circumstances, requires years of practice. But… getting to experience your clown and create laughter… that’s a whole lot easier! However, you’ll only get to know your clown (what s/he does, communicates and feels) when you get out in front of an audience and start improvising.
“A fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” Shakespeare
Yes, if you’re honest, you’ll admit that you are crazy, and ridiculous, and even a little bit idiotic… we all are (perhaps not all the time, but often enough!). Consequently, in clowning, what you really have to learn is how to recognize and skillfully expose all the comic elements that you already have at your disposal.
Your clown will effortlessly appear if you:
1. work with an open mind… and heart
2. allow yourself to feel and express freely
3. are willing to play
In this workshop we will work on:
• Feeling relaxed and comfortable on stage
• Active listening
• Being idiotic
• The acceptance of failure and recreation of successes
• The playful expression of emotions
• Taking things to their limit
• Enjoying ridiculousness
Succumb to Temptation - Intermediate Clown Workshop
Succumbing to temptation is inevitable for clowns, it is part of their intrinsic nature. Even if they feel pushed into succumbing by forces out of their control, in reality they are the ones who dive head first into the temptations that arise! Clowns are curious and impulsive, never mere observers of life. Therefore, they are not able to deny themselves the many wonderful opportunities to exaggerate more, reveal more, experience more and, of course, enjoy more.
But they have very good reasons to go beyond “what is allowed”. By irremediably succumbing to the temptations of rediscovering and re-inventing the world, transgressing the norms and messing around, clowns open the flood gates on the unlimited comic possibilities of creativity, inner joy, chaos, problems, failure, confrontations with authority / truth / reality, and the great challenge of escaping unscathed from extreme situations.
And, of course, the public loves watching the clowns bypass the rules and regulations; do, say or touch whatever they feel like. They encourage, with their laughter, the clowns to go even further; to dare to satisfy their desires, to express what they hold inside, to imagine for a moment that they can be absolutely free.
“My sins have cost me enough work not to squander them in vain regrets.” Joaquin Sabina
Of course, there are obstacles to overcome. We must be able to silence the repressive voices we have internalized; the voices of censorship, guilt, criticism, morality and control. Therefore, the main challenge of this course will be to succumb to temptation without fear of the consequences. Obviously, the red nose is a great ally when looking for that state of playful innocence. Your clown will also help you, using all his/her comic resources to survive when, inevitably, you come up against authority figures, truth, or reality. In this course we will review what these resources are and when to use them.
“The best way to get rid of temptation is to fall into it.” Oscar Wilde
In this course you will be put into situations where you will have to choose; between duty or pleasure, between staying behind the fence or jumping over it and venturing beyond, between ordinary or extraordinary expression. You will be encouraged to listen to the desires that arise in your heart, to say what you think, to move as you wish, to be emotionally alive and, naturally, to succumb to all these temptations in the most fun way possible.
In this course you will learn to:
- Exaggerate your gifts, knowledge and experiences beyond belief
- Fake an impeccable innocence (or, if that doesn’t work, skillfully blame someone else)
- Encourage the naive and gullible to do improper things
- Lie publicly. And, when you’re called out for lying, back-track on everything you’ve said in less than a minute
- Make a situation grow comically
- Encourage yourself to play both physically and vocal
- Have a great time breaking the rules
The Games Clowns Play - Intermediate Clown Workshop
To participate in this workshop, you must have previously participated in at least one initiation workshop and have a basic knowledge of clowning.
“We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.” Oliver Wendell Holmes
Clowns don’t have passive personalities, they’re not mere observers of life. No, they’re always looking for ways to participate, to be included. They’re players, which is why they’re incapable of denying themselves the opportunities that arise to enjoy themselves, to “go for it”, regardless of the consequences.
From a clown’s perspective, anything and everything is a further invitation to play. There’s always a game. It could start with an odd gesture, a silly word, an interesting sensation… but there’s no telling where it will end!
However, although there’s an endless number of games clowns can play, there are a series of basic rules that are very helpful to those wishing to initiate, improvise or stage them.
The rules that govern clown games are in fact more like sign posts, they point clowns in the right direction without restricting their creativity in any way. They help clowns maintain clarity and simplicity whilst playing games that are fluid, agile and, of-course, fun to play and watch.
Some of the games that we will explore…
• The game of make believe
• The game of emotional scales
• The game of expressing pleasure
• The game of having problems
• The game of being experts in everything and in nothing
• The game of exaggeration
• The game of saving the situation
• The collective game
In this workshop you will learns:
• Increase your capacity to play and enjoy yourself when clowning.
• Recognize a game proposal especially those that are absurd, stupid or ridiculous.
• Develop the games that work, and discard the games that don’t.
• Trust in nonsensical ideas and give your support to the games others initiate.
• Stage successful games.
“The games clowns play” will destroy any latent preconception you may have that playing creatively is something only children do.The benefits of keeping a playful spirit intact throughout one’s life have now been amply proven. Playing regularly isn’t just relaxing and stimulating, it’s also a great physical, mental and emotional antioxidant!
Chronic Optimism - Intermediate Clown Workshop
It’s easy to be a part-time optimist. When things go well and life smiles on us, it’s easy for us to smile too and skip, hop or leap into the future. However, to be a chronic optimist, capable of maintaining a positive outlook even in the trickiest of situations – that, of course, is a totally different ball game. Fortunately, if we want to become radical in our fight against negativity; if we want to maintain a permanent sense of trust and good humor, and keep sight of the endless possibilities at our fingertips; we have a super-ally: our clown.
”The clown is an absolute optimist. Everything seems interesting to him. The roof falls in and he says, ‘Wow, now I can see the stars! “ Avner The Eccentric
Clowns, however, are not a blindly optimistic; they’re aware of what is under their control, and what is not. Not everything that happens to them is marvellous but they’re able to focus their attention on the positive aspects of their experience; to find the comic, friendly side of life, or if there is no other choice … run for their lives!
It’s never too late…
Clowning is already, in itself, a very effective way of creating neural pathways to positive states – states in which we are suffused with freedom, joy and daring. But if we enhance the process by focusing on our innate optimism over a two day period, we will be widening those pathways and stimulating our neurons to take them every time. We can make the most of our brain’s incredible plasticity and establish new or wider neurological pathways, wired to optimism. We will reach a state of chronic optimism in record time. And, as an added reward, we’ll spend two days laughing; we’ll flood our entire system with natural painkillers, protective antibodies and immune boosting white blood cells.
In this workshop you will learn to:
• Face difficulties and problems with humor.
• Use your imagination to rehearse your future success or happiness.
• Believe you have the necessary talent or creativity to get out of sticky situations.
• Appreciate everything positive that you receive from life.
• Free yourself from the tyranny of perfectionism.
• Deflect and redirect the negativity of others.
You will also continue working on:
• Discovering new aspects to your clown.
• Making creative and interesting choices.
• Being in a state of flow on stage.
• Communicating with enthusiasm.
• Finding what works.
Clown Creativity - Intermediate Clown Workshop
To participate in this workshop, you must have previously participated in at least one initiation workshop and have a basic knowledge of clowning.
Aimed at:
• All those who need a fresh injection of clown creativity.
• All those who wish to discover the best creativity triggers for clowns
• All who want to stimulate their brains and bodies, overcome procras- tination or stagnation, loosen up and go on adventures.
“If you’re looking for different results, don’t always do the same thing.” – Albert Einstein.
Our clowns constantly exploit their creative potential; they don’t restrain their curiosity or ingenuity. Looking at the world through their eyes, our normal, limited perspective cracks into a thousand pieces. We become more spontaneous and open-minded. We begin to freely associate ideas and our body throws itself into expressing them. We invent comic universes where anything can happen, and we use whatever will serve as a springboard to go further than most would dare – into the very heart of chaos…
“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” – Linus Pauling.
You’ve lost touch with the Muses? Or maybe you’ve been keeping them busy on trivial tasks? Or maybe they’re calling you daily but you just haven’t got around to asking them out on a date? Here is your chance! A party for Muses.
We’ll invite them to inspire us; dress them up, sit them in the place of honor and show them we’re prepared to not be in control. We’ll sing them silly songs, forget what we think we know and throw in our talents to boot. We’ll have a ball!
Warning! During the workshop we’ll be practicing the following extreme sports:
1. Imaginative bungee jumping
2. Climbing slippery perspectives
3. Surfing with unusual ideas
4. Hands on gliding
5. Entering prohibited spaces
6. Opening the doors at random
In this workshop you will learn to:
• Activate your creativity and give your imagination a kick start.
• Explore, rediscover or free your clown’s incredible ingenuity.
• Allow your brilliant and original ideas to surface.
• Motivate yourself on a daily basis.
• Surprise yourself and amaze others.
• Be more unpredictable and magnetic on stag
Playing with Power - Advenced Clown Workshop
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Clowns have always understood the comic value of using clearly defined status differences in their acts. Inflated authority figures and innocent simpletons appear in clown traditions worldwide, and the contrasts and collisions they’ve played out down the centuries have been incredibly varied and rich. Without a doubt, radical status differences between clowns allow for some very funny interactions and, although it’s true that low status clowns are more likely to steal the audience’s hearts, it’s the eccentric authority figures who enable them to do so.
Today, the role your clown plays doesn’t necessarily define his/her status; kings and butlers can be either dominant or submissive (or in between, depending on the number of clowns on stage). These days, power is as slippery as fish; at any time it can be lost, snatched, or unwittingly given away. The clowns who know their place in the status hierarchy can play these subtle or obvious power exchanges to great comic effect. However, to be able to achieve the best results, it is important to know; what role best suits your clown, the rhythms and body language of high and low status role-play, which games work best, and how to play them effectively to create hilarious comedy routines.
When creating clown material defining our status is essential, but in our daily lives similar power dynamics are likely to be at play in many of our interactions with others. We change roles continuously and, with them, our status; we are parent, customer, son/daughter, employee, brother/sister, leader, friend, enemy, slave, etc. In fact, we are all experts in playing both high and low status; we’re just not always conscious of it. Learning about the mechanisms involved in clown power games is a great way to understand how we can play all these roles in our daily lives without losing an iota of our own power.
In this course you will learn:
• Who deserves “the most powerful of them all” gold medal.
• How it feels to have a dozen servants.
• How to have fun even through you’re being bossed around.
• How to undermine the credibility of any authority figure.
• How to play with power effectively.
This course is your opportunity to be God, a rock star, a bank robber, a butler, etc… anyone you ever wanted to be! Come prepared to explore the extremes and master the techniques involved in this classic, essential component of all clown business.
How to get into trouble - Advenced Clown Workshop
.Clowns have always understood the comic value of using clearly defined status differences in their acts. Inflated authority figures and innocent simpletons appear in clown traditions worldwide, and the contrasts and collisions they’ve played out down the centuries have been incredibly varied and rich. Without a doubt, radical status differences between clowns allow for some very funny interactions and, although it’s true that low status clowns are more likely to steal the audience’s hearts, it’s the eccentric authority figures who enable them to do so.
Today, the role your clown plays doesn’t necessarily define his/her status; kings and butlers can be either dominant or submissive (or in between, depending on the number of clowns on stage). These days, power is as slippery as fish; at any time it can be lost, snatched, or unwittingly given away. The clowns who know their place in the status hierarchy can play these subtle or obvious power exchanges to great comic effect. However, to be able to achieve the best results, it is important to know; what role best suits your clown, the rhythms and body language of high and low status role-play, which games work best, and how to play them effectively to create hilarious comedy routines.
When creating clown material defining our status is essential, but in our daily lives similar power dynamics are likely to be at play in many of our interactions with others. We change roles continuously and, with them, our status; we are parent, customer, son/daughter, employee, brother/sister, leader, friend, enemy, slave, etc. In fact, we are all experts in playing both high and low status; we’re just not always conscious of it. Learning about the mechanisms involved in clown power games is a great way to understand how we can play all these roles in our daily lives without losing an iota of our own power.
In this course you will learn:
• Who deserves “the most powerful of them all” gold medal.
• How it feels to have a dozen servants.
• How to have fun even through you’re being bossed around.
• How to undermine the credibility of any authority figure.
• How to play with power effectively.
This course is your opportunity to be God, a rock star, a bank robber, a butler, etc… anyone you ever wanted to be! Come prepared to explore the extremes and master the techniques involved in this classic, essential component of all clown business.