Provoking the Clown with Damien Warren-Smith

Wide Angle Tasmania, 6 Washington St, South Hobart

Sun 3 Oct, 12-3pm

$100 Full Price | $50 Concession

A 3hr workshop for performers exploring the gentle art of idiocy with facilitator Damien Warren-Smith AKA Garry Starr as provocateur / boss clown / Monsieur Loyal

For some there is a gaping (but necessary) void between discovering clown and actually creating a show. This short workshop is designed to bridge that gap by giving performers the opportunity to fail gloriously in a safe and supportive environment. By taking the pressure off the clown to ‘invent’ and provoking the performer in a playful (and loving) way, you’ll experience the joyful feeling of success through failure.

Damien Warren-Smith is an award-winning writer, producer and performer of live theatre and absurd comedy. Having grown up in various parts of regional NSW he ended up in Sydney where he trained as a theatre performer at Actors Centre Australia. Upon graduation he moved to London where he worked with some of the UK’s biggest TV and theatre companies for over a decade as an actor before discovering the joy of clown. He studied in London with Peta Lily, Mick Barnfather and John Wright before packing his bags and heading to École Philippe Gaulier. Along with a group of Gaulier grads he founded the Plague of iDiots with whom he toured in the role of Monsieur Loyal (Ringmaster) to festivals throughout Australia and the UK. He collaborated with renowned comedy director Cal McCrystal for his breakout solo show Garry Starr Performs Everything which was nominated for both Best Newcomer & The Golden Gibbo at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival as well as a string of UK awards. He teamed up with McCrystal again in 2019 to create the role of Reverend Peabody as part of the Atomic Saloon Show which played to packed houses at The Venetian in Las Vegas. When the virus struck Damien left the US and returned to Melbourne where he continues to write and perform whenever possible. Read more here.

You can also watch Damien perform at The Grand Poobah on Fri 1 + Sat 2 Oct in his solo show, Garry Starr Performs Everything.

Kitsch Events acknowledge that this workshop will take place on the unceded lands of the muwinina peoples of lutruwita/Tasmania. We acknowledge the ongoing sovereignty of elders past, present and emerging, and extend this acknowledgement to any Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people attending the event.