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Hey All
I'm putting this info out there for anyone interested. It was written/compiled by Jeff Raz of the Clown Conservatory
It really sincerely is worth your time and commitment if comedy and circus are something you care about.
A.
Circus Center: Circus Center as a whole has grown immensely this year and The Clown Conservatory is proud to be a part of this renaissance. The facility has been transformed, including new rehearsal rooms, organized storage areas and a whole lot of beautification; a new Circus Conservatory is beginning to take clear shape; demand remains high for our Studio classes and Extension programs and new marketing strategies have significantly raised our profile locally, nationally and internationally.
China: A successful month-long workshop in Nanjing for professional acrobats from all over China cemented The Clown Conservatory’s role as a major exporter of clowning teachers and performers. Next year (Fall, 2009), we will offer an advanced workshop culminating in performances at the International Circus Festival in Wuqiao.
International Students: The Conservatory programs are now approved by the Department of Homeland Security, through their SEVIS program, to accept international students. Students from Canada, Peru and Japan have already received their student visas.
Biggest Class: With 35 students enrolled in our programs, 2008/2009 was a high water mark. Our first year program continues to offer the most comprehensive clown training in North America; our Advanced Program is growing rapidly with the addition of the Ensemble Performance track this year and the Social Circus track in 2009/2010.
Faculty members are top working artists: Our faculty is made up of top artists, many of whom continue to create vibrant work outside of The Clown Conservatory, including performing with Cirque du Soleil, California Shakespeare Festival, Circus Bella, etc. and directing and choreographing with American Conservatory Theater, Zaccho Dance Theater, Prescott Circus Theater, Lunatique Fantastique, Ethnic Dance Festival and others.
Wonderland: The Ensemble Performance Track's inaugural show, a circus adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, was booked for over 30 performances in Northern California. Wonderland’s blend of music, circus and theater, with Lewis Carroll’s timeless words, thrilled adults and children alike.
Climate Clown Cabaret: “The hottest ticket in town” is how one patron described our new collaboration with the Climate Theater. The first Monday of every month we have two sold out performances of cutting edge clown theater in this hip, South of Market venue.
Graduates Working: Our 101 graduates are everywhere: Cirque du Soleil (LOVE and Zumanity), Ringling Bros, Prescott Circus Theater, “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”, New York Clown Festival, Lunatique Fantastique and many other circuses, theaters and puppet troupes around the world.
Informal Fridays: Every Friday evening at Circus Center, you can find a group of clowns (and other performers) sharing their latest experiments with each other. This breeding ground for new ideas has produced some of the most interesting clown pieces in San Francisco.
Union Square: Graduate Abraham Dover is the producer of a series of shows at Union Square, many of them featuring Circus Center students and teachers. This brings another generation of performers to the very spot where the modern era of street performing began when Robert Shields starting performing mime shows in the late ‘60s.
Prescott Circus Theater: This 25-year-old Oakland public school-based institution was one of the first, and is one of the best, Social Circus programs in the country. The new artistic leadership team and many of the teachers at Prescott Circus Theater are Clown Conservatory graduates.
Social Circus: Our Social Circus work continues to grow; this year our students did projects with Cancer Awareness, Resources and Education (at S.F. General Hospital), The Medea Project (theater created with HIV positive women), Kaiser Hospital, Prescott and performed for over a dozen Bay Area community groups.
Open House: As Circus Center moves into a future that focuses on training professional performers, we continue to offer many shows to the public, including our recitals, local tours and showcases. This year, we added a wildly popular open house on December 20th, including workshops, games, performances, food and lots of fun for Bay Area families.
Shows, Shows, Shows: Since we started in 2000, we have offered over 200 Clown Conservatory-produced shows featuring our students (not including the hundreds of school shows about recycling produced by Circus Center that have featured many Clown Conservatory performers). In 2008/2009 alone, we’ve had over 50 performances, including in-house recitals, Climate Clown Cabarets, local touring shows, community events and our long run of Wonderland.
Marketing: Our marketing took a large leap forward this year, with expanded use of internet-based tools (email, social networking sites, etc.), new brochures and posters, a mailing to theater departments around the country and more than a dozen recruiting workshops at Dell’Arte, U.C. Santa Cruz, Contra Costa College, SOTA, American Conservatory Theater and others. Feature articles in Theatre Bay Area and Spectacle magazines were highlights.
Circopedia: Faculty member Dominique Jando help found Circopedia, an invaluable on-line tool for our students, alumni and staff. He was also the co-author of The Circus - 1870 - 1950, the biggest circus book ever written (literally - it weighs 17 pounds and comes with its own carrying case).
General "Talking Points" about The Clown Conservatory at San Francisco Circus Center
- Clown Conservatory graduates WORK...in Cirque Eloize (Rain), Cirque du Soleil, Circus Monti, Aga Boom, S.F. Shakespeare Company, Lunatique Fantastique, Woman’s Will, Ringling Bros. and many other great companies as well as creating original, innovative solo and ensemble clown performances.
- The Clown Conservatory is culturally inclusive...we value a diverse student body and can now accept International students through the SEVIS program.
- The Clown Conservatory is international…our annual program in Nanjing is training top Chinese acrobats in the art of Western-style clowning.
- The Clown Conservatory is artistically inclusive…we regularly accept students with backgrounds in clowning, of course, but also circus, theater, dance, visual arts, education, etc. We occasionally accept promising students with no clown experience.
- The Clown Conservatory is part of San Francisco Circus Center… one of the largest and most respected circus training facilities in the U.S.
- The Clown Conservatory gets personal…with a small student body and a large faculty, we can give each student lots of individual attention.
- The Clown Conservatory helps graduates find work…through our alumni listserv, with letters of recommendation, audition and contract tips, career advice and through our international network of friends and colleagues in the business.
- Clowning can be a wonderful, lifelong career…good clowns are in demand around the world in circuses, theaters, hospitals, schools, puppet troupes, etc.
- Our Advanced Program can help you focus your career…with three different tracks: Independent Study (for students who are already performing professionally); Ensemble Performance (creating and performing a professional level circus play), and Social Circus (for students interested in making Social Circus a major part of their career).
- The Clown Conservatory is affordable...we keep tuition as low as possible and we have a generous financial aid program.
- Clown Conservatory will offer degrees…students will soon be able to earn a BFA in a program with our academic partner Coastal Carolina University.
- The Clown Conservatory has a world-class faculty...working professionals in acrobatics, circus skills, dance, body awareness, mime, circus history, physical theater and much more.
- The Clown Conservatory is unique...we are the only comprehensive clown training program in the U.S.
Clown Conservatory Basic Facts
- The web sites are www.clownconservatory.org and www.circuscenter.org
- Jeff Raz has two interviews about clowning on-line:
o A presentation to the Commonwealth Club at http://fora.tv/2008/06/04/Jeff_Raz.
o An interview on "Business with Passion" at http://www.manygoodideas.com/2009/03/20/business-with-passion-jeff-raz.
- Our first year program runs from September 8, 2009 - June 20, 2010; our Advanced Programs run September 21, 2009 - June 6, 2010
- We accept resumes (with a picture and a letter of interest) year round. We then invite promising applicants to send in an audition.
- Auditions are by video, either a DVD or posted on-line, and can be submitted as early as January for the school year that starts the following September. Some live auditions are scheduled in the spring.
- Send letters of interest, photographs and resumes to Peggy Ford:
Peggy Ford
Circus Center
755 Frederick Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.759.8123 ext. *814
peggy@circuscenter.org
- Our Advanced Program now features three tracks:
o Independent Study
o Ensemble Performance
o Social Circus
Acceptance to our Advanced Programs is by interview only (plus an audition for the Ensemble Performance track)
- More info is at www.clownconservatory.org; and www.circuscenter.org
I'm putting this info out there for anyone interested. It was written/compiled by Jeff Raz of the Clown Conservatory
It really sincerely is worth your time and commitment if comedy and circus are something you care about.
A.
Circus Center: Circus Center as a whole has grown immensely this year and The Clown Conservatory is proud to be a part of this renaissance. The facility has been transformed, including new rehearsal rooms, organized storage areas and a whole lot of beautification; a new Circus Conservatory is beginning to take clear shape; demand remains high for our Studio classes and Extension programs and new marketing strategies have significantly raised our profile locally, nationally and internationally.
China: A successful month-long workshop in Nanjing for professional acrobats from all over China cemented The Clown Conservatory’s role as a major exporter of clowning teachers and performers. Next year (Fall, 2009), we will offer an advanced workshop culminating in performances at the International Circus Festival in Wuqiao.
International Students: The Conservatory programs are now approved by the Department of Homeland Security, through their SEVIS program, to accept international students. Students from Canada, Peru and Japan have already received their student visas.
Biggest Class: With 35 students enrolled in our programs, 2008/2009 was a high water mark. Our first year program continues to offer the most comprehensive clown training in North America; our Advanced Program is growing rapidly with the addition of the Ensemble Performance track this year and the Social Circus track in 2009/2010.
Faculty members are top working artists: Our faculty is made up of top artists, many of whom continue to create vibrant work outside of The Clown Conservatory, including performing with Cirque du Soleil, California Shakespeare Festival, Circus Bella, etc. and directing and choreographing with American Conservatory Theater, Zaccho Dance Theater, Prescott Circus Theater, Lunatique Fantastique, Ethnic Dance Festival and others.
Wonderland: The Ensemble Performance Track's inaugural show, a circus adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, was booked for over 30 performances in Northern California. Wonderland’s blend of music, circus and theater, with Lewis Carroll’s timeless words, thrilled adults and children alike.
Climate Clown Cabaret: “The hottest ticket in town” is how one patron described our new collaboration with the Climate Theater. The first Monday of every month we have two sold out performances of cutting edge clown theater in this hip, South of Market venue.
Graduates Working: Our 101 graduates are everywhere: Cirque du Soleil (LOVE and Zumanity), Ringling Bros, Prescott Circus Theater, “Tony and Tina’s Wedding”, New York Clown Festival, Lunatique Fantastique and many other circuses, theaters and puppet troupes around the world.
Informal Fridays: Every Friday evening at Circus Center, you can find a group of clowns (and other performers) sharing their latest experiments with each other. This breeding ground for new ideas has produced some of the most interesting clown pieces in San Francisco.
Union Square: Graduate Abraham Dover is the producer of a series of shows at Union Square, many of them featuring Circus Center students and teachers. This brings another generation of performers to the very spot where the modern era of street performing began when Robert Shields starting performing mime shows in the late ‘60s.
Prescott Circus Theater: This 25-year-old Oakland public school-based institution was one of the first, and is one of the best, Social Circus programs in the country. The new artistic leadership team and many of the teachers at Prescott Circus Theater are Clown Conservatory graduates.
Social Circus: Our Social Circus work continues to grow; this year our students did projects with Cancer Awareness, Resources and Education (at S.F. General Hospital), The Medea Project (theater created with HIV positive women), Kaiser Hospital, Prescott and performed for over a dozen Bay Area community groups.
Open House: As Circus Center moves into a future that focuses on training professional performers, we continue to offer many shows to the public, including our recitals, local tours and showcases. This year, we added a wildly popular open house on December 20th, including workshops, games, performances, food and lots of fun for Bay Area families.
Shows, Shows, Shows: Since we started in 2000, we have offered over 200 Clown Conservatory-produced shows featuring our students (not including the hundreds of school shows about recycling produced by Circus Center that have featured many Clown Conservatory performers). In 2008/2009 alone, we’ve had over 50 performances, including in-house recitals, Climate Clown Cabarets, local touring shows, community events and our long run of Wonderland.
Marketing: Our marketing took a large leap forward this year, with expanded use of internet-based tools (email, social networking sites, etc.), new brochures and posters, a mailing to theater departments around the country and more than a dozen recruiting workshops at Dell’Arte, U.C. Santa Cruz, Contra Costa College, SOTA, American Conservatory Theater and others. Feature articles in Theatre Bay Area and Spectacle magazines were highlights.
Circopedia: Faculty member Dominique Jando help found Circopedia, an invaluable on-line tool for our students, alumni and staff. He was also the co-author of The Circus - 1870 - 1950, the biggest circus book ever written (literally - it weighs 17 pounds and comes with its own carrying case).
General "Talking Points" about The Clown Conservatory at San Francisco Circus Center
- Clown Conservatory graduates WORK...in Cirque Eloize (Rain), Cirque du Soleil, Circus Monti, Aga Boom, S.F. Shakespeare Company, Lunatique Fantastique, Woman’s Will, Ringling Bros. and many other great companies as well as creating original, innovative solo and ensemble clown performances.
- The Clown Conservatory is culturally inclusive...we value a diverse student body and can now accept International students through the SEVIS program.
- The Clown Conservatory is international…our annual program in Nanjing is training top Chinese acrobats in the art of Western-style clowning.
- The Clown Conservatory is artistically inclusive…we regularly accept students with backgrounds in clowning, of course, but also circus, theater, dance, visual arts, education, etc. We occasionally accept promising students with no clown experience.
- The Clown Conservatory is part of San Francisco Circus Center… one of the largest and most respected circus training facilities in the U.S.
- The Clown Conservatory gets personal…with a small student body and a large faculty, we can give each student lots of individual attention.
- The Clown Conservatory helps graduates find work…through our alumni listserv, with letters of recommendation, audition and contract tips, career advice and through our international network of friends and colleagues in the business.
- Clowning can be a wonderful, lifelong career…good clowns are in demand around the world in circuses, theaters, hospitals, schools, puppet troupes, etc.
- Our Advanced Program can help you focus your career…with three different tracks: Independent Study (for students who are already performing professionally); Ensemble Performance (creating and performing a professional level circus play), and Social Circus (for students interested in making Social Circus a major part of their career).
- The Clown Conservatory is affordable...we keep tuition as low as possible and we have a generous financial aid program.
- Clown Conservatory will offer degrees…students will soon be able to earn a BFA in a program with our academic partner Coastal Carolina University.
- The Clown Conservatory has a world-class faculty...working professionals in acrobatics, circus skills, dance, body awareness, mime, circus history, physical theater and much more.
- The Clown Conservatory is unique...we are the only comprehensive clown training program in the U.S.
Clown Conservatory Basic Facts
- The web sites are www.clownconservatory.org and www.circuscenter.org
- Jeff Raz has two interviews about clowning on-line:
o A presentation to the Commonwealth Club at http://fora.tv/2008/06/04/Jeff_Raz.
o An interview on "Business with Passion" at http://www.manygoodideas.com/2009/03/20/business-with-passion-jeff-raz.
- Our first year program runs from September 8, 2009 - June 20, 2010; our Advanced Programs run September 21, 2009 - June 6, 2010
- We accept resumes (with a picture and a letter of interest) year round. We then invite promising applicants to send in an audition.
- Auditions are by video, either a DVD or posted on-line, and can be submitted as early as January for the school year that starts the following September. Some live auditions are scheduled in the spring.
- Send letters of interest, photographs and resumes to Peggy Ford:
Peggy Ford
Circus Center
755 Frederick Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
415.759.8123 ext. *814
peggy@circuscenter.org
- Our Advanced Program now features three tracks:
o Independent Study
o Ensemble Performance
o Social Circus
Acceptance to our Advanced Programs is by interview only (plus an audition for the Ensemble Performance track)
- More info is at www.clownconservatory.org; and www.circuscenter.org