The MFA3 Clown Show is a culmination of an astonishing two-week workshop exploring the world of The Clown. 

This is not “clown” in the sense of grease paint, floppy shoes, and the big top. A.C.T. actors work on the principles of clown in order to organically develop flexibility in accessing the emotional imagination. However, the clown's muscles are not clever or desperate muscles. The clown lives in the actor’s “soft brain” and their ability to access vulnerability.

The clown lives at the extremes of triumph and disaster. Learning to be a clown requires an actor to become hugely expressive both physically and vocally. The study of clown increases the actor’s capacity for wonder. The study of clown stirs courage and patience and helps the actor learn to be more present and playful in bringing life to all the work they create on stage. 

A.C.T. actors begin working on many of the principles inherent to the study of clown in their first year with the Beginning (or “Neutral”) Mask class. In the second year, the actors study Advanced Mask, which involves studying specific character archetypes, including characters from the commedia dell'arte tradition. In the third year, the actors put on the world’s tiniest mask: the Red Nose. You will thrill to see how these tiny masks enable the actors to reveal more of the world inside their emotional and creative being. 

View the MFA 3 Clown Show program