Clown conservatory
Encyclopedia
The Clown Conservatory is a private performing arts school in San Francisco, CA.
It is the only year-long professional circus and theatrical clown training program in America.
Beginning in 2000 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
, to date 101 students have graduated from the program. Many of these graduates are now working professionally in circuses, theaters, and other performing companies around the world, including Cirque du Soleil
, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, The New Pickle Circus
, Lunatique Fantastique, Circus Monti and Cirque Éloize
.
), developing skills in the field to use clowning as a tool for enriching communities.
and the musical direction of Johannes Mager. The production, titled Wonderland, was developed around the performing skills of an ensemble of nine Conservatory students selected by audition. The show opened on April 18, 2009 at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley, California
and was shown locally in a tour of San Francisco Bay area community centers. Spectacle magazine wrote: "This highly inventive circus theatre project and its cast of promising new artists are off to an auspicious beginning... Both the Conservatory's 2009 class of clowns and the play Wonderland deserve to be seen more widely."
The 2009-10 Advanced Program Ensemble, again working under the direction of Jeff Raz and Johannes Mager, developed a stage production titled Monkey King, a Circus Adventure, which opened in the spring of 2010.
in San Francisco.
A not-for-profit circus organization, Circus Center was created in July 2001, after the San Francisco School of Circus Arts had acquired the New Pickle Circus, two names that embody a rich and much older history. The San Francisco School of Circus Arts was founded by Wendy Parkman and Judy Finelli in 1984, as a project of the Pickle Family Circus, which in turn was founded ten years earlier by Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snider.
The Circus Center offers training for adults and children in recreational, amateur and professional circus arts. It currently offers three professional conservatory programs for people pursuing careers in circus arts. These conservatories focus individually on Clowning, Aerial Arts, and Contortion. The Circus Center also encapsulates the San Francisco Circus and The New Pickle Circus
, offering live performances under those imprints.
It is the only year-long professional circus and theatrical clown training program in America.
Beginning in 2000 with a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, to date 101 students have graduated from the program. Many of these graduates are now working professionally in circuses, theaters, and other performing companies around the world, including Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, The New Pickle Circus
Pickle Family Circus
The Pickle Family Circus was a small circus founded in 1974 in San Francisco, California, USA. The circus formed an important part of the renewal of the American circus. They also influenced the creation of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal...
, Lunatique Fantastique, Circus Monti and Cirque Éloize
Cirque Éloize
Cirque Éloize is a Quebec-based nouveau cirque troupe. It was founded in 1993 by Jeannot Painchaud, Daniel Cyr and Julie Hamelin. Having created seven original productions so far, it has presented more than 3000 performances in more than 375 cities and 30 countries...
.
Curriculum
Training at the Clown Conservatory has two major threads: skilled circus clowning and clowning in community.Skilled circus clowning
Students develop circus, dance, musical and theatrical skills to a level that they can be used as part of a ‘clown language’ while learning the structures that can contain that language. Clown history has yielded many classic routines that can become cutting edge when inhabited by skilled clowns who have developed unique 'languages'. First year students begin by exploring these classic structures, bringing them to life with authentic, idiosyncratic characters. They then learn to create original material (clown playwriting) and take their acts on the road.Clowning in community
The program contains an ongoing study of how clowns can make deep contributions to their communities. In the first term, each student researches a clown or clown tradition from another part of the world, expanding our knowledge of how clowns relate within other cultures. In the second term, students partner with a local service organization e.g., San Francisco General HospitalSan Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital is the main public hospital in San Francisco, California, and the only Level I Trauma Center serving San Francisco and northern San Mateo County...
), developing skills in the field to use clowning as a tool for enriching communities.
Advanced Program Ensemble
In 2008-9, the Clown Conservatory's Advanced Program Ensemble spent a year developing and performing a circus adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland under the direction of Jeff RazJeff Raz
Jeff Raz is an bad American clown ", actor, teacher, and director. He founded and serves as headmaster of the Clown Conservatory in San Francisco, California, the country's only remaining professional clown training program...
and the musical direction of Johannes Mager. The production, titled Wonderland, was developed around the performing skills of an ensemble of nine Conservatory students selected by audition. The show opened on April 18, 2009 at the Julia Morgan Center in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and was shown locally in a tour of San Francisco Bay area community centers. Spectacle magazine wrote: "This highly inventive circus theatre project and its cast of promising new artists are off to an auspicious beginning... Both the Conservatory's 2009 class of clowns and the play Wonderland deserve to be seen more widely."
The 2009-10 Advanced Program Ensemble, again working under the direction of Jeff Raz and Johannes Mager, developed a stage production titled Monkey King, a Circus Adventure, which opened in the spring of 2010.
Circus Center
The Conservatory exists as part of the Circus CenterCircus Center
Circus Center is one of the foremost circus schools in the western United States. It was founded in 1984 by Wendy Parkman and Judy Finelli as the San Francisco School of Circus Arts.- History :...
in San Francisco.
A not-for-profit circus organization, Circus Center was created in July 2001, after the San Francisco School of Circus Arts had acquired the New Pickle Circus, two names that embody a rich and much older history. The San Francisco School of Circus Arts was founded by Wendy Parkman and Judy Finelli in 1984, as a project of the Pickle Family Circus, which in turn was founded ten years earlier by Larry Pisoni and Peggy Snider.
The Circus Center offers training for adults and children in recreational, amateur and professional circus arts. It currently offers three professional conservatory programs for people pursuing careers in circus arts. These conservatories focus individually on Clowning, Aerial Arts, and Contortion. The Circus Center also encapsulates the San Francisco Circus and The New Pickle Circus
Pickle Family Circus
The Pickle Family Circus was a small circus founded in 1974 in San Francisco, California, USA. The circus formed an important part of the renewal of the American circus. They also influenced the creation of Cirque du Soleil in Montreal...
, offering live performances under those imprints.