2024 info
Welcome to The Coney Island Clown Skool 2024! Dive into a week-long Clown training intensive at Coney Island USA. Come experience our unique, hands-on learning with top educators. Join us from November 10 to 17, 2024, for laughter, learning, and performances.
Information Extravaganza
Details
📅 Dates: Nov. 10, 2024 to Nov. 17, 2024
📍 Location: Coney Island USA,
1208 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224
💰 Cost: $750 USD 8-days (Sunday to Sunday)
$600 USD 5-days (Monday to Friday)
🚫 Not Included: Food, transportation
nor accommodations.
💳 Payment Method: Venmo & payment plans
🖼️ Illustration by Keri Sheheen
Our mission statement:
The Coney Island Clown Skool is dedicated to fostering a safe and supportive environment for educators and students, inspired by Coney Island’s rich history of frivolity and community.
Portrait of Glen Heroy by Shark Shredder
Who we are?
In 2024, The Coney Island Clown Skool offers a unique training intensive at Coney Island USA, providing students with our unique education in clowning, movement, puppetry, character development, object manipulation and slapstick, with performances, excursions and networking opportunities.
Photo of Glen Heroy by Derek Haffar
What to expect?
At The Coney Island Clown Skool 2024, each day is filled with great classes, occasional field trips to Broadway or visiting circuses, command performances, guest lecturers, works in progress, and culminates with a graduation ceremony and the opportunity to perform on the legendary Coney Island Sideshow stage.
Photo by Eli Rodriguez @elirodriguezphoto
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on healthcare clowning with experts Michael Christensen (Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit), Watson Kawecki, MPH (Columbia University), and Jon Luongo, Healthy Humor, Inc.). Explore the impact of clowning in healthcare and its benefits for patients. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insights into the power of laughter in medical settings!
Where are we?
The Coney Island Clown Skool has teamed up with the enchanting historic Coney Island USA, where timeless charm meets modern excitement. Explore iconic boardwalk attractions, thrilling rides, and captivating sideshows steeped in rich heritage. Join us for a unique clown journey immersed in decades of amusement and nostalgia, where every moment promises adventure and delight.
Faculty 2024
Broken Box Mime Theatre
Mime Instructors
Broken Box Mime Theater (BKBX), founded in 2011, is a contemporary physical theater company that reimagines the medium of mime for contemporary audiences. Based in NYC, BKBX's 20 members hail from Jamaica, Switzerland, Australia, Turkey, Argentina, New York City, and various hometowns across the US. In 2024, BKBX produced PhysFestNYC, a month-long physical theater festival featuring performances, panels, and events.
Photo of BKBX of by Bjorn Bolinder
Tyler Bunch
Puppeteering Instructor
Tyler Bunch is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, director, actor, and voice actor who has been performing with Sesame Workshop since 1993. In addition to his work with the Jim Henson Company since 1997, he has created and performed puppets for PBS, Nickelodeon, and Disney's The Muppets Studio. He has acted in off-Broadway productions, multiple commercials, and has made appearances on The Tick on Amazon, Uncoupled on Netflix, and Search Party on HBO Max. Tyler portrays Elmo’s Dad, Louie.
Photo of Tyler Bunch by Jamie McCarthy
Getty Images
Hilary Chaplain
Comedy Duo Instructor
Hilary Chaplain has blended clown theater, movement, and puppetry in her solo and ensemble work for over 40-years, performing in over 20 countries, on Broadway, in television and films - including “Forrest Gump”. Famous for her touring the award-winning solo show “A Life in Her Day”. Hilary co-created “The Last Rat of Theresienstadt”, which won 4 top awards at the 2018 Lalka Tez Cztowiek Puppet Festival in Warsaw, Poland. Since 1987, she has entertained children as “Nurse Nice” with the Big Apple Circus Hospital Clown Program.
Photo of Hilary Chaplain by Billy Bustamente
Glen Heroy
Founder & Creative Director
Glen Heroy is an actor, clown, singer, spoon player, celebrity tribute artist, and Santa Claus. He was a clown doctor on the pediatric floors of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and was a clown in residence at The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. Glen was a featured clown in the 2008-2009 tour of the Big Apple Circus and was featured prominently in the documentary CIRCUS on PBS. He is on the faculty of the Academy Of Clown Arts and is the founding director of the Coney Island Clown Skool.
Photo of Glen Heroy by Barbara Levine
Joel Jeske
Slapstick Instructor
Joel Jeske is a physical comedian, director, teacher, experimental clown and clown historian who helped create and star in multiple productions of The Big Apple Circus. He has also created clown acts for Ringling Bros/Barnum & Bailey and Cirque Du Soleil. He co-starred with Peter Shub at the Apollo Variete/Dusseldorf, headlined Festival Der Traume in Austria, and was most recently seen in his one-man show, “The Artist Will Be With You In A Moment”. Joel is the associate artistic director of the Drama Desk-nominated Parallel Exit.
Photo of Joel Jeske by Deborah Lopez
Matt Mitler
Theatrical Comedy Instructor
Matt Mitler is an actor, educator, comic, mime, and filmmaker whose training spans from Grotowski to Carlo Mazzone-Clementi. He is the founding director of Dzieci Theatre, which balances work on performance with acts of service. Dzieci is firmly dedicated to the process and includes in its repertory the critically acclaimed Fools Mass. Matt's first feature film, Cracking Up, won Best Film in International Critic’s Week at the Venice Film Festival and the People’s Choice Award in The NY Underground Film Festival.
Photo of Matt Milter by Francisco Almada
Trav S.D.
Vaudeville Lecturer
Trav S.D. is a journalist, playwright, lecturer, and stage performer, and is a leading voice in the New Vaudeville movement. He is the author of "No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous," "Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube," and "Rose's Royal Midgets and Other Little People." He also maintains the blog Travalanche, which features biographies of vaudeville, burlesque, circus, sideshow, and variety art performers. Trav received the MacDowell Fellowship in 1994.
Photo of Trav S.D. from
Michael Trautman
Performance Coach
Michael Trautman is a visual comic, performance artist, new vaudevillian, mime, physical comedian, storyteller, magician, clown and fool. He has appeared in the New York International Festival of Clown Theater, Festival D’Ete in Quebec, and the Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal. From 2016 to 2018, Michael served as the Artistic Director and Creative Director at the Maine Circus Academy. In 2010, Michael collaborated with Robert Post to create KING PONG’S PING PONG RODEO.
Photo of Michael Trautman from
Stacey Leigh Artistry
Skool Coordinator
Stacey Leigh is a versatile professional with a diverse background encompassing graphic design, web development, photography, and social media management. With expertise in clowning, makeup artistry and wardrobe styling, they have made impactful contributions to a variety of events, spanning from burlesque shows to international circus festivals. As a dedicated and adaptable professional, Stacey Leigh is eager to leverage their skills and experience to enhance visual experiences and contribute to creative endeavors.
Photo of Stacey Leigh Laureyssens by