Led by Jon Davison — the creator of the London Clown School — this workshop dives into the fundamental dynamics of clowning: what happens between us when we clown in front of others, alone or with others. (More details below!)
REGISTRATION
Class size is limited!
Saturday, September 24 + Sunday, September 25
10am-5pm (with a one-hour lunch break, not provided)
Story Parlor | 227 Haywood Road, Asheville, NC 28006
Early bird price (before August 31): $200
Regular (September 1): $250
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This workshop is concerned with laughter, and the unique relationship the clown performer has with it — when it is present and when it is absent. But it is not concerned directly with the question of HOW to be funny. Nor is it concerned with the question of WHY something is funny. These are not inane questions but they are dealt with amply by others elsewhere.
Laughter is the fulcrum upon which clowning balances. Laughter does amazing things to us, physically, emotionally, spiritually, intellectually. Whilst we are immersed in it, it seems to relieve us of the burdens of norms, expectations and even meaning itself. What a relief!
But it is never under our control. To pursue such domination is a pointless task. But neither is it advisable to discard it, out of fear of not attaining it. Clowns who MUST be funny and clowns who DON’T HAVE to be funny are a turn off.
This workshop is mostly about relationships, between you and others, whether you or they are clowning or witnessing the clowning. The relationships form dynamically and change rapidly in real time, buffeted about by actions, responses, laughter, the absence of laughter, and our feelings about ourselves and others.
Converting our habitual fear of ridicule into the pleasure of laughing at ourselves, we can use it to make others laugh and experience the freedom clowning. How do clowns do what they do, how does your stupidity make you a success, and how does the unthinkably ridiculous come about?
When you really look, most things are ridiculous: our bodies, our movements, our ideas, our emotions, our words, our relationships, the universe. The only aim in clowning is to turn failure into success, fear into laughter, suffering into joy. We don’t need to change ourselves, just look at everything from another perspective. It’s a human thing to do, so anyone can do it.
Clowning is sometimes shrouded in mystery but in reality it's a very simple mode of performance. This workshop uses simple exercises rooted in laughter response in order to access clowning in the most direct manner possible.
For more information: info@jondavison.net
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Jon Davison has been a clown performer, teacher, director and writer for the last 40 years. He has performed at festivals, theatres, tents, streets and bars throughout Europe, and taught worldwide. Pre-pandemic he was the producer of the long-running monthly clown theatre show ‘Friday Flop’. He is currently working on a new solo show drawing on pre-modern European traditions of carnival.
He taught clown, improvisation and acting at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona from 1996-2006, when he became a co-founder of the Escola de Clown de Barcelona. From 2007-2010 he was a Research Fellow investigating contemporary clown/actor training at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where he obtained his PhD in Clown Performance Practice. He is now Lecturer in Clowning at London Metropolitan University. He has pioneered research and teaching of clown history and theory via his online Clown Studies Course and is now collaborating on an international research project exploring the decolonisation of clown pedagogy.
He has published two books, Clown: Readings in Theatre Practice (2013) and Clown Training - a practical guide (2015), both with Palgrave Macmillan. His third book, The Clowning Workbook, is to be published in 2022.
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Workshop participants must produce a negative self-test each morning regardless of vaccination status. Masks are not required; if preferred, it is recommended a transparent mask be considered in order to allow for the full expression of this workshop’s offerings.