Have you ever wondered what your clown is like?
In a one month red nose clown workshop led by Giovanni Fusetti, a group of 13 clowns-to-be-came together to play and discover forms in a physical theatre process. Participants came from all around Australia, and it was a pleasure to support their process as the Assistant/ Observer. Everyone came together on the first day mostly as strangers and with a sense that for the next month during the working week they would be on the journey of exploring clown. It was an opportunity to watch the process rather than be a participant in the process, which I had been a few times before.
A fascinating and often deeply moving process of watching people find what is ridiculous, stupid and funny about themselves, to play with things that are usually hidden in society. Through breathwork, theatrical movement exploration, technique to voice and costume the students all found clown forms that made me laugh out loud every day, throughout the day. They worked together to present a show at the end of the month and this fixed point to perform for a friendly audience who understood the newness of the clowns. the world needs to have more clowns in it who can make us laugh, 13 more great clowns is a good start.
Melbourne Masks & Theatre 