Friday 26 November 2010

Clown Casting

SCLOWNS is a new international clown company made up of experienced and new performers, based in London. We are looking for two new performers to join us, to perform in “The Spaghetti Horse”, a full-length show recently premiered at Stratford Circus in London and supported by Arts Council England.

We are looking for performers to fill the following two roles:

1.Clown (whiteface)
Performer profile: strong clown presence and ability to work with both traditional and contemporary clown styles. Must be able to work with both physical performance and text (any language). Other skills an advantage, especially magic or circus; musical ability a bonus.

2.Horse (front end)
Performer profile: ability to work as a team, must have good physical performance ability. Other skills an advantage, especially dance, mask and puppetry.
Performers will be expected to rehearse one week with the company and then be available for international festival dates between May and October 2011.

If you are interested, please send an email including a brief CV to: info@jondavison.net
For more information: http://www.jondavison.net/sclowns.html

The Spaghetti Horse is a dramatic tale that combines slapstick, live music, eccentric dance, circus and panto, which will both fulfil and challenge your expectations of clowning. The show is aimed at a popular audience of all ages and designed to be performed in the round in a 14-metre diameter performing space which duplicates the classical circus ring.

SCLOWNS draw on contemporary and traditional clowning - original yet familiar, subtle yet grotesque, anarchic yet formulaic, hilarious yet heart-rending, oafish buffoons yet refined artists.

The Spaghetti Horse is conceived and directed by Jon Davison. The show developed out of the three-year International Clown Project involving participants from Britain, Spain, Italy, USA, Canada, Portugal, Colombia, Germany, Tadjikistan and Brazil, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

The Spaghetti Horse is co-produced by Stratford Circus, and is supported by Central School of Speech and Drama and the Escola de Clown de Barcelona.

Casting para Clowns

SCLOWNS es una nueva compañía internacional de clown formada por clowns experimentados y nuevos.

Buscamos dos nuevos clowns para actuar en “El Caballo de Espaguetis”, un espectáculo recién estrenado en Stratford Circus en Londres.
Buscamos clowns para los siguientes dos papeles:

1.Clown (carablanca)
Imprescindible una presencia fuerte como clown, y la capacidad de trabajar con estilos tradicionales y contemporáneos de clown. Debe tener habilidad en la interpretación gestual además de textual (cualquier idioma). Otras técnicas serían una ventaja, sobre todo la magia o el circo. La habilidad musical sería también deseable.
2.Caballo (parte delantera)
Imprescindible la capacidad de trabajar en equipo, y buena habilidad en la interpretación física y gestual. Otras técnicas una ventaja, sobre todo danza, máscara y títeres.

Habrá una semana de ensayo con la compañía y hay que estar disponible para actuaciones en festivales internacionales entre mayo y octubre del 2011.

Si estás interesado, por favor envía un email con un currículum breve a: info@jondavison.net
Para más información: http://www.jondavison.net/sclowns.html

El Caballo de Espaguetis es un drama clownesco que reúne la acción, la música en directo, la danza excéntrica y la pantomima, que a la vez confirma y pone en duda nuestras expectativas del payaso. El espectáculo se dirige a todos los públicos y se representa en un círculo de 14m que recrea el espacio del circo clásico.
SCLOWNS se inspira en el payaso contemporáneo y tradicional – original pero familiar, sutil pero grotesco, anárquico pero disciplinado, hilarante pero poético, bobalicones pero artistas.

El Caballo de Espaguetis está ideado y dirigido por Jon Davison. El espectáculo surgió del Proyecto Internacional de Clown que durante tres años reunía participantes de Gran Bretaña, España, Italia, Estados Unidos, Canadá, Portugal, Colombia, Alemania, Tayikistán y Brasil, apoyado por el Arts and Humanities Research Council.

El Caballo de Espaguetis es una co-producción de Stratford Circus, apoyado por Central School of Speech and Drama (Londres) y la Escola de Clown de Barcelona.

Monday 15 November 2010

The Spaghetti Horse



Some photos of the process of making The Spaghetti Horse.

Saturday 13 November 2010

Clown Library

I've finally found the time to put this online: a bibliography of clown, including a fairly comprehensive list of books and online resources. More to come soon!
Por fin he encontrado el tiempo para poner esto online: una bibliografía de clown, con una lista bastante completa de libr...os y recursos en la red. Habrá más próximamente!

You can also consult the library on my website here: http://www.jondavison.net/library.html



Books


Numbers, Scenes and Gags

Baugé, Isabelle (1995) Pantomimes, Cahors : Cicéro Éditions.

Ceballos, Edgar (1999) El Libro de Oro de los Payasos, Mexico D.F.: Escenología. (Note: this is basically a translation into Spanish by Margherita Pavia of Remy’s Entrées Clownesques)

Denis, Dominique (1985) Le Livre du Clown, Strasbourg: Éditions Techniques du Spectacle.

Denis, Dominique (1997) 1.000 gags de clowns, Strasbourg: Magix Unlimited.

Gordon, Mel (1983) Lazzi, New York: Performing Arts Journal.

Lane, Lupino (1945) How to become a Comedian, Frederick Muller.

Musson, Clettus (2003) World’s Best Clown gags, New York: D. Robbins & Co.

Page, Patrick (1977) 150 Comedy Props, Patrick Page.

Rémy, Tristan (1962) Entrées Clownesques, Paris: L’Arche.

Rémy, Tristan (1997) (trans. by Sahlins, Bernard) Clown Scenes, Chicago: Ivan R. Dee.


Autobiographies and Biographies

Bellos, David (1999) Jacques Tati, London: The Harvill Press.

Boz and Cruikshank, George (1846) Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, London: Richard Bentley.

Buten, Howard (2005) Buffo, Arles: Actes Sud.

Chaplin, Charlie (1964) My Autobiography, London : The Bodley Head.

Cogollos, José Pavia (2005) El Cuerpo y el Comediante: Chaplin y Keaton, Valencia: Universidad Politécnica de Valencia.

Findlater, Richard (1978) Joe Grimaldi: his life and theatre, Cambridge: CUP.

Fisher, John (2006) Tommy Cooper: Always Leave Them Laughing, Lodon: Harper Collins Entertaiment.

Fratellini, Albert (1955) Nous, Les Fratellini, Paris: Éditions Bernard Grasset.

Grock (1931) Life’s a Lark, London: William Heinemann Ltd.

Karandash (1987) Karandash, Moscow: Москва искусство.

Kelly, Emmet and Kelly, Beverly (1996) Clown, New York: Buccaneer Books.

Martin, Steve (2008) Born Standing Up: a comic’s life, London: Pocket Books.

Marx, Harpo (1962) Harpo Speaks! New York : Limelight Editions.

McKinven, John A. (1998) The Hanlon Brothers, Illinois: David Meyer Magic Books.

Patkin, Max and Hochman, Stan (1994) The Clown Prince of Baseball, Texas: WSR Publishing.

Popov, Oleg (1970) Russian Clown, London: Macdonald.

Poliakoff, Nicolai (1962) Coco the Clown: by himself, London: Dent and Sons Ltd.

Rheuban, Joyce (1983) Harry Langdon: The comedian as Meteur-en-Scene, London and Toronto: AUP.

Romanushko, Marga (2008) Leonid Yengibarov: clown eyes of a poet (клоун глазами поэта), Moscow: Москва Гео.

Rumyantseva, N. M. (1989) Clown and Time (Клоун и Время) Moscow:Москва искусство.

Slavskiy, R. (1980) Vitaly Lazarenko, Moscow: Москва искусство.

Webber, Kimberley (1996) Circus!: The Jandaschewsky story, Sydney: Powerhouse Publishing.


History

McManus, Donald (2003) No Kidding!: Clown as Protagonist in Twentieth-Century Theater, Newark: Delaware.

Rémy, Tristan (1945) Les Clowns, Paris: Grasset.

Robbins, Norman (2002) Slapstick and Sausages: the Evolution of British Pantomime, Devon: Trapdoor Publishing.

Schechter, Joel (1985) Durov’s Pig, New York: Theater Communications Group.

Schechter, Joel (1998) The Congress of Clowns and Other Russian Circus Acts, AK Press.

Towsen, John (1976) Clowns, New York: Hawthorne.

Wiles, David (1987) Shakespeare’s Clown, Cambridge: CUP.


Theory and Analysis

Beeman, William O. (1981) “Why Do They Laugh? An Interactional Approach to Humor in Traditional Iranian Improvisatory Theatre: Performance and its Effects”, in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. 94, No. 374, Folk Drama (Oct. – Dec., 1981), 506-526.

Bouissac, Paul (1972) Clown Performances as Meta-semiotic Texts, Language Sciences, 19, 1-7

Bouissac, Paul (1997) The profanation of the sacred in circus clown performances, in Richard Schechner and W. Appel (eds.), By Means of Performance, Cambridge: CUP, p.195.

Goudard, Philippe (2005) Anatomie d’un clown, Vic-la-Gardiole: L’Entretemps éditions.

Little, Kenneth (1993) Masochism, Spectacle, and the “Broken Mirror” Clown Entree: a Note on the Anthropology of Performance in Postmodern Culture, Cultural Anthropology, Vol.8, No. 1 (Feb., 1993), 117-129.


Teaching

Clay, Alan (2005) Angels Can Fly, a Modern Clown User’s Guide, Newtown, Australia: Artmedia Publishing.

Gaulier, Philippe (2007) Le gégèneur/The Tormentor, Paris: Éditions Filmiko.

Wright, John (2006) Why Is That So Funny? London: Nick Herne Books.


Anthropology

Makarius, Laura Levi (1974) Le sacré et la violation des interdits, Paris: Éditions Payot.

Wright, Barton (1994) Clowns of the Hopi, Arizona: Northland.


Applied Clown

Adams, Patch (1993) Gesundheit!, Vermont : Healing Arts Press.

Adams, Patch (1998) House Calls, San Francisco: Robert D. Reed.


Miscellaneous

Miller, Henry and Miró, Joan (1999) La sonrisa al pie de la escala, Barcelona: Circulo de Lectores.

Pierron, Agnes (2003), Dictionnaire de la langue du cirque, Editions Stock.


Where to buy clown books

Good clown books are not easy to find. Many are out of print, so below are included some websites that deal in second hand books, particularly in English, Spanish and French, as well where to buy Philippe Gaulier's book direct (in French/English, or Spanish editions).

Iberlibro
Librería Yorick
Alibris (UK)
Filmichiko (Gaulier)


Other Resources

Blogs and Websites

Clown Alley - Pat Cashin's blog, bursting with info, photos, videos and knowledge.
Circo Méliès - full of well-researched articles on cinema and clown, circus and vaudeville, with some excellent video links.
Clownlink - a wide variety of news from the world of clown from a North American perspective.
Clown Brasil - informative clown news from Brazil.
All Fall Down - John Towsen's (author of "Clowns") recently revived blog, with some interesting source material.


Films and Videos

Baks - a truly outstanding collection of films of clowns (several full-length): Yengibarov, Popov, Beby, Karandash, Grock, etc. (in Russian).


Museums and Libraries

The Clown Museum (Somerset, UK)

Club de Payasos Españoles y Artistas de Circo

Emmett Kelly Museum

The American Vaudeville Museum