Henry Matisse: Icarus (1947)

Deeply rooted in movement-based theatre, Giovanni Fusetti’s pedagogy focuses on the analysis of the physical and emotional world of each actor, as revealed by their body moving in space. This leads to the discovery of a unique clown, with a specific body, tempo, voice, costume, attitudes, emotions, and poetic world.
The journey begins with the exploration and analysis of the body within the theatrical space. In terms of movement, no body is neutral; every body carries profoundly expressive themes, embodied in everyday movement. There is a web of “non-neutral attitudes” and physical and emotional “background noises” within each person’s movement and physical presence. If an actor is observed through the lenses of movement analysis, using the reference point of the Neutral State, this web appears like drawings/markings on a white sheet. They are “dramatic” in the etymological sense: they contain a drama – an action.
They are dramatic patterns that defines a specific physical type, a mask, a character.

The use of the smallest mask in the world: the Red Nose, and the amplification and articulation of these very personal movement patterns allow the actor to enter the Clown state. The clown, before being a character – is a state of playing in which everyone has access to the key question: what is so funny about myself?

To discover one’s own clown is to reveal one’s own unique comic persona and turn it into a universal comic form.
For a performer, there is something fundamental in the discovery of their personal Clown: it’s raw, pure, personal, unique, challenging, empowering, revealing, and extremely rewarding. It’s the exquisite pleasure of touching the empty space of complete comedy.
As a theatre genre, Clown has a unique poetic potential because it allows the performer to explore and play with the naiveté and the vulnerability of the child and with the rigor and the technique of the adult, thus revealing the poetry of the ridiculous, and a unique personal poetic power.

Clown’s Life Training, Melbourne, 2024

THE STEPS OF THE PROCESS

• Play, action/reaction and fun
• The clown as a state of being on stage
• The Entrance: the empty space
• Contact with the audience
• From the Neutral State to the Comic State: movement analysis of the body in space
• Emotional awareness and contact with the emotional body of the actor
• The Red Nose as a mask: amplification and articulation of movement
• The role of the Monsieur Loyal
• The relationship among clowns: hierarchy, leaders and servants, levels of stupidity
• Clown Archetypes
• Performing clowns: rhythmical space and time: entrance, crescendo, development of themes, climax and exit

A PEDAGOGIC WORKSHOP

The workshop combines the experiential journey of discovering one’s own clown in the SOMATIC CLOWN PROCESS developed by Giovanni Fusetti, with a theoretical and practical reflection on the pedagogy in which the practice is rooted.
This workshop will include different ingredients:
– Core exercises
– Pedagogic analysis of the core steps of the Somatic Clown Process
– Session on pedagogic theory
– Discussion on the questions from the participants

Participants will be practicing both as clown students and teachers in training.

The work will journey from practical experiential exercise to pedagogic sessions, creating a space for discussion, analysis, examples, questions and synthesis; providing food for the mind, references, history of the practice, articulation of principles. 

Red Nose Intensive, Fall 2023, Padova

The Theoretical inputs of the Seminar

– Jacques Lecoq: The Clown as a Mask of the personal comedy
– Gestalt: The Clown as the amplification of a form emerging
– Reichian Analysis and Bionergetics: the Clown as a somatic character
– Process Work:  the Clown as a Non-Ordinary State

Pedagogic analysis of different approaches to clown
– State Based Clown
– Action Based Clown: slapstick, absurd, eccentric, gags
– Skilled Based Clown
– “Be Funny” Clown
– Grotesque Clown and the edge with Bouffon

The Teacher as a process facilitator, and his different tools.
    – Positive and Negative Feedback, Support, Provocation, “Via Negativa”
    – Pedagogue, Performer or Director ?
    – Teaching and playing at the edge between the Personal and the Poetic

PRACTICALITIES

Boulder Red Nose Intensive 2010

HOW TO APPLY
There is no application form.
To apply to the workshop please email a letter of motivation sharing the essence of your story, vision, dream, desire, fear or un-explicable intuition that leads you to this workshop.

Please include in your letter:
– a brief artistic a pedagogic BIO
– your experience teaching clown
– two fundamental pedagogic questions that you would like to be addressed during the workshop.

Giovanni will contact you after receiving the application.

Giovanni will select the students among the applications received, forming the group.
Priority will be giving to those who have previous experiences with the Somatic Clown Process.

Once Giovanni has selected 16 students, the training is full, and a waiting list will be created.

Application Deadline: August 1st 2024

ENROLMENT SITUATION as of May 10th, 2024: the workshop is confirmed and 6 spots are still available.


For any question regarding the pedagogical content of the class and if you are interested in attending the workshop, please send your application to GIOVANNI FUSETTI at

Once the workshop will be confirmed, participants will receive a message containing further practical details about the workshop.