Welcome to the clowns’ universe! It is a big pleasure for us to present two clown workshops of international quality.  

This is an opportunity for you to explore your creativity, both individually and within a group, for performance and personal development.

Workshop 1 – Explore your Clown
12 hours

Throughout this workshop, the emphasis is on having fun and searching for the beauty and poetry of each clown.  We will explore the clown’s world – what makes us laugh and why?  We will introduce you to classic disciplines necessary for clown, including status play, improvisation and parody.
We will guide you on your journey to find your own unique and personal way to bring your clown to life.  At the same time, we will teach you the process of building and maintaining the contact with the audience.  The workshop will culminate in a show, where there is a chance to perform solo and with the ensemble.

Workshop 2 – A Nose for the Clown
6 hours

We will introduce you to the art of making your own clown nose, using clay models and papier-mâché, inspired by a Russian tradition.  At the end of the workshop, the participants will try out their nose in front of an audience.

CREATIVE WORKSHOPS

I have experience of running workshops with many different groups of people, from children to the elderly.  They can be from half a day to a series of days, or weeks, dependent on your requirements.  The main aim of my workshops is to free up and inspire creativity and expression.  

I ran five different groups for young adults with varying levels of learning disabilities at The City of Westminster College, London from 2001 - 2003.  Main aims of these sessions were to give students an opportunity to express their individual and group identity through music and creative work.  Activities included: improvisation with percussion instruments, making instruments, singing, movement, vocal work, making puppets, art and drama.  We also visited the National Portrait Gallery, the Horniman Museum and an installation on the South Bank, to encourage character work and imagination.  Projects: we devised the sound and music for a production of the Myth of Hephaestus, also performed by the students and co-directed and stage-managed by me.  I also directed a puppet show of Peter and the Wolf, all puppets being made by the students.

I led this group for six years, until 2007.  The nature of this work was body-centred: breathing, voice and movement.  We also looked at the body/mind relationship in detail.  Themes explored were travel (member’s life journies), stories, friendship, issues arising from being within a women only group, the London terrorist bombings, the concept of home.  Members dramatised their experiences through improvisation and movement and also explored these themes through poetry, songs, plays and literature.  Skills acquired included working together, stage performance, painting stage sets, writing short pieces and video.

Participants: adults ranging in age from about 30 – 70 years.  Most were in temporary or supported accommodation, and had mental health issues.     

I co-ran workshops with this group for two years (2001 – 2003).  Our aims were to encourage members to explore their creativity within a safe environment.  We produced and directed 3 theatre productions and 2 art and video installations.  These were based on issues that the group members wanted to explore (e.g. the dangers of rough sleeping, talent on the streets, the concept of home).  We also co-directed the world premiere of a staged production of Benjamin Britten’s five canticles in Westminster Abbey, with Streetwise Opera and Tête á Tête productions: five homeless centres in London devised and performed scenes for each canticle.

Participants: adults ranged in age from about 25 – 90 years, on average 90% male.  A large majority lived rough, or were in temporary accommodation.  Most group members had mental health problems and/or alcohol and drug addictions.  Sessions were run in a day centre for the homeless in central London.

I ran workshops at Kensington and Chelsea College for three years, with students on the CACHE diploma courses.  We primarily looked at the nature of play, finding ways to encourage children to explore creatively.  Areas covered included breath, voice, movement, dance, non-verbal communication, storytelling, music and games.  An essential part of these workshops is to encourage the students themselves to play again, allowing their creativity to inspire others.  This involves each student exploring their own ideas and experiences of play.

For more information and prices, please contact me.

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