Mexican Clown Aziz Gual Stars in HURACLOWN at 24th STreet Theatre, 4/21 & 28

24th STreet Theatre continues its 15th Anniversary Season with Huraclown, an international co-production from Mexico sponsored by the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and starring acclaimed clown Aziz Gual. Performances take place at 11 am and 2 pm today, April 21 and again on Sunday, April 28.

Not your ordinary, everyday clown, Aziz forges a unique connection with both adults and children, leading the audience on a hilarious, poignant and poetic journey that illuminates life's profound sorrows and great joys. Although originating south of the border, Huraclown is presented not in Spanish, but in the universal language of "Clown."

"Our 15th Anniversary season has traversed North America with delicious world-class theater that families rarely get to see," says 24th STreet executive director Jay McAdams. "We began with Roma al final de la via (Rome at the End of the Line), a powerful show from Mexico, followed by a brilliant King Lear from Canada, then our own U.S. production of Walking the Tightrope. Now, Huraclown brings the season full circle with Aziz Gual, the best clown in all of Mexico."

24th STreet Theatre's ambitious 15th Anniversary Season aims to "reinvent" theater for young audiences in L.A., offering sophisticated, provocative productions that parents might not recognize as typical family fare, but which can be shared and enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

Aziz Gual graduated from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and has complemented his career with courses such as the Lecoq Technique seminars, master classes by French mime extraordinaire Marcel Marceau, and the study of Circus and Clown techniques at the École du Cirque Éspace Catastrophe in Brussels, Belgium. He is also a student of the renowned Russian circus artist, Anatoli Locachtchouk. Aziz has traveled throughout Mexico, the United States and Canada as a company member of the "Greatest Show on Earth" hosted by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He collaborated in the creation of the project "Circus of the World" which was developed and performed in Mexico by the famed Cirque du Soleil. He is founder and director of the street theater company "Cumbre Clown" with whom he has masterminded and performed an impressive number of spectacles. He has toured the world's festivals visiting countries like the U.S., Turkey, Italy, France, Croatia, Argentina, Brazil and Costa Rica with his international shows "Huraclown" and "De Risa en Risa" ("From Laugh to Laugh"), as well as countless festivals in Mexico, his native country. He taught the art of clowning in the project, "Towards a methodological construction of Circus Arts" at the National Center for the Arts, INBA. He promotes the art of humor through his classes and his visits to hospitals and other social, cultural and philanthropic programs in Mexico and abroad. Aziz received the Rubinskis Wolf award from the Mexican Association of Theater Critics AMCT for Best Young Actor in a play of his own creation, "Yo Sin Ti." He is the creator of the large-scale clown show, "La Bola Risa," which had a successful six-month run at the Julio Castillo theater. He was a special guest on the show, "Latin Tango" at the National Auditorium Lunario. He is currently working on the program Alas y Raices Children, CONCULTA, and with Bellas Artes at the National Theater School program in the belief that laughter is essential to building a better society.

Winner of the 2012 TCG Peter Zeisler Award for risk taking and innovation in the American theater, 24th STreet Theatre is known for being a leader in arts education and community outreach as well as for presenting quality professional theater for young and old alike. Using art as a tool to positively impact the world around them, 24th Street's programming includes free after school enrichment programs, Teatro Nuevo Latino Initiative projects, a music series, outreach programs for at-risk teens, free community events, professional development programs for teachers, arts-ed school workshops, gallery exhibits and international touring in addition to critically acclaimed season productions geared for both adult and family audiences.

Performances of Huraclown take place today, April 21 and Sunday, April 28 @ 11 am and 2 pm. Tickets are $15 for adults; $10 for kids under 16; $12 for students, seniors and teachers; and 24 cents for residents of the theater's surrounding North University Park neighborhood. 24th STreet Theatre is located at 1117 West 24th St., Los Angeles, CA 90007 (at the intersection of 24th and Hoover). Secure parking is available for $5 in the lot on the southeast corner of 24th and Hoover. The theater is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call (213) 745-6516 or go to www.24thstreet.org. (Huraclown is rated G - recommended for ages 4+)

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