Intro to Clown with Garry Starr

Clowns are eternally optimistic and truly come alive in failure.

In this playful workshop we will explore how to be funny without trying. The pressure to make people laugh will be graciously taken out of your hands and we will instead be finding ways to make each other look ridiculous so we can hone our skills in listening for laughter and responding accordingly.

Focus:

Looking to the Laugh

Repeating the Funny

Falling in Love with The Flop

Doing Something vs Doing Nothing

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Damien Warren-Smith (A.K.A. Garry Starr) is a performer whose solo work has played festivals all over the world, picking up numerous awards along the way. Having trained and worked as an actor for over 15 years he re-trained as a clown with the likes of Mick Barnfather, Peta Lily, John Wright, Lucy Hopkins, Carlo Jacucci and Philippe Gaulier before forming the clown troupe A Plague of Idiots. His solo shows have played to packed houses in Melbourne, Sydney, London, Oslo, Berlin, LA and Las Vegas and he has taught workshops across the UK, Australia and Japan. His new show Classic Penguins was one of the best reviewed shows at Edinburgh Fringe 2024.

'One of the greatest clowns audiences are likely to see in their lifetime' - NZ Herald

‘Starr is an appealingly absurd comic creation… his tremendous warmth and respect for his audience balance out a childlike urge to create absolute chaos’ - The Stage (UK)