Contemporary Clowning Projects/The Why Not Institute



							"THE STATE OF CLOWN" OR "THE CLOWN`S INTELLIGENCE" Dates: Mon 9 to Fri 13 Jan 2012, 09.30 - 18.30 Fee: £260 Bookings: email : whynotinstitute@aol.com 'The State of Clown' is a unique workshop, a full time, full-on course exploring the state of clown - an intense, inspiring, challenging and transformatory journey, with laughs and play along the way. For Angela de Castro, clowning is not a technique but a ‘state’. Through practical exercises and games, this energetic workshop helps you find your clown persona and experience it in this ‘state’. It gives truthfulness and depth to your clowning, embracing the tragic as much as the comic. For actors and other performers, it helps make performance more real, individual and joyful. For beginners, it is a journey of discovery. Angela de Castro is one of the most respected female clowns. She has been awarded fellowships with Nesta Dreamtime, the Arts Foundation and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She is well known for creating the Green Clown in Slava’s Snowshow. A busy touring schedule keeps Angela de Castro abroad for much of the year so this is a rare opportunity to attend her workshop in London. Early booking recommended Please see the page on training or go to www.thewhynotinstitute.com for more details. www.thewhynotinstitute.com Founded and directed by Angela de Castro, The Why Not Institute is the UK’s only centre totally dedicated to performance, teaching, professional development, resources and events connected to contemporary clowning, especially that within theatre traditions. The Institute runs workshops, develops performances and builds support networks for clowns and those interested in our approach. The Institute creates a space for people to try out clowning and for clowns to be recognised and validated. It also runs our unique space called ‘The Land of the Why Not’, a ‘clown’s playground’, a space for artists to experiment or simply exist with their clown personas outside of rehearsal or performance. The Institute is currently fundraising for a major three-year development project around The Land of Why Not. The Institute’s successful seasons of courses by clown teachers from the UK, Europe and the USA have included ‘Who Said Women Can’t Clown?!’, ‘Rolling in the Aisles’ and ‘Love to Laugh’. The Institute also formed and promoted the HaHarmonics, de Castro’s clown choir (see performance section above) and ran Clown Summer/Winter Schools with the Gateway International Performance Summer School (Edinburgh, June 2003) and the London International Mime Festival (London, January 2004). More info:www.thewhynotinstitute.com The Why Not Institute People Show Studios Pollard Row London EC2 6NB Tel: +44 (0)20 7739 8363 email:info@thewhynotinstitute.com “I had a great and very rewarding week.” “Thanks for an unforgettable week. I had a fantastic time.” “I wanted something new for me, an area of personal growth to develop, explore, to draw out this part of me.” “I enjoyed the focus of cultivating the ‘state of clowning’ as a major part of the course.” “I understood how charismatic the clown state can be – much more so than playing a persona that second guesses what your audience wants to see.” “Her emphasis on the theory felt exactly right. She spent a lot of time explaining the ideas behind clowning as well as her own discovery of it. It was very illuminating (and more effective than sticking on red noses and learning routines by heart).”