Clown class with Aitor

I was fortunate enough to take a two week Master Clown class with Aitor Basauri. He is a very kind, hilarious, smart, creative teacher. I would absolutely take a class with him again.
Here are some of his quotes from my notes:
When playing comedy, there are two things going on simultaneously - the scene, and the game.
The audience likes us when we are ourselves.
If you don't try to be very good, you will be very bad.
When you feel vulnerable, look at the audience.
If you make fun of yourself, there is no room for the audience to laugh at you.
Your commitment is what we laugh at.
To be repeatable for a laugh, play with the details.
Clowns don't stop trying.
A clown is very good or very bad, in the middle is not a clown.
Our pledge: I am going to give you everything I have.
In group scenes, make a big situation so you can destroy it together.
Come out with pleasure.
Clowns create material that is very bad. And it is so funny.
Play like you mean it. Like you are going to do/be the best.
Commit BIG to each idea.
We might not learn anything, but we experience.
Notice if the audience is liking the game, play that.
Take what you are creating to the end.
If you aren't going to be funny, be beautiful.
Do the exercise/performance to the best of your abilities.
As a clown, it's important to always have audience to create material.
When you enter, do something to make audience think, 'Oh good, we are in good hands'.
Always have an end prepared.
Don't be afraid of making decisions.
Rule of thumb: explain less, do more.
We need to see the stupid idea of the clown in the beginning.
Clowns must write their material.

The game Mister Hit, with Zee, Lara, Christine, Roberta, Tom, Kylee, Guest.

The second week class
Lara, Della, Zee, Kimberly, Tom, Aitor, Brandon, Molly, Kylee, Christine, Roberta.

Deep Clown Cabaret

We did it! We completed David MacMurray-Smith's 2015 Deep Clown class. And what a transformitive experience it was again. He has such knowledge, and compassion, and generosity. I feel so luck to know and learn from him. Our final assignment was to perform in the Deep Clown Cabaret. Here are some of those photos...

The venue:

Me in my pre-show costume.

 Andrea's great outfit and face...

 Our game faces...

 Clowns backstage.

 The line-up. We did a musical ensemble to start the show...

...then I did a balloon race, a long-armed clock act, and a long arm of the law quick audience piece.

It was a super fun show, and I was so proud of everyone! So proud!!! On Sunday we had a final class full of gratitude, and tears, and beautiful and meaningful graduation coins from David. It was a sweet, sweet end to an inspiring workshop, and just another addition to the compilation of learning opportunities I intend to absorb, and grow from over my lifetime.

May Vaudevillingham

The set list. I was Super Cowboy (an act I started from Deep Clown) whose job was fighting toilet-paper nightmares, demons, and monsters under yer bed with her trusty squirt gun.

Deep Clown

About 5 years ago, I had the honor and privilege to meet a man named David MacMurray-Smith. He is a clown instructor from BC. It was then that I took his 2.5 month course titled: Creative character development and personal transformation through clown... baby clown. It changed my life. It is still changing my life.

So now, more than 5 years later, I am taking his secondary level class: Deep Clown. 8-hour classes, 3x a week, for 8 weeks. We are halfway through, and I feel the grand effects stirring again. This time I am learning not only as student, but noting how he is teaching, so I can share some of his valuable instruction in my classes. I have so much respect for this man. He is outrageously knowledgeable, hugely inspiring, and supportively dedicated and kind. I really cannot thank him enough.

 From top left: David, Andrea, Melissa, Suna, Avian, Kate, Raj, Nadine, Anwar.

From bottom left: Karim, Allie, Tyrel, Anjela, Me.

I love this work!

Rivers ClownHawk Birthday

This year, River had a ClownHawk bowling party for his birthday. I of course wore Rivers moustache (he gave me his real-fake moustache years ago and is borrowing it for this picture. I'm wearing licorice.), but the name also inspired me to don my favorite clown suite, and make a balloon mohawk to compliment the look. 

 Chipps was there!

Melanie was there and she couldn't get enough of Rivers Moustache.

Who could blame her, really?

 More Moustache-love from Melanie!

Rivers Mom (Joan) couldn't get enough of Santa (Gabriel), even with the evil Krampus in the background (the Dirty Birds in disguise, who swept me away for a brief, random video shoot!)

As a good clown should, I brought a bunch of other balloons for just-in-case. They fit in perfectly at the bowling alley.

 Joan's moustache cake: the hair is made from licorice! Brilliant!

Birthdays, friends, costumes, cake, Santa, bowling, moustaches... thanks River, what an awesome party!

Phillipe Gaullier Workshop

Los Angeles. I took Phillipe Gauleir's two week Master Clown class. He was an apprentice of Lecoq, a well-know clown and clown instructor. He typically teaches at his own school, outside Paris. He teaches in the style "La Negativa", which essentially means through giving negative feedback.

Here is Hollywood Boulevard! I had to go there because it is next to the Value Village where I got my dress for the class. Phillipe assigns you a character, and I was appointed "Madam".

The lineup... Phillipe would line us up and have us do a task, like make a sound like a coffee grinder. The ones who did it the "best", typically meaning with the most enjoyment/delight/pleasure,  would get to stay and play longer, or more, or different games.

One of our warm-ups... Mr. Hit.

 Teams played jump rope. If you (as an individual) lost for your team 3 times in a session, you were in the handicap group. Here is the handicap group... barely making it here...

 ...struggling there.

 A chorus of vaccume-cleaner sounds.

 Game where competing teams try to win the ball.

Me (as a Babushka...Phillipe had me change from Madam toward the end of the workshop) and Ned Brauer.

It was a challenging class. There were 30 of us, so limited solo time in front of Phillipe. It was scary, and eye-opening. I learned a lot about play, lying as a tool to play, and my face/smile. My smile can be a mask, and his job was to peel off our masks. My favorite message from Phillipe, and I quote, "Your smile is an international catastrophe!" I love it.

Clowning Around

I feel so lucky to have had an introduction to clown work.  It has been one of the most enlightening, trans-formative work I have ever done. It pushes, stretches, and squeezes me out of my comfort zone in ways that allow me to see and understand myself more deeply... for the good and the ugly.  My interest in this work is for performance professionalism, but mostly, for becoming a better person.  It has helped me understand myslef better, communicate more honestly, and share and listen more deeply.

 This is the cast of the (Eternal Debut of the) Poupon Parade, a group of clowns that I had the pleasure of working with in Canada in 2012.

 This is Islando and my act as Picante and Shiza'am to "Sweet Dreams" that we made immediately after our Baby Clown course with David McMurray Smith.

 This is the cast of the Banunky Fun Force (minus Mike Mathew), a show we put together to open for Le Serpent Rouge at the Wild Buffalo in 2011... lots of clown inspiration here (Chipps, Jules, Islando, Justincredible).

 The cast of the Super Hero Boy Band... all clowns who took David's Deep Clown class... one I hope to take in the future. (Aaron Malkin, Islando Bocock, Alaistar Knowles)

 The chair dance is an act I made in 2009 that I have been continuing to perform and tweak with help from clown work.

This is the group at the latest workshop I took called in Canada called, Presence, Play, and the Red Nose, a weekend workshop by Justine Williams of the Glass Contraption from NYC. It was great fun. She suggested her mentor Christopher Bays for more classes... I'f anyone's interested... =)