ResearchWorks: Clowns and Identity – reinventing clowning from the margins

Clowns are often presumed to stage the marginalised. But what happens when artists of marginalised identities are the ones actually doing the clowning? Much of the speakers recent and current research has been in collaboration with artists of marginalised identities who are reinventing clowning, and how that might then teach everyone else a way to do it which is more relevant to us today than the old 1960s models derived from Lecoq and Gaulier. In this presentation Jon Davidson will share some of those research practices and attempt to gather the diverse strands together, in order to articulate common findings and suggestions for future exploration.

- The Deaf and Hearing Ensemble: clown relationships through the dynamics of signing/speaking actorshttps://dhensemble.com/

- Quiplash – clowning emerging from comfort and access needs of disabled artistshttps://www.quiplash.co.uk/

- The Mammy Project – why African American artists choose not to clownhttps://www.michellenicolematlock.com/themammyproject

- Fatina Cummings – clowning from the discomfort of black British artists https://www.justmoreproductions.com/

Dominant discourse on clowning holds that clowns are personal, assuming we can understand humans as individuals. Research into clowning emerging from marginalised identities, however, sees clowns as defined by cultural contexts and identities which depend on ethnicity, gender, social class, disability, etc.

Speaker

Jon Davison is a clown performer, teacher, director, producer, researcher and musician with nearly 40 years’ experience in theatre, street, circus and TV. He taught clown, improvisation and acting at the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona from 1996-2006, when he became a co-founder of the Escola de Clown de Barcelona. From 2007-2010 he was an AHRC-funded Creative Fellow investigating contemporary clown/actor training at Central School of Speech and Drama, where he obtained his PhD in Clown Performance Practice. He is Lecturer in Clowning at London Metropolitan University and founder of the London Clown School. He is the author of two books, ‘Clown Readings in Theatre Practice’ and ‘Clown Training, a practical guide’, which have become major textbooks for students of clowning worldwide. He is producer of the long-running monthly clown show ‘Friday Flop’ and currently dedicating himself to teaching, directing and performing clowning online. He runs the London Clown School, providing regular clown workshops in the UK as well as frequent visits worldwide to teach clowning.

Guildhall School’s ResearchWorks is a programme of events centred around the School’s research activity, bringing together staff, students and guests of international standing. We run regular events throughout the term intended to share the innovative research findings of the School and its guests with students, staff and the public.