Play and Relationship: A Clown Workshop

You hear the word clown, and a specific image or idea probably pops into your mind. Chances are that is not what this workshop is about. Le Jeu is French for “play.” You are on stage to play. And the clown plays with great openness.  

In this workshop, we will use this play and openness to explore letting the audience help you find what’s funny, relationship (to objects, audience, individuals), and feeling free to do (almost) anything on stage. This work leads to better listening and sensitivity on stage, and this can lead to finding shockingly funny and/or beautiful moments while improvising and better construction when building a rehearsed show.

Facilitator's Bio:

Toph Enany (he/they) is an international performer and director originally from Connellsville, PA. In the past year, he has worked as a creative collaborator on Paulina Lenoir’s Edinburgh hit, Puella Eterna and co-created and performed in the Dentities, a show commissioned for the 2024 Ziguzajg Festival in Malta. Currently, he is directing a run of Jasper's En Haut (Up Up Up Up Up), which Toph also co-created, in Australia, as well as developing and performing his solo show, Wo. He has an active pedagogy practice and facilitated workshops on five continents in 2024, including as an invited instructor for the 2024 JTC Festival in Tunis.

Toph trained for two years with Philippe Gaulier. He holds an MFA in Advanced Devising Practice from arthaus.berlin. He has also trained with Anne Bogart and SITI Company, Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret, Spymonkey, Larry Moss, Audrey Francis, Kimberly Senior, Roberta Carreri, Bill Irwin, De Castro, Paola Coletto, Peta Lily, Phil Burgers, and Shakespeare & Company.