THROW BACK THURSDAY TO THE LAUNDRY GAG! 3 years ago today, my son and I ventured a couple of hours away to Baraboo Wisconsin to see friends Steven Copeland and Ryan Combs perform in our nearly annual visit to Circus World Museum. This version of the Laundry Gag came up in my timehop today, and I thought I’d share it […]
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The first week of August is National Clown Week. It was declared so by Richard Nixon, when Congress on October 8, 1970, passed the following law/resolution: S Since that time period, people have been taking some time during this month to celebrate, and often there are various organizations that meet or hold festivals. And in 1991, people started calling it […]
Read moreI’ve written about Joe Dieffenbacher before, but as it turns out, I’ve written mostly about projects he’s been involved with, or classes he’s been creating. I’ve never written a post directly about him. So It’s time. It’s time. When I met Joe, he was the janitor at the Dell’arte School. He’d graduated a few years before, and was hanging around […]
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Great 30 minute interview (in English) with famous clown David Larible on the podcast/video show Lockdown’s Got Talent. If you don’t know Larible, you totally should. He’s a seventh-generation circus performer who has headlined most of the major circuses in the world, including Ringling, Circus Roncali, Circus Krone, Circus Knie, and many other shows. He’s performed on the stage […]
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Clowns Being Clowns: The PassAlong Video! Sometimes clowns being clowns is enough to make a video about. Inspired by the popular passing videos that are going around (especially the stuntman video) a group of Ringling trained clowns (myself included) got together and said: “Let’s do this!” Planned in a private Facebook group, and organized by New York clown Joel Jeske […]
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I got my copy of A Clown In Our Town a few weeks ago, and I have been meaning to write about it. It’s a wonderful tribute to Rob Torres, who passed away unexpectedly in 2018.  I wrote his obituary here: RIP- Rob Torres, International Man of Mirth. Photographer Jim Moore, who has taken more photos of clowns, circuses, […]
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Angela Delfini Explains It All For You. Oct 4-7, 2018 in Chicago. Directly from the New York Clown Festival, Italian clown Angelina Delfini is taking her show (along with her director John Towsen) on the road to Chicago for a one week set of workshops and performances at the PROP Theatre. The show features Delfini as both a psychiatrist and […]
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It is with very sad heart that I relay the fact that Rob Torres, International Man of Mirth has passed away. UPDATE 12/10/2019:Â Jim Moore’s book/tribute to Rob Torres is now available. Read the review for more information. I saw him perform at the New York Clown Festival, with Big Apple a couple of times, and a few times as […]
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Ron “Toto” Johnson has been a clown his entire life. He started in 1977 at age 10 in his hometown of Naugatuck CT. He graduated Ringling Clown College in 1985. He has since worked in circuses, theme parks, casinos, riverboats, parades, carnivals, and just about every other venue you can think of. He has performed all over the world, including […]
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The people at CloWnStePPinG have been producing a Clown Cabaret Scratch night in Edinburgh since 2014. It’s been pretty successful, and they are now looking to step it up a notch, and are looking to produce the first ever Edinburgh Clown Festival from May 3- May 5, 2018. Officially known as the Edinburgh Contemporary Clown Theatre Festival (ECCTF?), the shows will […]
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I read with a heavy heart the story about Grandma the Clown (Barry Lubin) ‘s resignation from the Big Apple Circus. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/23/nyregion/big-apple-circus-grandma-clown-resigns.html It suffices to say that this is terrible news for everyone all around. Of course, for the young girl, and for Barry, and for Barry’s friends, and for the Big Apple Circus, and of course, circus people […]
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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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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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