At the heart of clowning lies the quest to reconnect with the innate “Clown” within each of us—the “little one,” the child who once played with unrestrained joy and curiosity. This approach invites you to rediscover that sense of wonder, unearthing the messy, the beautiful, the chaotic, the passionate, the mysterious, and the vulnerable aspects of your being. Through this exploration, we will embrace the funny and the absurd, celebrating the full spectrum of human experience without fear of judgment.
Clown
Clowning will help you battle your fears and identify and combat your inhibitions as an actor. Clowning is based in the pursuit of the Clown in all of us: you as the “little one”, the child, who played with abandon and wasn’t yet socialized, the actor with a desire to uncover the messy, the beautiful, the violent, the passionate, the mysterious, the vulnerable, and the funny with an intense curiosity.
Course Overview
TRANSFORM
Meet Your Instructor
Justin Cimino received his BFA in Drama from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, training at the Meisner Studio. He has trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. As an actor, he has performed Off-Broadway and in many other productions in NYC. He has been a teaching artist for 15 years.
What You’ll Learn
Clown I is The Beginning. We’ll move through a series of large and small group, partner, and solo exercises, designed to build upon each other, get scarier and scarier, and lead you closer and closer to the discovery of your Little One/Clown. Extra special attention will be given to forging a cohesive ensemble–crucial for the Clown work to happen. The concept of complicite will be introduced–the perfect balance of cooperation and competition.
In Clown II, if you can believe it, s*&% gets even more real. We continue moving through group, partner, and solo exercises that have, by this point, become utterly terrifying, and at the same time, euphorically transformational for you as an actor/artist. You’ll arrive at the joyous, triumphant rediscovery of your Little One, and you’ll pledge that going forward, you’ll be letting him/her/them take the wheel. We’ll start to introduce more craft—you’ll start to create a bit of your own (stupid, silly) original work. And then–what all this ludicrousness has been leading up to–you’ll be handed a red nose–and we’ll meet your Clown.
Your Clown has a nose and a name, yes, but don’t you get cocky, now! We’ve still got some final solo exercises to experience–some say they’re the wildest ones yet. In Clown III you’ll work with and without a nose, continuing to expand as both an actor and a Clown. We work even more with craft, continuing to generate original material, as the Clown loves to do. By the end, we’ll piece things we’ve made into a glorious puzzle—and do an informal sharing of our work with those people we live to please–AN AUDIENCE!
You’re on an enormous high from the roar of the crowd–and all you want to do is SHOW AGAIN—AND BIGGER.
In Clown IV, that’s just what we’ll do. Clown IV is a full on devising process—the ensemble of Veteran Clowns working together in beautiful harmony to create a gorgeous stupid outrageous shocking hilarious daring magical gut-wrenching awesome Final Show. Your Clown will continue to inform what kind of material YOU want to devise—it’s all about what YOU LIKE (duh–as always)—what makes you curious? What questions do you want to ask the audience? How do you understand the world, and how do you want others to understand it? We’ll combine the Clown work with other improvisatory character-building processes, as well as the “Moment Work” devising process of the Tectonic Theater Project. We’ll create work you may be inspired to take beyond the class. Above all, Clown IV will be a celebration of your Clown Journey—how far you’ve come, and where you’ll go next.
TKS Student
Clown student
“Justin’s feedback is invaluable and spot on. This class pushed me to be more vulnerable in really big ways, and also showed me that vulnerability isn’t always a sweeping confession or deep soul-wrenching secret. I discovered a more mundane, day to day vulnerability… just throw pasta on the wall and see what sticks, but also in a way that brings more precision to the pasta… The way we worked on integrating craft with play, and goofiness was really important and something I imagine will positively impact my work. “
Schedule a Discovery Call
Have questions? Book a one-on-one chat with our Director of Admissions and Enrollment. We’re here to help you determine if Terry Knickerbocker Studio is the right fit for you.