When I got into the National Theatre School (NTS), the first project we were working on was Clown. The teacher was Richard Pochinko. Pochinko’s style of Clown was a mix of European Clown and Native American Clown. I had already taken some Clown classes before. But this was unlike anything I had ever seen. It…
I discovered Helen Donnelly through her Clown persona Foo. Deb and I went to see a Clown show called Morro and Jasp Get Baked. Foo was a guest performer for the show. Foo took my breath away. Literally. I was laughing so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Foo was an androgynous, white-faced clown who spoke…
I’m a playwright, so why am I putting on a clown piece for the 2018 Hamilton Fringe Festival? Good question. I didn’t have a play ready when it was time to submit to the Fringe Lottery. To be fair, I didn’t have a clown piece ready, either. But I was just wrapping up another Clown…
Last year, I had intended to document the journey to getting my play The Lost Years ready for the Hamilton Fringe 2017. Unfortunately, I never started the documentation and before I knew it, opening night was upon us. This year, I wanted to do the same thing, but I found I was letting procrastination get…
It’s the night before I do a clown turn at the Red Nose Cabaret. I’ve been fretting about it for the last couple of days. Will I be funny? Will I be focused? Will I be open to failure? Clowning is like riding a unicycle. You have to flirt with losing your balance and falling…
In July, I will be putting on my first solo Clown Show at the Hamilton Fringe Festival. Gulp. This show is almost fifty years in the making, so I thought I’d reflect back on my Clown influences. Jerry Lewis was my first Clown. I watched The Jerry Lewis Show when I was six years old and…
I’m a terrible procrastinator. Which means that I’m a really good one. Anyone who knows me, knows that I put things off. Especially writing projects. Since January, I’ve been meaning to write the next draft of my play Out to the Folks, do a quick update and polish of The Lost Years because we’re thinking…
Today is a milestone birthday. Only birthdays ending in zeros or fives seem to be milestones when your age is in the double digits. But when you get to the triple digits, every birthday is a milestone again, like the first ten years of your life. I still have a ways to go before I…
peter gruner 