Rochester's ROCHAHA CLOWN FESTIVAL Debuts Next Month
Six-day fest features award-winning performers from all over North America.
The inaugural RocHaHa Clown Festival takes place this coming September 24-28 at Rochester's Multi-use Community Cultural Center (142 Atlantic Ave.), featuring some of the finest and funniest clowns in North America.
Co-produced and founded by Rochester's own Katherine Marino and PUSH Physical Theatre Creative Director Ashley Jones, the six-day festival offers a unique blend of performances, workshops and community engagement.
Tickets range from $15-$35 for the shows and $60-$80 for the workshops. All tickets are available at rochaha.com for the following events:
Tuesday 24th September
7pm Itchy Clowns Night (A Rochester Community Cabaret)
by RocHaha Clown Fest (ASL Interpreted)
Wednesday 25th September
6pm Soft Clown: The Heart of Performance
with Natasha Mercado (Workshop)
Thursday 26th September
7pm My Grandmother's Eye Patch by Julia VanderVeen (ASL Interpreted)
8.30pm TREE by Natasha Mercado (ASL Interpreted)
Friday 27th September
7pm TREE by Natasha Mercado
8.30pm 1-MAN NO-SHOW by Isaac Kessler (ASL Interpreted)
Saturday 28th September
10am The Comic Impulse with Julia VanderVeen (Workshop)
2pm Creative Play with Isaac Kessler (Workshop)
7pm My Grandmother's Eye Patch by Julia VanderVeen
8.30pm 1-MAN NO-SHOW by Isaac Kessler
Performers include internationally renowned Canadian Comedy Award nominee Isaac Kessler; Los Angeles-based comedy artist Natasha Mercado; and off-the-wall, award-winning NYC-based Juliav VanderVeen. Marino, Jones, and other local performers will also participate in the festival's opening-night Itchy Clowns Night (A Rochester Community Cabaret).
"We started the festival to expose Rochester to a combination of the talents of our growing clown community paired with some incredible artists that we wouldn't ordinarily get a chance to see," explains Marino, a frequent PUSH performer who also produces her own shows and workshops.
"Clowning has informed so much of my work, and keeps me energized and excited," adds Jones, co-creator/co-performer of PUSH's award-winning fringe festival and Off-Broadway hit, Generic Male - Just What We Need, Another Show About Men. "And clowns do more than just make us laugh - they actually show us how to laugh and what to laugh at."
ABOUT ROCHAHA
RocHaha 2024 is co-produced by Professor Aardvark and Muffin Theatre Productions and is completely artist-led and mission-driven to celebrate clowning in all its forms: multi-disciplinary, wordless, circus-theater, puppetry/animation, object theater, mime, live art, and physical theater. Founded with an ambition to combine the talents of Rochester's own burgeoning clown community with award-winning, world-renowned clowns and physical theater makers from across the globe, 2024 marks RocHaha's first year of programming.
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