In Sydney for two days only, don't miss this incredible opportunity to work with one of Australia's most experienced clowns. We're proud to welcome such a highly skilled Australian performer and clown.

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Sat1 & Sun 2 Nov 10am-5pm

Mervyn Fletcher Hall, 81 Dalhousie St Haberfield, Sydney, NSW 

Map 

EARLY BIRD: $330 (book before Oct 5)

FULL PRICE: $380​​​​

 

 

 

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If you would like to avoid booking fees, just email us at hurrahrahrah@gmail.com and we'll get back to you ASAP with details for a direct deposit.

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This workshop is for performers with some performance experience and from all artistic backgrounds: actors; circus performers; dancers; and cabaret artists. It is not necessary to have a history with clown, however, you must be prepared to be silly, take risks and have fun!​

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''Astrid (Clare Bartholomew) is a crisp-eating comedy powerhouse. She is a superb clown. Everything about her is funny.’' - Kate Copstick, The Scotsman 

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"I don't think I've ever laughed so hard while learning so much. It's a great time.” - Matt Kelly (The Listies)​

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WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT​

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This workshop will focus on:​

• - Developing your solo presence
  - Investigating your own relationship with clown and showing your inner stupidity
  - Practising the joy of ‘being seen’ by the audience
  - Delving into ensemble playfulness and complicité
  - Responding to provocations for group devised tasks
  - Exploring classic physical comedy scenarios, improvisations, games
  - Interrogating and deconstructing formulas of physical comedy

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• What performers discover and play with inside the workshop structure will hopefully inform their live performances and devising of new work when they need to draw upon physical comedy and clowning skills. Being able to easily express a sense of playfulness and having strong complicitè with your fellow performers, as well as the audience, informs any theatrical work - be it a physical comedy farce, a pure clown show, stand-up, or even a dramatic play. 

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• Clare draws heavily from her own experience of performance and devising works for over twenty five years as well as studying with numerous teachers around the world (such as John Bolton, Sophie Gazel, Jos Heuben, Angela De Castro, Philippe Gaulier, Sian Newey, Phil Burgers) to make the workshops as practical and applicable as possible.​

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TESTIMONIALS

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• "Clare is without doubt one of Australia's most experienced and funniest clowns. Her experience has also made her a brilliant teacher. She's perceptive and gives very helpful directions. You will be a better, more sensitive and aware performer after one of her workshops. I've been so lucky to have had her direct me. Australia is lucky that someone of her calibre and experience lives here and is able to teach Australian performers." 
  - Josh Glanc

• "Clare is an amazing and nurturing teacher who made us all feel so comfortable to try things out and allow ourselves to be super silly! I loved the class environment she created and there were so many gems I learnt to take into my practice. What a legend." 
  - Stephanie Teitelbaum

• "Clare was one of my first ever teachers and really opened my eyes to the world of clown, when I first saw her perform, she had a wonderful magic in her eyes and I thought to myself “I want to have that” I have had the opportunity to participate in many of Clare’s workshops over the years, she is a wonderful and generous teacher with lots of fantastic clown secrets to share, if you get the opportunity to work with her and you want to be a clown, my recommendation is take that chance." 
  - Paul Bourke

• "The world of Clown can be intimidatingly vulnerable. It is important to have a teacher that can hold all the feelings that might come up with nurturing presence. Clare brings so much warmth and heart to her teaching which creates a space where it feels safe and accessible to "have a go". She oozes Clown star quality and just seeing her standing and apparently doing nothing provides so much embodied learning about the subtle beauty of the clown state. This training is the real deal foundational stuff." 
  - Amaya Vecellio

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ABOUT CLARE:

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• Clare is a Melbourne based performer, writer, director and producer of new work in Australia, and internationally for over 25 years. Clare is most well known for being one half of the irreverent pop punk band duo, Otto & Astrid – Die Roten Punkte, alongside Daniel Tobias. This dysfunctional sibling band has toured internationally numerous times to venues such as Joe’s Pub NY, Soho Theatre London and La Botanique in Brussels and extensively around Australia. Together as Salvador Dinosaur, Dan and Clare also created the children’s musical Sunny Ray & The Magnificent Moon, The Orchid and the Crow and the non-verbal physical comedy farce, The Anniversary with Peter Houghton. 

• Clare worked as the guest clown teacher at the esteemed John Bolton Theatre School from 2015 to 2019. Additionally, she worked as a guest clown specialist lecturer for VCA, NICA, and College of Australian Arts.

• Clare regularly runs her own independent performance workshops and clown master classes both nationally and internationally. Her intensives have been held in various locations, including the US (The Lyric Hyperion in LA, The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and Handsome Little Devils in Denver), Canada (Atomic Vaudeville in Victoria), and Australia (including the Tasmanian and Australian Circus Festivals'). 

• She has served as a Clown Doctor for 25 years and runs performance and audition workshops for the Clown Doctor program nationally. She consults on, performs with, and has directed works for numerous organisations and independent companies, including Circus Oz, Batton & Broadway, circus company Dummies Corp, Barnie Duncan’s Juan Versuvius, comedian Josh Glanc, Hannah Gadsby, multi award winning Fringe Wives Club’s Glittery Clittery, The Women’s Circus, Finucane and Smith’s The Burlesque Hour, Little Wing Puppets, Rawcus and Bunk Puppets, to name a few.