Walking the dog Theate

Clowning as an Inner Journey

Clown Workshops with Laura Geilen & Benedicta Bertau

In collaboration with Nose to Nose of North America

“A clown is a poet in action. He is the story which he enacts.

The clown teaches us to laugh at ourselves. Joy is like a river: it flows ceaselessly. It seems to me that this is the message which the clown is trying to convey to us, that we should participate through the ceaseless flow and movement, that we should not stop to reflect, compare, analyze, possess, but flow on and through, endlessly, like music. This is the gift of surrender, and the clown makes it symbolically."

~ Henry Miller "The smile at the Foot of the Ladder"

WTD is delighted to collaborate with Nose to Nose of North America for its series of clown workshops. Now in the second year of working with Laura Geilen, a facilitator with Nose to Nose of North America and a member of WTD, these workshops have become a favorite part of WTD’s program.

This clown work is not about routines, tricks or gags. No acting or clowning experience is needed. Participants are invited on a safe personal journey that lets our challenges become opportunities, our mistakes celebrations, and our confusions states of enlightenment. The process is authentic, supportive and joyful. In clowning we delight in life's paradoxes.

The workshops begin with games of discovery and connection using our voices, movement, and by exploring the physical space and objects in it. We continue with improvisation structures that hold safety and inspire emotional response, gently inviting into being our own unique clown. Each improvisation is discussed to identify and bring out the positive and important aspects of our clown (and how it lives in us). This is done with care and respect for each individual and within a framework of rules that ensures a secure and protective environment.

Through clowning and connecting to our playful spirit we can develop and sustain, in each other and in ourselves, the heart to be who we truly are - to trust life and ourselves.

Upcoming Clown Workshops:

Clowning as an Inner Journey:

One Day Intro Clown Workshop for "Adults" sponsored by the Friends of the Guiding Star Grange, Greenfield, Massachusetts
August 7, 2010, 10 am – 5 pm
$95/$75 for Friends of the Guiding Star Grange

Download Greenfield August 7 Registration Form

Introductory Weekend:

August 13-15, 2010 - $200.00

Download Intro Weekend Registration Form

Clown 1, The Courage to Be:

August 16-20, 2010 - $395.00 ($495.00 for both)
Both workshops take place at Spencertown Academy in the beautiful Berkshire-Taconic Region, in Spencertown , New York.

Download Clown 1, The Courage to Be Registration Form

And coming this Fall:

Clown 2 ~ Embracing The Unexpected:

October 17-21, with Laura Geilen and Angie Foster

For more information or to register call 518-929-5392

Clown Workshops for all Occasions

Happy to host Nose to Nose of North America, WTD is offering clown workshops for all occasions, abilities, and ages (from 15 years of age), and can adapt to your needs, space, and context.

If you are looking for a new way to connect a group (business, friends, family), ask us. We offer clown workshops for women only (A Nose Of Her Own), and of course “co-ed” versions. Many continue working with us because they find the freedom and playfulness of the work becomes vitalizing for them.

"I really learned a lot and it will be a touchstone for me as I remember it and the experience and feeling of being on stage and being viewed....and enjoying it!"

-Workshop Participant, A Nose of her Own

"Thanks for inviting us into providing the license to expand our hearts. Thanks for setting the stage. Thanks for the belly laughs and for the succinct and honest critiques. Thanks for pushing us to dress badly, screw up, drop stuff, fumble over things, dance-with-our-eyes-closed and re-discover ourselves. Thanks for your prodding encouragement to turn our inability to solve the world's mysteries and lack of cooperativeness into endless fodder for satire, fun, games and life changing lessons."

–Workshop Participant, In Clown We Trust

The Facilitators:

Laura Geilen trained in dance at the Boston Conservatory of Music, has a BA in Human Services from Lesley University, and is a graduate of the Spacial Dynamics™ Institute and the Camphill Social Therapy Training.

Besides being the mother of four she’s a coach with Kaleidoscope Circus Programs www.berkcirque.com and teaches dance, Spacial DynamicsTM, circus arts, therapeutic movement, acro-yoga and clowning to kids, adults, and special needs groups in schools and privately throughout the Berkshire-Taconic area.

Laura is a member of Walking the dog Theater's OFF LEASH! Improv Theater Ensemble, and trains with the North American Nose to Nose Clown Facilitator team. www.nosetonose.info

Photograph: Daniel Region

Benedicta Bertau, director, actor, clown and Producing Artistic Director/Outreach Director for Walking the dog Theater, Benedicta Bertau was born in Germany into a French/German family.

She received her Waldorf teacher Training Certificate from Emerson College, England, in 1996 and her B.A. in Dance/Eurythmy from Helicon College in The Hague, Netherlands, in 2000.

Benedicta Bertau trained in Physical Theater in Chile, the Chekhov Acting Method in Berlin, Germany, and Clowning in the Netherlands with Marjolein Baars of tiny hero productions.

Photograph: Christian McManus