Otsie Kerplotsie

Otsie Kerplotsie is Brooklyn clown and NY Downtown Clown Impresario Christopher Luecke. Christopher was born in Milwaukee, WI. He is a graduate of The Dell’ Arte International School of Physical Theatre in Blue Lake, CA and has also earned a BFA in Acting from Brooklyn College (Cum Laude). Most recently he has studied clown with the New York GOOFS. Christopher is an actor and clown for stage and film. He has performed in many venues including the Brooklyn Public Library, dirty little theatres, and the Grand Ole Opry and has also appeared in many small films. When not performing Christopher teaches puppetry in the New York Public Schools with Puppetry in Practice. He is also a certified instructor of Japanese samurai sword fighting and enjoys beating people up in competitions. In his role as Otsie, Christopher performs at birthday parties, social gatherings, and many other events. In fact, he even offers a discount-- call him and mention WEB, and you'll get $25 off your show. To find out more about Otsie Kerplotsie, visit the website listed below, or just give him a call. http://www.otsieclown.com/ 347-585-9767

RIP, Larry Harmon

Thanks to Pat Cashin's Clownalley.net for the heads up. Larry Harmon, the licensor of Bozo the Clown died Thursday due to congestive heart failure. Say what you will about Bozo, but Larry Harmon was personally responsible for entertaining millions of children.he entertained MILLIONS of children over the years. And that makes him a giant in my book. RIP, Bozo! Larry Harmon, who turned the character Bozo the Clown into a show business staple that delighted children for more than a half-century, died Thursday of congestive heart failure. He was 83. His publicist, Jerry Digney, told The Associated Press he died at his home. Although not the original Bozo, Harmon portrayed the popular clown in countless appearances and, as an entrepreneur, he licensed the character to others, particularly dozens of television stations around the country. The stations in turn hired actors to be their local Bozos. "You might say, in a way, I was cloning BTC (Bozo the Clown) before anybody else out there got around to cloning DNA," Harmon told the AP in a 1996 interview. "Bozo is a combination of the wonderful wisdom of the adult and the childlike ways in all of us," Harmon said. Pinto Colvig, who also provided the voice for Walt Disney's Goofy, originated Bozo the Clown when Capitol Records introduced a series of children's records in 1946. Harmon would later meet his alter ego while answering a casting call to make personal appearances as a clown to promote the records. He got that job and eventually bought the rights to Bozo. Along the way, he embellished Bozo's distinctive look: the orange-tufted hair, the bulbous nose, the outlandish red, white and blue costume. "I felt if I could plant my size 83AAA shoes on this planet, (people) would never be able to forget those footprints," he said. Read the rest of the article on the NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/04/arts/television/04bozo.html

Laugh Out Loud Festival (NY)-3 more days

Emerging Artists Theatre and Paul Adams, Artistic Director, has been presenting a festival entitled LAUGH OUT LOUD at the Roy Arias Theatre Center, Off-Off Broadway Theatre (300 West 43rd St, 5th floor, NYC). The festival is curated by EAT member. Jenny Lee Mitchell and co-curated by Honey Goodenough and Carol Lee Sirugo. Performances began Tuesday, May 27, 2008, and run through Sunday, June 1, 2008. Here's what's going on for the next three days. Friday May 30th, 8pm Host: Deenie Nast - Lucky you-Deenie Nast, Oscar Winner, 2 time Tony winner and international performance artist will grace the LaughOutLoud Festival with her presence, performing a song-filled tribute to herself. with: All Kinds of Shifty Villains - directed by Rachel Klein - carnival noir, blending elements of circus with crime fiction Mika - diabolo artist and juggler Carol Lee Sirugo - Gwendolyn Rosa Lee is on a mission: to pay homage to her favorite musical, Gypsy. She wishes she could be Gypsy Rose Lee. She can't. But where talent fails, guts prevail! The Marriage Of Reason - puppetry by Sean Keohane - "The Marriage of Reason": Originally written for children in 1860s Paris, Polichinelle's battle of the sexes with a content bachelorette isn't only Politically Incorrect, it's just wrong! Naughty, bawdy puppets, religious mysticism, and totally unnecessary slapstick violence. Film Noir Clowns - Jeff Seal and Chris Manley . Two clowns attempt to recreate a classic film noir tale on stage. Saturday May 31st, 8pm Host: The Maestrosities - The Coolest Band Ever! Or so they think!!! with: Kendall Cornell as The Torch Singer - The Torch Singer laments love in a comically grand style. Kendall Cornell's Soon-To-Be-World-Famous Women's Clown Troupe kick up their heels with an assortment of comic song and dance numbers." Mika - diabolo artist and juggler Carol Lee Sirugo as Gwendolyn Rosa Lee Rob Lok Sunday June 1st, 5pm Host: Dierdre with: Logic Limited Ltd - clown troupe A Wrinkle in Starch - puppetry by Leslie Strongwater and David Michael Friend Phillip Guerette as Phildo The Clown Emergency Use Only - puppetry by Erica Mclaughlin Four droning strangers are stuck in a subway tunnel when inspiration strikes: they put their personal effects together an a puppet eager to dance emerges to breathe life into an otherwise hapless situation. Miron Gusso - storytelling and clowning LAUGH OUT LOUD plays the following regular schedule through Saturday, June 1, 2008: Tuesday at 7:30 pm Wednesday at 7:30 pm Thursday at 7:30 pm Friday at 8:00 pm Saturday at 8:00 pm Sunday at 5:00 pm Tickets are $10. Advanced tickets are recommended (only 55 tickets available per show). For reservations, please visit www.eatheatre.org, or call 866-811-4111. Tickets may also be purchased in person half-hour prior to the performance at Roy Arias Theatre Center (300 West 43rd St, 5th floor). * Running Time: 60 minutes * All performances include an open Talkback Session with the performer and staff after the show. Emerging Artists Theatre's mission is to provide a dynamic home for emerging writers and artists, providing the unique opportunity for playwrights to collaborate with directors, actors, and designers throughout the development process--from idea through fully realized production. EAT's supportive environment continues to nurture a close-knit group of artists working toward the common goal of creating dynamic theatre, and its commitment to the development of new works is integral to the cultural enrichment of New York City. To find out more about Emerging Artists, please visit their website listed below: http://www.eatheatre.org/

Laura Herts

Laura Herts is a France based American performer, whose training began years ago at the The Baltimore School for the Arts where she studied Dance and Visual Arts. Upon graduating, she began a world tour, which has now been extended into a lifetime experience. Through her travels she rediscovered a childhood passion; mime. From that moment on, she performed wherever possible, beginning with street performing and teaching mime in Israel in 1985. As her passion for the art of mime, improvisation, and comedy performance grew, she decided to continue her quest for experience and knowledge by travelling to and throughout Europe; participating in Theatre festivals and attending workshops and Schools based on the Physical Theater. Laura, studied under Lassaad Saidi, Jacques Lecoq, Philippe Gaulier, Daniel Stein, Stanislav Borgeofski, and Zigmund Mollic, while continuing to earn a living performing. Slowly and surely, Laura developed her original style of theater creating a world of clown, comedy, and social satire. She has created a number of one woman shows, including "The Last Tangle In Paradise," "Electric Lazy Land," and "Won Woman Show," as well as various cabaret numbers. Performing interactively with her audiences, she has played in theatres, cabarets, circuses, and many festivals throughout Europe, Japan, Brazil, Russia, Israel, and Madagascar, as well as teaching workshops in mime and clowning. To find out more about Laura's work, please visit her website listed below: www.lauraherts.com

Clown Therapy Workshop SF (May 26-29)

Clown Therapy Workshop - Weekend Intensive with Paoli Lacy May 24, 25, & 26 Saturday 2-6, Sunday 10-6, and Monday 10-1 Taught by Paoli Lacy, Godmother of Clown Therapy, this workshop will be an experiential, hands-on 2 1/2 day intensive. It will include practical kinesthetic learning of clown therapy techniques along with discussion of the theory and rationales for their use. A holistic approach to meeting psychological and physical challenges, Clown Therapy has been successful with health issues where mind, body, and a sense of humor need to converge. Clown Therapy is noted for serving special needs children at the crossroads of physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychotherapy, and creative arts, with Lucille Ball directing traffic. All participants will receive a copy of the Clown Therapy Handbook for future reference. Cost: $170.00 Discounts for AYCO members, Clown Conservatory and Dell ‘Arte graduates Classes held at the Circus Center San Francisco 755 Frederick Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 Phone: (415) 759-8123 Email: info@circuscenter.org WEBSITE: http://www.circuscenter.org Photo of Paoli Lacy from Rebecca Longworth's Flickr Page Permission to use photograph from Creative Commons License.

Clown School of San Francisco

The Clown School of San Francisco is a character based school that combines small classes with intensive personal work to create clown characters and routines. The focus is on creating work that is personal to the actor. The work is primarily theatrical and exploratory in nature-- not particularly of the circus. The instructor, Christina Lewis Clinton, has been teaching workshops in clown character development and improvisation for fifteen years. Christina started clowning in Nicaragua when she traveled there with a Women's Circus. She has studied and performed clowning in Europe, Mexico and the United States. She received her Master's in Drama Therapy in San Francisco. Christina and I studied together with Czech master clown Ctibor Turba. They are currently in the midst of a 20 week session that started January 20 and will finish in May with a public show. They will also have an intensive two day workshop in June. To find out more about their work, visit their website listed below: http://www.clownschoolsf.org/

Safety Last, with Ben Model Riverdale, NY 1/26

Safety Last with Ben Model Yes, it's Harold Lloyd in his iconic climb up the side of the 12-story Bolton Building, accompanied live by Ben Model, a silent film historian and accompanist for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. In 1997 he founded "The Silent Clowns Film Series" with film historian Bruce Lawton. Ben composes all his own scores, and performs in a style that is both evocative of the silent era and also aware of a contemporary (and younger) audience's awareness of music and film scoring. Ben composes and improvises all his own scores, and performs in a style that is both evocative of the silent era and also aware of a contemporary (and younger) audience's awareness of music and film scoring. After each movie - come upstairs to our candle-lit cafe and enjoy complementary coffee, wine, and sweets before you go home for the evening. Saturday, January 26, 2008 at 8:00 PM Neuwirth Theatre 5625 Arlington Avenue Bronx, NY 10471 Map & Directions TICKETS ARE $12 and available online: http://www.tix.com/Event.asp?Event=121438

Bellobration at the United Center

I was in Chicago for the weekend for a family function, and thought I'd check out the Bello-bration. It's the Red Show-- and I hadn't seen it when it was on the East Coast, so I was glad I got the opportunity. I saw it today (last day of the stand in Chicago-- we went to the 1 pm performance. The pre-show "All-Access Pre-Show" was hosted by clown Leo Acton. Leo is a graduate of Clown College from 1996. I was mostly astonished, because this is the first time that I've seen a Ringling Clown with his own facial hair. Granted the show had a 1970's feel, but I was pretty amazed. This would not have been allowed when I was at Clown College. Looking around, a lot of the clowns had their own hair--less wigs than I remember. I wondered if maybe it's because a lot of the clowns are no longer Clown College grads. (But it turns out Leo Acton is-- I guess there's been a change of policy) A couple of the costumes wouldn't have passed muster back in the day. In general the pre-show was pretty good-- the clowns did a variation on Dead and Alive with a lot of knockabout, there was a painting elephant, some hula-hooping, a great trampolining bit by a Russian clown named Alex, and a lot of clowns doing Meet and Greet. The Meet and Greet was a little lame-- standing in back of someone and making fun of them behind their back. I know that 13 shows a week gets a little hard to be original, but I thought it could have gone better. (I did get made fun of, but didn't introduce myself-- I played with the guy, and once he saw I was alive, he seemed to lose interest.) The pre-show clown bit (with a nice little clown car used by Leo Acton again) was a Campfire Marshmallows advertisement basically-- and not very funny. Something else that didn't quite fly from a clown perspective was the group piece "Dancing with the Clowns." It started off okay, but didn't go anywhere relatively slowly. The ending blowoff (an acrobatic dancer who is much better than the bad dancers) wasn't particularly strong. Good bendover routine with one clown playing a couple as a bendover. Once the show started, Bello is really the star. He falls in love with the aerialist, and spends the show going from act to act trying to get her to notice him. It's a good idea, and it's done well. The highlight was when Bello and the aerialist are up on twin sway poles, and he gets a kiss from her-- the whole spec turns into a Bello-bration, along with everybody including elephants, dogs, and the circus band, sporting Bello's blonde hair. It was Being John Malkovich for Bello, and very funny. The second act was less strong, and the pretense of his love for the aerialist went away. Bello did a great act with the Wheel of Danger (it split into two side-by-side at one point-- I had never seen that!) And the show ended with the Human Cannonball-- very impressive, but oh so fleeting. There were a bunch of good video gags in the beginning of the show-- Bello stuck in the humoungous television monitor and trying to get out. It was so clearly not live, and done a little too fast-- as if they were saying-- I know you are used to speeded up cartoons-- here you go! I enjoyed them, nevertheless Overall it was a lot of entertainment, although once we added the "Convenience Charge" It was $30 a ticket.) It was a great night out though. Find out more about the Ringling Red Show and the clowns mentioned by visiting their websites listed below. RINGLING RED SHOW: http://ringling.com/ BELLO NOCK: http://www.bellonock.com LEO ACTON: Leo Acton's Myspace Page

Adam Lazarus & Torontoclown.com

Adam Lazarus is a performer, director and instructor whose work in physical theatre, clown and bouffon has taken him to France, England and coast to coast across Canada. As a young man, Adam founded the Toronto based collective company Schmigeggy, where he produced, directed and performed in 10 of Schmigeggy's popular original works. After critical success and monetary failure, the company was put to rest after 6 years. The next wave of creation came out of intense study and assistance with French Clown Master Philippe Gaulier. Inspired by the creation methods of Jeu, Character, Clown and Bouffon, Adam draws on the brilliance of what we are able to create under strict time restraints. He is a graduate of McMaster University's Theatre Program, Leeds University’s Theatre Program in England and L'Ecole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, France. Adam is a regular facilitator of workshops for professional and non-professional artists, including recent Bouffon workshops and consultations for Theatre Passe Muraille, the Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, DanceMakers, Volcano Theatre and Mike Kennard’s The Hollow. As an actor, Adam performs in numerous cabarets around Toronto, and was recently part of The Gina Project’s silent circus comedy Big Show, Tapestry New Opera Works’ clown/opera workshop for Shelter, and Suit Suite: A Motivational-Seminar Musical at the Toronto Fringe Festival. His one-man bouffon show Fable was recently performed in Victoria, B.C, Halifax, N.S. and Toronto: Adam also directs plays and clown shows-- he recently directed the following shows:Joe: The Perfect Man, a one woman take on MacBeth starring Rachelle Elie, Bubkus, a one man show featuring Jesse Buck (and recently featured at the NY Clown Theater Festival), and Melissa D’Agostino’s Guadalupe Project - a citywide installation. He also created the show Everyone's An Asshole and a new physical work directed by Pig Iron Theatre’s Sarah Sanford entitled Appetite. Adam is also the Artistic Producer of the Toronto Festival of Clowns. To find out more about Adam's work, visit the websites listed below: http://www.quiptake.com http://www.torontoclown.com

Parallel Exit Gala 10/29 featuring Barry Lubin

Parallel Exit will produce a Halloween Gala that will include entertainment from the company and special guest star Barry Lubin (Grandma the Clown). The benefit takes place at 7:30pm on Monday October 29 at the 45th Street Theatre, 354 West 45th Street. Tickets are $75 for VIPs and $30 for patrons, and can be reserved at 917-407-7537or parallelexit@hotmail.com. Barry Lubin is the creator of Grandma , one of New York City’s best-loved cultural icons and the star of the Big Apple Circus. He appears this season in their 30th Anniversary show Celebrate! at Lincoln Center (Oct. 19-Jan. 13). Mr. Lubin’s appearance at Parallel Exit’s benefit will allow audiences the chance to see his beloved Grandma in a rare solo performance. Last season, Mr. Lubin starred with Parallel Exit’s Joel Jeske in the Big Apple Circus show Step Right Up! and they both join Parallel Exit for an evening of Halloween fun, food, drink, raffle, and prizes. Proceeds from the evening go towards producing Parallel Exit’s newest show CUT TO THE CHASE, the “biggest wee show in town” as part of the holiday season at 59 E59 Theaters from December 5-30, 2007. This family vaudeville revue is directed by Mark Lonergan and features Laura Dillman, Mike Dobson, Joel Jeske, Juliet Jeske, Ryan Kasprzak, Andrea Kehler, and Derek Roland. Parallel Exit will present excerpts from the show as part of the evening’s festivities with Joel Jeske warming up the crowd with a special Halloween-themed performance. VIP tickets include priority seating, a reception with Mr. Lubin and the performers, and recognition in the evening’s program and company website. Who:Parallel Exit with special guest Barry “Grandma the Clown” Lubin What: Halloween Gala Benefit When: Monday October 29, 7:30pm Where: 45th Street Theatre, 354 West 45 Street Tickets: $75 VIPs, $30 Patrons, at 917-407-7537 or parallelexit@hotmail.com

500 Clown

500 Clown is a physical theatre company based in Chicago. They have been creating work together since 2000. Their mission as a company is to create shows that use circus arts, improvisation, and action to create charged environments that allow the performers to take emotional and physical risks, and lets the audience become an active observer. Their signature piece is 500 Clown MacBeth. Since that show, they have gone on to create 500 Clown Frankenstein, 500 Clown Christmas, and the piece that they are currently working on is a 500 Clown version of A Man's A Man, by Bertolt Brecht. Currently, 500 Clown is in residence at the Steppenwolf Theatre where they are performing Macbeth & Frankenstein in repertory through July 29.. They've gotten great reviews, and in December of 2007 will be in New York at PS122. Despite their name, the group consists of the following members: Adrian Danzig Adrian Danzig is a clown and performer who has been in shows at the Goodman, Second City, Berkeley Rep, B.A.M., The Public Theater, and LookingGlass. He has studied with Ctibor Turba, Philippe Gaulier, Ronlin Formena, Dominique Jando, Avner the Eccentric, and David Shiner, to name a few. Adrian works with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit in Chicago, and teaches physical theater at Roosevelt University in Chicago. Leslie Bauxbaum Danzig Leslie is the director of the 500 Clown shows. She has worked with Redmoon Theatre, Elevator Repair Service, choreographer Molly Shanahan, and at a number of other venues. Leslie studied at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq, and with Philippe Gaulier & Ronlin Foreman. She is currently completing a PhD at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. Molly Brennan Molly has worked with a number of groups in the Chicago area, including Barrel of Monkeys, The Chicago Children's Theatre, Second City, and the House Theatre of Chicago, where she is a company member. She won a Joseph Jefferson award for her work in Curse of the Crying Heart. Molly works as a clown and supervisor for the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit in Chicago. Paul Kalina Paul has worked at the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, the Court Theatre, and other theatres around Chicago. He co-founded the physical theatre duos Le Pamplemousse, and the Bumblinni Brothers, for which he has toured across Canada and the United States. He also has worked for Big Apple's Clown Care Unit. Paul is a graduate of the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre and the University of Idaho (MFA) To find out more about 500 Clown, visit their website listed below: http://www.500clown.com UPDATE: Audio podcast interview with Molly and Paul of 500 Clown is available online. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST at http://www.theatreinchicago.com.

Lawrence Smythe

Lawrence Smythe is a Canadian clown that has performed and traveled all over the world. He is a rubber faced prankster with a number of different characters and entrees that he can perform. From mewling baby to over-strict Canadian Mounty to obtuse caveman, Lawrence approaches all of his characters with an earnestness that wins audiences over. Lawrence likes to think of his clown character as a mix between a poet and an orangutan. Lawrence grew up in a large Irish/Catholic Canadian military family, and his love of comedy was evident from an early age. Lawrence began his career in the theatre in 1978, and has studied extensively with a wide range of eclectic artists. He has held a variety of jobs as well, including, bus driver, baker, door-maker, car washer, waiter, janitor, tree planter etc. Parallel with these jobs he began his world travels, from France to Greece, on through Afghanistan to India and back to Mexico and Hawaii, on and on from here to there. His comedy heroes are the silent film classics-- Keaton, Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy. From 1999-2006, Lawrence toured with Canadian circus artiste Jean Saucier in a show titled Circo Comedia. Saucier & Smythe were a great and classic circus team-- Saucier playing the elegant white faced clown and equilibrist and Smythe the Auguste orangutan. In 2006 Lawrence set off on his own to tour his solo show The Caretaker, which will feature an amalgamation of illusion, mask, puppetry, music, clowning, and audience participation. To find out more about Lawrence's work, please visit his website listed below: http://www.mrsmythecomedy.com/

Gale LaJoye

Gale LaJoye is a clown who grew up and is now based in Marquette, Michigan. He combines clowning, mime, circus tricks, and a poignant sense of self to create silent shows that are both funny and sad. In the early 1970's Gale was a clown and performer with Ringling, and by 1977 he had become Boss Clown of his unit. In 1979 fate dealt Gale a crushing blow. He was involved in a very serious car accident, and was paralyzed. His doctors advised him he would never walk again. Unwilling to accept this, Gale began the slow process of rebuilding his body and keeping his spirits up using humor. Fortunately, he regained his balance and the ability to walk. After his recovery, LaJoye produced a silent show called Too Foolish For Words, which toured internationally with great success. In 1990, he created another silent show Snowflake. This silent show features Gale as a childlike, innocent homeless guy who lives on a vacant lot strewn with rubbish. Snowflake entertains himself by recycling discarded objects into comic treasures, and turns sorrow into joy, He breathes life into toys, floats in mid-air, makes music out of a bedframe, and dances the Nutcracker on skis. Snowflake has toured throughout the world, and has been performed thousands of times. In Japan alone he toured Snowflake to 280 cities. When not on tour with Snowflake, Gale is busy developing his next production, which will arrive in the next few years. To find out more about Gale LaJoye's work, or to see videos, visit his website listed below: http://www.lajoye.com

Lisa Lou (Lisa Lewis)

Lisa Lou (aka Lisa Lewis) is a graduate of the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Clown College, Brandeis University and has an MA in Clown/Circus history from NYU. Lisa Lou is a versatile performer, incorporating clowning, magic, circus skills, and science into her shows. She has a number of different performances as either a solo performer or with her husband John Lepiarz (Mr. Fish), Her performances range from educational (Crazy Chemistry, the Magic of Chemistry, and the Anti-Gravity Show) to entertaining (Lisa Lou's One Woman Circus, Comic Daredevils, and the Circus Sisters with performer Liz Bolick. Lisa has performed at a number of diverse venues, including King Richard's Faire, The Michigan State Fair, Rodeo Houston, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, the NY Buskers Fair and Nagasaki Holland Village. She also works part time for the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit and has performed at a long list of schools and corporate events. To find out more about her work, visit Lisa's website at the site listed below: http://www.lisa-lou.com