Clownesque Bodies
December 5-19
11am-3pm
3 Weekends
Led by Carmen Aguilar y Wedge
Pushing & Pulling with Presence
Do you find yourself standing around on stage? Do you want to be more physical in your performance? Are you aware of how your body moves and what it communicates?
This technique-driven workshop combines movement, clown, mime, and dance to develop a more conscious, expressive, and physically dynamic stage presence. Moving beyond ideas and games, we will build a movement vocabulary specific to the Mime-Clown body, exploring corporeal geometry, presence, and atmosphere to discover how comedy and meaning can emerge through movement, subtlety, and physical form.
Drawing on the work of Mexican masters Sigfrido Aguilar and Sergio Langarica of Mime-Clown Theater El Estudio Búsqueda de Pantomima-Teatro A.C., Carmen brings techniques from her recent intensive five-week training in Teatro-Clown de Locura Pura / Cuerpo Geómetra Clownesco in Guanajuato, Mexico. Through the foundations of pantomime, physical theater, and clown, participants will tune their physical instruments, refine their stage presence, and explore the playful body and the ritual of playful theater.
Objective
Balanced between theory and practice, we will explore classic clown tropes alongside clownesque movement exercises to refine technique and stage presence. Our exploration of contemporary clown and neo-mime will dissolve the boundary between the concrete and the abstract, expanding your storytelling abilities and corporeal movement.
By the end of the workshop, you will:
Develop a corporeal vocabulary and physical practice
Direct & Indirect Compliments
Discover and develop corporeal games
Learn to observe and respond to the world around you
What to bring:
Black comfortable clothes for moving, Water, Notebook + Pen
About the Artist
Flying along the edges of the world, Carmen Aguilar y Wedge (Whoopsie) is an award-winning Mexa designer, artist, and physical theater maker. A devoted enthusiast, amateur clown historian, and menace, she channels the lineage of tricksters through her body and stories on stage. In 2024, she premiered her first solo show, Help Wanted, winning Best New Flop, and in 2026 premiered her second show GRA, taking home the Audience Choice Award at the Montreal Clown Festival. A founding member of the bouffoon ensemble Filthy Habits, Carmen trains, teaches, and performs internationally, and can be seen with Church of Clown and Fou Fou Ha in her hometown of San Francisco.
All Church of Clown events are NOTAFLOF. Please email Sophia at Sophia@churchofclown.org for questions about volunteering, work trade, or scholarships.