Making Failure Funny: Advanced Clown for Comedy Performers

WHEN: Oct 6 - Nov 10th (6:30-9pm) 6 weeks

WHERE: Chaos Bloom (11 East Bayaud) Our Annex space

COST: $150

12 STUDENTS MAX

NO SHOWCASE

How do you save the show when things don’t go according to plan, or win back the audience after you’ve lost them? More importantly, how can you harness the special qualities of your unique self to your advantage? We will learn to play less with what we THINK is funny, and more with a sensitivity to what the audience tells us IS funny. Come fail big, tune in to the audience, and follow your fun! This class is for comedy performers at any level—including improvisers, clowns, sketch writers, actors—who are looking to find more precision in their work. While all levels and backgrounds are welcome, please be prepared for the pace and intensity of an advanced class.

The course will root itself in foundational physical theater techniques and Clown, including fixed point and mime, levels of tension, and creating characters through physicality. Through different games and exercises, we will work solo and in groups to tune in to our sense of play as performers, as well as how we pivot, edit, and most importantly: fail.

We will practice failing a lot: failing big, failing small, failing messily, failing gloriously, and failing like there’s no tomorrow. By playing to the best of our ability, we will create a supportive environment to take bold risks and find out what our instincts are when we fail: how we hide, sabotage ourselves and our scene partners, or play from fear. As such, this kind of work can be emotional, revealing, joyful, empowering, and everything in between, and you will come away with a better understanding of yourself as a performer, and a person.

By the end of this course, everyone will devise at least one seedling of a solo and/or group number, as well as gain a toolkit of skills to create or sharpen future material. You will come away with a better understanding of how audiences perceive you, and how to play with and against it in a variety of contexts to heighten what is uniquely funny about you. 

About Soleil: Soleil Kohl (she/they) is an experimental performance artist based in Denver, Colorado specializing in clown and interactive theatre. Her work ranges from absurdist satire and character work to embodied physical theatre and dance. Soleil has brought solo shows and immersive experiences across the US and abroad, and has been featured on BBC Scotland and No Proscenium. Her teaching style is informed by several years of improv comedy, physical theater, and clown studies, and pulls from several teachers, including but not limited to Spymonkey (Aitor Basuri and Toby Park), Giovanni Fusetti, Christopher Bayes, Donna Oblongata, and Avner Eisenberg. She holds a Masters in Learning, Developmental, and Family Sciences, and integrates modern education research into her teaching practice.

MA Learning, Developmental, and Family Sciences '21

BA Emergent Digital Practices & Creative Writing '19