Alan Clay's - Angels can Fly - Blog Telling the inside story of Alan's new book, Angels can Fly, A Modern Clown User Guide. tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116 2006-02-14T04:03:17Z Blogger
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 true Alan Clay 2006-02-14T14:37:00+11:00 2006-02-14T04:03:17Z 2006-02-14T04:00:06Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-113988960643260734 US Libraries and Fiction Preview
Angels Can Fly has begun to break into the American library market, with the first ten copies now in US Public Libraries. Check out your library to see if they have a copy, and if they don't, tell them they can get a copy from the US wholesale distributor, Ingram Library Supplies.

"Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature, clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us."

This month we continue a series of excerpts from the book, with a preview of part of the fictional section from chapter one:

Easy's Pride and Joy

Easy arrived down at the street-theatre pitch early, his four year old son, Jasper, running at his heels. Sugar had already started a show however, so he took off his back-pack and sat down on the grass, to consider the options.

Jasper sat in his lap, his eyes on the show.

Sugar had a large crowd and, from where they were sitting, Easy and Jasper were just getting glimpses of her through gaps in the audience. Then a large group walked away, right in front of them, and they got a window into the show.

Sugar wiped the back of her hand across her mouth in a vulgar way, adjusted her trademark bustle which enlarged her backside, then smiled warmly at a man who stood in front of her in the audience.

"Hi, what's your name?" she asked him.

He made no reaction, fearful of where any response might lead, and immobilised by the attention of the crowd.

"The questions get harder," she teased him.

Easy saw the realisation dawn on him that it was easier to play along, than to resist.

"Mike," he admitted.

"Right answer!" she encouraged him.

He grinned.

"Now I want you to do exactly as I do," she told him.

"Okay Mike?"

He nodded. Even a nod was a daring move, and she turned to face the same direction as him, and imitated his reluctant stance, and the audience laughed.

Then she took a step forward, and waited in anticipation that he should do the same. After a moment, lush with humour from his indecision, he followed her lead, which brought him out of the crowd and onto the stage.

"She's good today," Jasper said.

Easy nodded, and cuddled the boy.

Sugar led Mike step by step, until they reached the centre of the circle, and with every step his reluctance was confronted and released. And a broad smile broke out on his face as she teased the courage from him.

Easy could see that she was going to do a long show, which was slowly gathering a bigger and bigger crowd.

"We'll have to go to the park and try a show," he told Jasper.

"Daddy, I want to watch her show," Jasper said.

"I've got to make some money."

"Do one here afterwards."

Easy looked over to the back of the pitch, where he could see Ginger was already waiting to go next. This meant he would be second in line, which would probably still be okay, he thought, and anyway he wanted to catch up with Ginger.

"Okay, you go and watch the show then," he told Jasper, "and I'll be at the back, with the others, okay?"

Jasper nodded, and scampered happily off, pushing through to the front of Sugar's crowd, to sit down on the pavement.

Easy took his gear over to the back of the pitch, and Ginger smiled as he approached.

"Hi," he greeted her.

They kissed one another on the cheek. Her green hair gave her an alien sort of feel, very beautiful in the sunlight, he thought...


Angels can Fly includes a mix of fiction which follows the adventures of ten clown characters, some personal clown anecdotes from clowns from around the world, a total of 50 practical clown exercises, and some theory on the nature of modern clown. The book is available on order through bookshops and online stores in Australia, America and England. Order your copy today. Find it on Amazon by following this link: http://tinyurl.com/9nrwj
false Alan Clay 2006-01-19T10:56:00+11:00 2006-01-21T06:28:08Z 2006-01-19T00:14:43Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-113762968375138978 Book Awards
Angels Can Fly has been nominated for both an Australian and a New Zealand writing Award, because of its distinctive blend of fiction, autobiography, biography, theory and exercises.

The book is a contestant in the Innovation in Writing category of the Festival Awards For Literature in South Australia, which is a national award recognising innovation in writing.

The award is open to published books which depart from conventional use of genre by borrowing elements from a number of genres such as fiction, non-fiction, biography, autobiography, poetry or cultural criticism.

Angels Can Fly has also been nominated for the Reference and Anthology section of the Montana New Zealand Book Awards.

"The purpose of this award is to reward excellence in reference of anthology books. Included in this category are books by a single author which bring together writings in more than one genre, and anthologies of work by two or more authors in any genre. Judges will look for a well written book with sound documentary research and/or creative insight."

The winners of the South Australian Award will be announced in March, and of the NZ Book Awards in July 2006.
 false Alan Clay 2006-01-07T07:43:00+11:00 2006-01-07T03:34:56Z 2006-01-06T22:04:13Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-113658505302631410 Happy New Year
Happy new year and best wishes to all the readers and subscribers to this blog, and my apologies for the six months that have elapsed since my last post... I have been busy promoting Angels Can Fly in Australia and New Zealand, at launches, readings, and libraries.

Angels can Fly includes a mix of fiction which follows the adventures of ten clown characters, some personal clown anecdotes from clowns from around the world, a total of 50 practical clown exercises, and some theory on the nature of modern clown.

I have been very happy with the response to the book over the past six months. It has already sold better than any of my other books, and sold in markets like England, which I have not previously reached.

Now Stocked in Libraries in Australia and New Zealand

Around 70 copies of Angels Can Fly are now in libraries in Australia and New Zealand, including 16 copies in West Australian libraries, my first books to make it into Western Australia. Check with your library to see if they have a copy. Some libraries also have copies of the Angels Can Fly DVD .

There will also be copies of the book on display at the American Library Association Midwinter Conference later this month, so there may well be copies in American libraries soon. Check with your library in the US to see if they are sending someone to the conference and, if they are, tell them to check out Angels Can Fly on the Combined Book stand.

Reviews of the book

Angels Can Fly!, October 31, 2005
Reviewer:
Michael C. Getlan "caring clown" (New Rochelle, NY) - This is a terrific book, and should be read and used frequently. The stories about the real clowns are inspiring and the exercises are practical and important, especially if you are serious about exploring the clown in you.

Angels Can Fly, August 2, 2005
Reviewer:
Julie A. Wright "Jewls" - This unusual book has a lot of good character development, audience interaction exercises. It is also a novel about street performers and includes several entertainers biographies all mixed together. For a vary enjoyable educational read.

Excerpts

Last month we commenced publishing a series of excerpts from the book in the Artmedia Physical Theatre Newsletter, and I intend to also post these on this blog as they are published in the newsletter.

We started last month with one of the 50 exercises included in the book, the Play with Objects exercise, which was published on this blog in September 2004. You can find this exercise here.


"Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature, clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us."


The book is available on order through bookshops and online stores in New Zealand, Australia, America and England. Order your copy today. Find it on Amazon by following this link: http://tinyurl.com/9nrwj

You can also still get a free e-Book version to read on your computer.
 false Alan Clay 2005-07-29T09:58:00+10:00 2005-08-24T03:15:41Z 2005-07-29T00:12:46Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-112259596615544843 Brisbane Writers Festival
Initial feedback on Angels Can Fly is good and I have been invited to launch the book at the Brisbane Writers Festival at the beginning October.

"Have been getting totally inspired by your book. Just dipped for a while but started to read through from the beginning and am really enjoying how it jumps between all the different elements. The structure really works and makes for an interesting read!"

"The book is fantastic - I am just loving it. Well done - it really is an amazing effort to tie everything in together."

Sales have also been good in America and England in the last few weeks.

And we can now announce the:

Angels Can Fly DVD.

Also available in this series is the Angels Can Fly DVD, which includes two hours of documentary footage of the work of some of the clowns in the book. DVD ISBN: 0957884435.

The Angels Can Fly DVD is available free when you purchase the Australian Edition of the paperback, which costs Aus$49.95 plus Aus$22 international postage or $10 in Australia. The Australian edition includes colour pictures.

To get the paperback and a free Angels Can Fly DVD, simply send a bank cheque in Australian dollars to: Artmedia, PO Box 152, Newtown NSW 2042, Australia.

And we can also announce the:

Angels Can Fly Workshop Tour

Sydney Clown Masterclass
(3 day) September 14 to 16 ( Wed - Fri ) 10am - 4pm
Aus$400 earlybird (before August 29) Aus$500 (full)
Enrollments: clown@artmedia.com.au

Brisbane Clown Masterclass
(3 day) September 21 to 23 ( Wed - Fri ) 10am - 4pm
Aus$400 earlybird (before August 29) Aus$500 (full)
Enrollments: clown@artmedia.com.au

And finally the:

Brisbane Writers Festival

Alan has been invited to launch Angels Can Fly at the Brisbane Writers Festival on Sunday, October 2nd, at 1pm.

"The 2005 festival program is shaping up to be one of the best yet. Over two hundred writers from across Australia and overseas will join us for over 160 events jam packed into 4 days."

Information on buying this book is on the Angels Can Fly page, and you can also still get a free e-Book copy of the book in the Microsoft Reader format to read on your computer.
 false Alan Clay 2005-06-22T18:23:00+10:00 2005-06-22T08:33:11Z 2005-06-22T08:30:44Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-111942904491956494 Paperback Now Available Worldwide Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide, is now available in paperback, ( ISBN: 0957884419 ) on order from bookshops in Australia, New Zealand, America and England, and also available online.<br /><br />Amazon.com is currently offering a special 34% launch discount, and selling the paperback for an amazing US$16.47.<br /><br />Those who have <a href="http://www.alanclay.com/ebook_list.htm">signed up for the eBook</a> will be receiving them this week. The eBook is released under the Creative Commons License, that allows the unlimited, noncommercial redistribution.<br /><br />"Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us."<br /><br />Angels can Fly includes a mix of fiction, following the adventures of ten clowns, some personal clown anecdotes from 19 clowns from around the world, a total of 50 practical clown exercises for use both individually and in workshop groups, and some theory on the nature of modern clown.<br /><br />For those interested, I am posting the contents page of the book below, so you can browse the chapter headings, the exercises, and the contributors. Some of the exercises and the anecdotes have also been posted in full over the past few months, and you can find them in the archival section of this blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Contents</span><br /><br />1. Go Your Own Path: 7<br />Exercise: Ball Circle: 15<br />Anecdote: Classic Clown, Martin Ewen & Alan Clay, NZ: 16<br /><br />2. When to Start: 21<br />Exercise: Slapping Balance: 28<br />Anecdote: Not My First Book, Alan Clay, NZ: 30<br /><br />3. Bliss: 33<br />Exercise: Accepting Attention: 41<br />Anecdote: Amelia in Bliss, Amelia Cadwallader, Australia: 43<br /><br />4. Breath: 47<br />Exercise: Breathing - Voice: 51<br />Anecdote: Asthma Blessing, Alan Clay, New Zealand: 53<br /><br />5. Play: 55<br />Exercise: Regression Play: 60<br />Anecdote: Weird People, Playspace Theatre, NZ: 62<br /><br />6. Explore: 65<br />Exercise: Play with Objects: 70<br />Anecdote: Female Clown, Sue Broadway, Australia: 71<br /><br />7. Observe: 79<br />Exercise: Atmospheres: 84<br />Anecdote: Avignon Festival, Alan Clay, New Zealand: 85<br /><br />8. Interact: 89<br />Exercise: Normal Question: 94<br />Anecdote: The Untouchables, Amanda Burgess &amp; Alan Clay, Aust: 95<br /><br />9. Learning: 101<br />Exercise: Juggling: 106<br />Anecdote: Realisation of my Clowning Kirk Marsh, USA: 108<br /><br />10. Trust: 111<br />Exercise: Running Blind: 116<br />Anecdote: Imperial Trunk Fools Co, Jonathon Acorn, NZ: 118<br /><br />11. Growth: 123<br />Exercise: Mimicry: 128<br />Anecdote: Snap and Crackle, Alan & Michael Clay, Aust: 130<br /><br />12. Laughter: 133<br />Exercise: Ha Ha: 138<br />Anecdote: Rumpel's Foolosophy, Kangaroo Jester of Oz: 139<br /><br />13. Emotions: 143<br />Exercise: Hand / Emotions: 148<br />Anecdote: Warmth of India, Shobhana Schwebke, USA: 150<br /><br />14. Body: 155<br />Exercise: Pair Statues: 159<br />Anecdote: My Yoga Practice, Alan Clay, Australia: 162<br /><br />15. Mind: 165<br />Exercise: Mime Isolation: 170<br />Anecdote: Mime &amp; Madness, Alan & Kerstin Clay, Sweden/NZ: 172<br /><br />16. Mistakes: 175<br />Exercise: Dropping the Ball: 180<br />Anecdote: Lady Margo, Claire Coleman, England: 181<br /><br />17. Games: 185<br />Exercise: Finding a Game: 190<br />Anecdote: David MacMurray Smith, Training My Clown, Canada: 192<br /><br />18. Fool: 197<br />Exercise: Death in a Minute: 202<br />Anecdote: The Imperial Trunk Fools, Alan Clay, New Zealand: 202<br /><br />19. Self: 207<br />Exercise: Wave Characters: 211<br />Anecdote: Like Herself, Hilary Chaplain, USA: 213<br /><br />20. Others: 217<br />Exercise: Mimicry Street: 222<br />Anecdote: I Don't Juggle, I Stalk Plates, Bill Coleman, USA: 224<br /><br />21. Expression: 229<br />Exercise: Emotion Speech: 233<br />Anecdote: Undercover Clown, Alan and Teresa Clay, New Zealand: 234<br /><br />22. Communication: 237<br />Exercise: Comfortable Chair: 243<br />Anecdote: Philosophy, David MacMurray Smith, Canada: 245<br /><br />23. Audience: 249<br />Exercise: Attracting a Crowd: 253<br />Anecdote: Love and Chaos, Alan Clay, NZ/Australia: 254<br /><br />24. Rapport: 259<br />Exercise: Excite the Baby: 264<br />Anecdote: Fijian Resort, Alan &amp; Kerstin Clay, NZ/Sweden: 265<br /><br />25. Vulnerability: 269<br />Exercise: Body / Emotions: 274<br />Anecdote: Lurkue du Soleil - Part 1, Martin Ewen, NZ/USA: 275<br /><br />26. Spontaneity: 281<br />Exercise: Role-play: 285<br />Anecdote: Celebrate Abandonment, Andrew Cory, Australia: 287<br /><br />27. Process: 291<br />Exercise: Swapping Emotions: 296<br />Anecdote: Seizing the Moment, Shobhana Schwebke, USA: 297<br /><br />28. Practice: 301<br />Exercise: Yoga: 304<br />Anecdote: Playspace Studio, Alan Clay, NZ/Australia: 306<br /><br />29. Teaching: 311<br />Exercise: Feedback Session: 316<br />Anecdote: Clown Classes, Alan Clay, NZ/Aust/Europe/USA: 319<br /><br />30. Theatre: 323<br />Exercise: Invisible Theatre: 328<br />Anecdote: Lurkue du Soleil - Part 2, Martin Ewen, NZ/USA: 330<br /><br />31. Story: 335<br />Exercise: Role / Situation Impro: 341<br />Anecdote: The Weird People Tour, Alan Clay, NZ: 343<br /><br />32. Character: 345<br />Exercise: Mimicry Character: 351<br />Anecdote: Personal Journey, Alan Clay, NZ/Australia: 353<br /><br />33. Structure: 355<br />Exercise: Red Nose Entrance: 360<br />Anecdote: Aussie Clown Tradition, Alan Clay, Australia: 361<br /><br />34. Tension: 363<br />Exercise: Nonviolence: 367<br />Anecdote: Dancing in the Moonlight, Alan Clay, NZ: 368<br /><br />35. Patterns: 371<br />Exercise: Expert Double Figures: 375<br />Anecdote: Take Another Look, Alan Clay, Sweden/NZ: 377<br /><br />36. Expectations: 381<br />Exercise: Waiting Impro: 386<br />Anecdote: Casino Gig, Alan Clay & Amanda Burgess, Aust: 387<br /><br />37. Risk: 391<br />Exercise: Games Street: 394<br />Anecdote: One Foolish Idea, Drew Richardson, USA: 397<br /><br />38. Release: 399<br />Exercise: Falling Circle: 402<br />Anecdote: Clown is the Greatest Actor, Jango Edwards, Holland: 403<br /><br />39. Failure: 409<br />Exercise: Slow-motion: 414<br />Anecdote: Rumpel's Nose, Jolly Goodfellow, Australia: 417<br /><br />40. Perception: 419<br />Exercise: Observing Silence: 424<br />Anecdote: Basque Flowers, Johnny Melville, Scotland/Holland: 425<br /><br />41. Normal: 429<br />Exercise: Character Development: 436<br />Anecdote: Clown Bluey, John Brattle, United Kingdom: 437<br /><br />42. Taboos: 441<br />Exercise: Moreno's Chairs: 446<br />Anecdote: Hey Clown, Daniel Oldaker, Australia: 447<br /><br />43. Freedom: 451<br />Exercise: Comfortable Couch Impro: 455<br />Anecdote: Auckland Fringe Festival, Alan &amp; Teresa Clay, NZ: 456<br /><br />44. Acceptance: 459<br />Exercise: Endowments Impro: 463<br />Anecdote: Rumpel - Jester Of Oz, Jolly Goodfellow, Aust: 465<br /><br />45. Change: 469<br />Exercise: Meanwhile Impro: 473<br />Anecdote: MotionFest, the Finale Alan Clay, NZ/Aust/USA: 474<br /><br />46. Creativity: 477<br />Exercise: Devising: 482<br />Anecdote: Centaurs &amp; Chiron Return, Alan Clay, Planet Earth: 483<br /><br />47. Art: 487<br />Exercise: Video Feedback: 491<br />Anecdote: State Library Collection, Alan Clay, Australia: 492<br /><br />48. Love: 495<br />Exercise: Accepting Applause: 501<br />Anecdote: I Love You Wollie, Jackie Garner, USA: 502<br /><br />49. Spirit: 507<br />Exercise: Guided Relaxation: 511<br />Anecdote: Audience with Dalai Lama, Richard Hughson, USA: 512<br /><br />50. Faith: 517<br />Exercise: Two-person Relaxation: 523<br />Anecdote: Believers in Love, Alan Clay, Australia: 524 false Alan Clay 2005-06-11T15:37:00+10:00 2005-06-11T06:06:40Z 2005-06-11T06:06:40Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-111847000003038597 Angels Can Fly - Now Published in Australia
Angels Can Fly , a Modern Clown User Guide, (ISBN 0957884419) has now been published in Australia and New Zealand, and the book was well received at the recent Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Conference, and at library events in New Zealand.

"Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature, clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us. This book is an attempt to chart the growth of modern clown, and to promote that process by providing, not only practical exercises for individuals and groups, but also reference points for thinking. Angels can Fly includes a mix of fiction, following the adventures of ten clowns, some personal clown anecdotes from clowns from around the world, a total of 50 practical clown exercises, and some theory on the nature of modern clown."

The Australian Edition is now available in paperback, on order from bookshops in Australia and New Zealand. This edition sells for Aus$49.95 and includes colour pictures.

The US and UK editions will be published later this month, when they can be ordered online, and through bookshops, in the USA and England.

The American and UK editions will include only black and white pictures, but will be cheaper as a result. The US edition will sell for US$24.95 and the UK edition for 18.95 pounds. These are the editions you will get through Amazon and online stores later this month.

Because I want to co-ordinate the release of the free eBook with the availability of the paperback, I will be e-mailing the eBook to those on the eBook list later this month. The eBook will include no photos, to keep the file size small enough to email.

The eBook will be released under the Creative Commons license, which, like open source software, means that you are free to copy and forward the eBook to your friends, to post it on newsgroups, and to give it away to as many people as you wish.

I hope that you, and all your friends, will like the eBook so much, (and find reading 540 pages on your computer too limiting), so you will want to buy the paperback. That way you can also support the work I have done in producing the book.

Those in Sydney can also purchase the Australian edition at a discount at a Launch Event at the new Customs House Library, 31 Alfred Street, Sydney, on Tues 21 June, at 12.30pm.

Look out for more launch events in Australia in September, and in USA and Canada in October/November.
false Alan Clay 2005-05-10T09:29:00+10:00 2005-05-09T23:47:49Z 2005-05-09T23:47:48Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7679116.post-111568246899068487 The Great Clown Debate, ACAPTA Conference
The following is a transcript of Alan Clay's presentation on the Clown Training Panel at the Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Conference in Geelong last month.


It’s great to be here today, to talk about clown training. I’m a Kiwi who went to a clown school in Sweden in 1977, then worked through Europe, New Zealand and Australia, and for the past 12 years I have been based in Sydney, where I have been running Playspace Studio.

I’ve adopted a strategy in the past few years of promoting discussion on clown, because I don’t think here in Australia we really appreciate the art form and the central place that the art form has in our culture.

One of the strategies I have adopted is publishing Angels Can Fly, a 536 page book, with colour pictures, and stories from 20 clowns from around the world, including some here in the room an on the panel.

As well as a whole lot of practical exercises that we can use in workshops and individually, because this is often one of the hard things about clown, how do we learn it?

I wanted to start off by reading one of the anecdotes that I’ve written in the book:

“As I write this anecdote this book is about to go to the printer, so that I can have some prerelease copies at the Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Conference in April 2005, where I am speaking on a panel on the Pedagogy of Clown.

“This panel has arisen because Australia’s first BA in Circus, the fledgling National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA) in Melbourne, steadfastly refuses to give clown enough space in the curriculum for the training. In this context I think it is important to put on record the historical place of clown in Australian circus.

“Tradition, like structure, is something I tend to react against, and this has informed the experimental nature of my work, however, we have to acknowledge that any artistic exploration grows out of a tradition, which is composed of the pursuit of countless artistic careers, year, after year, after year.

“For some years I have been talking with Mark St Leon about writing a history of clown in Australia. Mark comes from an old Australian circus family and he has documented many oral histories from circus families in Australia, and these manuscripts can be researched in most of the state reference libraries in Australia.

“Without much success, in terms of finding funding for the history project, and shocked at the lack of documentation of this early Australian work, I publish this book so current exploration is not lost, and I include the following historical footnote to this work.

“The following is an excerpt from Mark St Leon's book, The Circus in Australia, and notes the early Commedia Dell'arte and the Shakespearian influences on Australian clown.

"The art of clowning was introduced into the Australian circus with the first amphitheatre in 1851. Far from playing a secondary role by entertaining the audience during program changes, as is the case today (in the traditional circus), old-time circus clowns actively took part to 'dress' the performances of other members of the troupe.”

So clown is central in Australian circus tradition, and this tradition has carried through to today, with groups like Circus Oz, whose latest show is filled with a wonderful range of clown, from traditional clown through to modern clown.

As a result of this central role of clown however, we take it for granted. It’s always there so is overlooked. We are a larrikin culture, we are all clowns.

The talent scouts for Cirque du Soleil write to me and ask, “What is it about the vibrancy of Australian clown?” But we don’t know this.

Clown has been going through a sort of emancipation in recent years, which has come about because clown escaped from the circus and found theatres and the street.

It is worth mentioning that clown is an art form, a very old art form which far pre-dates circus, and occurs as far as I have been able to tell in every culture on the planet throughout history.

Why did it need to escape from the circus? Physical circus performers are often afraid of clown… It’s too emotional, too chaotic, too out of control, and certainly not real work like handstands. So it gets pigeon holed and taken for granted.

Throughout history clown has been learnt largely through a mixture of apprenticeship and self exploration. You learnt from your betters and you tried stuff out.

If clown has been taught at all, it has been taught through routines. Which is a bit like the way we teach dance… do like me and in time you will learn and understand.

Now days we are more encouraging the students exploration of the tools – the body, emotions, spontaneity, the unknown, rapport, games and taboos etc.

It is worth pointing out that clown is an art form, and as such it needs advocates, trainers and resources, just like any art form, and we need to push the boundaries.

Some of us will argue today that the ad hoc apprenticeship system is still the best for today, that clown is too individual an art form, with so many facets, that it shouldn’t be institutionalised in a training institution. But schools like the Moscow Circus School, Lecoq and Dell’Arte have surely shown the value of resourcing clown training.

It will be interesting to see if the views of the panelists on this is related to weather they were trained, or apprenticed, themselves. I was trained and I teach clown, so it never occurs to me that you can’t teach it. And yet this is the view that is often put by clowns who have learnt largely though self exploration.

Clowns will always learn through self exploration, training will not restrict this, it will give it more resources and a supportive structure, so that the art form can flourish.

All around the world clown is experiencing a renascence, it is an art form for the times, we need it, and it would be a shame if Australia, with such a strong leadership role in Circus Theatre, and such a strong tradition of clown in circus, did not play a leading role in evolving the training required to meet the needs of the 21st century.

Personally I would like to see some sort of push come from this panel to lobby the government, just like we did to get NICA, a push to set up a tertiary level clown training, or to develop the courses that are already there and resource them appropriately.
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