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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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 […]
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On the website Complex, the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus ‘s favorite clown Kinko opines about the new movie IT remake In case you weren’t aware, a huge portion of Coulrophobia (fear of clowns) can be traced to this one movie (and the original Stephen King book). Once the remake is released, I’m guessing even more! Here’s the trailer of the new […]
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Brian Dewhurst is the elder statesmen of Cirque du Soleil’s Las Vegas performers. Â Currently 85, he’s been performing all kinds of circus acts for the past 70+ years, and since 1993, he’s been working as a clown, performer, and director for Cirque du Soleil. Â He’s currently starring as the usher in the Cirque performance of Mystere. Dewhurst is featured in […]
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I’m happy to say that ClownAlley, the late Pat Cashin’s excellent blog about the history of clowns and circuses, is back.  (It’s not currently at clownalley.net, but at it’s original place clownalley.blogspot.com) I have always been a big supporter of that blog, which has had some amazing photos and articles about circus clowns past and present. Friend of Pat’s  Beth Grimes […]
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Just discovered (thanks to Jim Moore’s Vaudevisual site) this documentary about American theatre clowning from the American Theatre Wing. It Features Slava Polunin, David Shiner, Joel Jeske, and Brent McBeth talking about the clown, what works, what doesn’t and the work of being a theatrical clown. So what’s great about this video? Well, clearly, one of the things I love […]
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Sad news: Â Julie Goell, the renowned musician, clown, and theatre teacher, passed away on Sunday. She was a teacher of mine (along with her husband Avner Eisenberg.) Â She and Avner taught worldwide for a number of years, and I took at least two workshops with them at the Celebration Barn in Maine and at MotionFest.(If you read the obit below, […]
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I’m feeling very down. My friend Pat Cashin unexpectedly died yesterday. He hadn’t been feeling well for about 10 days, doctors thought it was a viral infection of some sort but couldn’t find anything definitely wrong, his wife and kids went out to get groceries and when they came back he had passed away. He was a very funny clown, an […]
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Often what remains of the work of the clown are sawdust and memories and maybe old playbills. Such is the case of Frank “Slivers” Oakley. Â He was one of the top American circus clowns of the early 20th century. He performed an unheard of 15 minute solo baseball routine with the Ringling Circus that made him one of the premier […]
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This just in: TONIGHT Some of NY’s premier physical comedians are planning a special living room show (in the penthouse suite of a fancy hotel) to honor Dr. Seuss. Doors open at 10, open bar and snacks until midnight, and the performance starts just before the witching hour. The show features Hilary Chaplain, Mik Kuhlman, Peter Daniel Straus, Mark Ettinger, […]
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Even clowns have heroes.  For Malic White and Molly Brennan, the two performers/partners/lovers who are the chief instigators of the highly personal, very adult clown/rock music cabaret PopWaits, those heroes are seminal punker Iggy Pop (hero of Malic) and protean gravel-throated ultra-cool cabaret singer/music creator Tom Waits (hero of Molly) Both performers suffer from depression and use their heroes as creative jumping […]
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This weekend is the last weekend for Gale LaJoye’s magical and wonderful show Snowflake, which is performing at the Chicago Children’s Theatre through February 14. I saw this show in 2000 and it was wonderful then, and based on the videos I’ve seen, it’s only gotten better. This is the 25th anniversary of Snowflake being performed by LaJoye (I featured […]
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A new show is opening up at the Neo Futurarium in Andersonville, which features clowns, rock and roll, audience participation, and depression. Â It also features local brilliant performers Malic White and Molly Brennan. Do you really need to know anymore? Â Just buy your ticket now! If you need to know more, here you go: POP WAITSÂ Â IS AN ATHLETIC, […]
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Tiny Performers To Entertain in Chicago Parks ============================== SUMMARY: WHAT: Acme Miniature Flea Circus in the Chicago Park District WHERE: July 16 6:30 pm Paschen Park (1932 W. Lunt Street) WHERE: July 18 2:00 pm Pulaski Park (1419 W. Blackhawk Street) COST: FREE! (seating limited, please arrive early) MORE INFO: http://www.palaceofwonders.com MORE INFO: http://www.trainedfleas.com PUBLICITY PHOTOS: Press Images of the […]
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