Clown Conservatory

Clown Conservatory – Core Faculty
Circus Center, San Francisco | 2016–2020

I served as Core Faculty at the Clown Conservatory, the only professional clown training program for adults in the United States. I taught physical comedy, slapstick, partner acrobatics, devising, clown, and directed ensemble performances. Over four years, I had the privilege of mentoring a diverse cohort of emerging clown artists, fostering their artistic growth through rigorous training, collaborative creation, and performance.

In 2019, we launched ClownCorps’ first international social clown tour to Bali in collaboration with Circus Center SF. This social clowning experience, led by Joan Howard and me, gave our Clown Conservatory students the opportunity to apply their training in community-based settings. In partnership with the Bali Children’s Project, we brought laughter, interactive performances, and workshops to youth in rural villages across the island.

The Clown Conservatory is a program of Circus Center San Francisco, dedicated to training the next generation of physically expressive artists and preserving the art of clowning.

Photos below by Fernando Gambaroni of the production TILT, written by Sara Toby Moore and directed by Hannah Gaff and Joan Howard.