I shot this video at the recent 50th anniversary of Clown College reunion. Jeff Gordon (Gordoon) did this fantastic bubble act, and I captured it on film. With his permission, I’m sharing it via Youtube! Enjoy!
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Chicago Puppet Cabaret Nasty Brutish and Short is performing at Links Hall on Monday December 11 at 7:30 pm. This show features some of the best puppeteers in the area putting on new work, experimental work, and samples of their work. Nasty Brutish & Short is an evening of contemporary short-form puppet and object based theater for adult audiences. The […]
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I’ve recently joined a new social network. If you are reading this blogpost, you may be interested in it also. It’s called CircusTalk, and it’s a professional social network for circus performers worldwide. The basic idea is to use the same kinds of digital tools that other professions use, but gear it towards circus. It’s LinkedIn for circus! Once you […]
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PHYSICAL FESTIVAL CHICAGO is calling for proposals of physical theater plays for its 5th edition of the festival that will run in June 2018. An annual contemporary, visual, and physical theater festival based in Chicago, Physical Festival presents new forms of theater that are being performed around the world and in our backyard. In 2014, Alice da Cunha and Marc Frost […]
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For over 30 years, Clown Camp has been an intensive training ground for newcomer clowns and for seasoned clowns to hone their skills. Clown Camp was founded and directed by Dr. Richard Snowberg, a clown for over 35 years and an inductee into the International Clown Hall of Fame. Since 1981, over 6000 people from over 25 different countries have […]
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Rik Gern (aka Bonzo Crunch) is a grassroots entertainer currently based in Austin, Texas. He’s been working as a performer since 1978 in places as varied as Chicago, Texas, California, and Australia. Rik Gern started performing in the mid 1970’s, and then studied at the Dell’arte School of Mime and Comedy in 1982 in Blue Lake California, where he […]
Read morePLEASE NOTE: THIS DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL NOVEMBER 20! It’s not often that clowns get praised for being abstract, but here’s our chance! The Healthcare Clowning International Meeting (HCIM) is holding its 2018 meeting from April 4-6, 2018 in Vienna Austria. The topic of the meeting is “The Art of Clowning- Connecting Culture, Health, and Science.” CALL […]
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Book Kennison is a pretty phenomenal juggler who has been working on and off with Chicago’s Midnight Circus since he was 14 years old. Here’s a video of his act on the Midnight Circus from a couple of years ago. And here’s a home video of Book and a friend of his playing some incredible volleys of chair badminton while […]
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Steve Kaplan ‘s book The Hidden Tools of Comedy is a great book for people who are constructing comic scripts. While the book focuses intensively on movies and television, the advice given here is equally applicable to work in the theatre, or even in novels. Fair warning: There are no magic bullets here. Kaplan is not a believer in comic […]
Read moreA version of this review of the Semi Circus show Murmurations originally appeared on the blog http://www.dadapalooza.com Semi Circus  Murmurations I recently saw a new Chicago circus perform their first show. Semi Circus started in 2016 as a circus collective.  They use circus skills, physical theater, improv and other skills to create plays.  Murmurations is their first show. The show […]
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I received a book a couple of weeks ago (Slapstick Divas: The Women of Silent Comedy) by film historian and film series curator Steve Massa that has made for fascinating reading and introduced me to the stories of dozens of very funny comediennes. When we think of silent film comedy today, a great deal of attention gets paid to the […]
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I have been fascinated by American/Australian clown and performer Ira Seidenstein‘s Four Articulations Method for some time. While I haven’t had any direct interaction with the method, it seems to be a creative method using tools and exercises to become more physically articulate with your body, and thus allow yourself to use your full capabilities to express yourself. Michelle Cajolet-Couture, […]
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I got a link to a video today, and after watching it, I felt a little sad/verklempt about Ringling going away. Â (If you don’t know the word verklempt, you should definitely look it up. Â Yiddish words have a way with getting to the heart of emotions. The video is a sad, maudlin, and touching pictorial tribute/video of Ringling clowns. It’s […]
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THE SECRET LIFE OF CLOWNS Former Cirque du Soleil clown (and Clown Conservatory director) Jeff Raz has written a great new book The Secret Life of Clowns that marries two jobs that he put his heart and soul into. For a brief time, Raz was doing both of these demanding jobs at the same time, and now, about 10 years […]
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My friend Trav SD, who writes the wonderful blog Travalanche, recently published the speech he gave at the Coney Island Congress of Curious Peoples. Â He was the keynote speaker, The topic is When Did the Circus Become Un-American. (or more accurately, when did the American Circus Become Un-American) Dick Zigun (founder of Coney Island Circus Sideshow) had suggested the topic […]
Read moreMontreal circus company Cavalia has a new show that opened recently in Chicago (playing through April 23, 2017 at Soldier Field). The show is called Odysseo and bills itself as “The Best Show Ever.” That’s a lot to live up to.  It’s a beautiful, sumptuous show that has amazingly talented acrobats, equestrians, and some of the most talented and trained horses […]
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