New York Clown Theatre Festival to Offer Clown Cabarets & Workshops, Sept. 3-26

The 2010 New York Clown Theatre Festival begins on September 3 with its traditional opening day parade from Union Square through the L line subway to Williamsburg, followed by an open-to-the-public pie fight at The Brick Theater. The festival closes on September 26 with the traditional closing day Funeral, with clowns weeping and wailing in the streets of Williamsburg. This year's festival will also present 5 different clown cabarets, including a cabaret devoted to clowns over 50, Short and Fatty's Half-Century Extravaganza.

Please make a note that there have been some schedule changes to the programs offered by The 2010 New York Clown Teatre Festival. These changes can be viewed online at www.bricktheater.com

The NEW YORK CLOWN THEATRE FESTIVAL will run September 3-26 at The Brick (575 Metropolitan Avenue between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street, Brooklyn; subway: L to Lorimer, G to Metropolitan). Tickets ($15 Regular / $10 for Weekend Matinee Family Shows) are available online at www.bricktheater.com or by calling 1-866-811-4111.

Clown cabarets will take place periodically throughout the season, with new guests each night. For a full listing of the cabarets scheduled, please visit www.bricktheater.com

Some of the cabarets include:

OPENING NIGHT CABARET
Price: FREE
Friday, September 3 @ 10pm
Following the opening day parade and pie fight Audrey Crabtree, Eric Davis and Robert Honeywell host this opening night event featuring festival participants Clowns with Gowns, Coney Island Chris, Ferdinand, Kapinski Private Eye, Neon Lights' Jeff and Buttons, Morro and Jasp do Puberty, Gabriela Muñoz and Shorty and Fatty.

CLOWN CABARET
Price: $15
Thursday September 9 @ 10:30pm
New York's clown superstar, Eric Davis, hosts a diverse night of clowns from all over the world featuring Cliff (Barbara Ann Michaels), Leah Abel & Olivia Lerhman, This is Bob (Richard Harrington & Laura Walton), Don't Ever Tell Anyone What Happens in This House, and Two-Hander (Audrey Crabtree & Jonathan Kaplan). The evening will also including excerpts from the festival shows Cirkus Luna, Diz and Izzy, Hula Hell is Miss Saturn, and Legs and All.

SHORTY AND FATTY'S HALF CENTURY EXTRAVAGANZA
Price: $15
Sunday September 19 @ 5pm
www.tooshorttofallover.com
Two old birds are showcasing a bunch of old farts. Shorty and Fatty (Deborah Kaufmann and Karen McCarty) host an evening of clowns over 50 years old.

Along with cabarets, the New York Clown Theatre Festival is offering clown workshops that will cover a wide range of topics and techniques. Information about these workshops can be found at www.bricktheater.com

Clown Workshops include:

TO BE CAUGHT: A CLOWN WORKSHOP
Joan Schirle
www.dellarte.com/dellarte.aspx?id=52&staffID=8
Saturday, September 11 & Sunday, September 12 from 10am-3pm
Location: Triskelion Arts, 118 North 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211, www.triskelionarts.org
Fee: $200; Maximum: 15
The world of the theatre clown is generated from the empty space of the stage. The clown brings the space alive in a dynamic partnership with the audience. "To be caught," to be captured by what IS, is the goal of our play. We will play with presence, breath, voice, movement, status, and delight in the playing. On the second day we will investigate The Situation of the clowns' journey to set us on the road to laughter. By working in ensemble, we learn who our clown is in relation to community. Joan Schirle is the director of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre and will offer the teaching of DAI based in founder Carlo Mazzone-Clementi's principles of Effort, Risk, Momentum, Joy.^TM

PHYSICAL COMEDY
John Towsen
http://physicalcomedy.blogspot.com/
September 18, 19, 25, & 26
Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm
Location: Triskelion Arts, 118 North 11th Street, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11211, www.triskelionarts.org
Fee: $350; Maximum: 15
A hands-on crash course in physical comedy vocabulary for clowns, mimes, actors, and everyone in between. Technique leads to application in short pieces, with an emphasis on character interaction, gag structure, and storytelling. Skills are centered around working with your partner (counterweights, levers, mounts, lifts, partner tumbling) and with the physical world around you (tables, chairs, doors, props, etc.). Some performance experience and a reasonably sound body highly recommended, but all levels of experience welcome.

BEING A CLOWN OR PHYSICAL ACTOR AT Cirque du Soleil
Yves Sheriff
www.cirquedusoleil.com
Tuesday September 21 @ 9pm
Price: FREE (non-ticketed event)
Come meet Senior Artistic Talent Scout Yves Sheriff to learn more about life at Cirque du Soleil from a clown and a physical actor's perspective. Get an insight on the casting process from audition to the on-stage experience. This talk will include various video excerpts of clown routines and Cirque du Soleil documentaries.

 

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