Clown Inside Out!
With Big Apple Star Glen Heroy!
Saturday April 6th 1pm-2:30pm
Clown is a Verb! In this workshop you’ll learn on your feet while participating in clown exercises and games designed to open your spacial awareness, hone your listening skills, and find the funny!
*No previous clowning required.
Wear movement clothes and comfortable footwear because you won’t sit for an hour, and bring a towel because you’re going to sweat!
Glen Heroy is the Director of the Coney Island Clown Skool, and is on the faculty of the Academy of Clown Arts.
His credits include touring with the Big Apple Circus, being a Clown in Residence at The Hole In The Wall Gang Camp, on site supervisor and Clown Doctor “Dr Bovine” for BAC Clown Care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Glen was a featured subject in the six hour PBS Documentary CIRCUS.
Aerial Silks & Lyra
Silks & Conditioning with Miss Coney Island 2024, Aurora North!
Saturday April 6th 3pm-4:30pm | Limit 10 students per class
In this workshop, students will focus on the conditioning and skills fundamental for silks and lyra. No prior aerial experience necessary! We will begin with a brief warmup, and then work on the foundations of aerial arts. Students will learn basic climbs, inversions and shapes inside the apparatuses. In addition, we will talk about how to approach your training for strength and flexibility, and increased skill level. Whether you are a performer seeking to add to your skills and repertoire, or a fellow human wanting a fun physical addition to grow your personal practice, this workshop is for you!
Aurora North is a Circus/Sideshow Performer and Dancer. She is honoured to be Miss Coney Island 2024. Aurora received an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and a BFA in Dance and Dance Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. Major performance highlights include being a guest artist at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow, Jazz at Lincoln Center, PULP at Radio City Music Hall, and Michael Clark’s residency at Whitney Museum of American Art. Together with her wife as The Brides, she is regularly produced at The Box NYC, House of YES, and Coney Island USA. The two co-direct Kinetic Cabaret Productions and produce Pixie Grit Circus Sideshow. Aurora also co-owns BODYHOO Studios, a Pilates, Yoga and Hammock Yoga studio in Ridgewood. Her teaching philosophy incorporates both conditioning exercises for muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility, as well as visualization and imagery work for neuromuscular re-patterning.
Fire Eating 101
with Kita St. Cyr
Sunday April 7th 1pm-3pm
In this workshop, students will learn the basics of fire safety as well as one basic fire sequence.
During the first hour of this class you will learn things like the difference between fuels and why we use them, how to extinguish a prop or a performer on fire, and how to go about becoming a licensed and certified fire performer in NYC. The second hour will cover practical skills such as tongue transfers, hand transfers, jellyfishing, how to Shoot the Moon and a basic extinguish.
Students should wear short sleeves or sleeves that are able to be rolled up reliably. Please avoid oil based lip products or greasepaint for this.
Kita St Cyr is the resident fire performer at the Coney Island Circus Sideshow as well as the Executive Director of the Sideshow Hootenanny. She’s performed onstage at the NY Renaissance Faire, Bonnaroo, House of Yes, Six Flags Fright Fest and at events for Neil Patrick Harris and Imelda May.
Sharing Secrets of Sideshow Success!
An Open Discussion about Sideshow as an Art and a Profession, Moderated by Doctor Finnegan’s Circus!
Sunday April 7th 3:30pm-4pm
Join Doctor Finnegan’s Circus for a one hour group conversation about all things Show Business. We are looking for working performers willing to share the details of their process, experiences, offer advice, and discuss the nuances of entertainment with a group of their peers. Topics for discussion will include: Bookings, Pricing, Practicing, Sound & Tech, Scripting VS Improvisation, Traveling, and more!
Attendees of this workshop will have the opportunity to teach and learn from other industry professionals in an open and dynamic dialogue that we hope will shed light on the spectrum of what it takes and what it means to be successful in the art of sideshow.
Doctor Finnegan’s Circus has been entertaining crowds from coast to coast and all around the country for over a decade! Doctor Finnegan’s Circus is an award winning comedy circus troupe specializing in American sideshow style entertainment. This elite trio is headed by Doctor Finnegan and features the amazing talents of Chip Rascal and The Reverend Sean Theroux.
Talkin Geek!
Renowned performer and author Nathan Wakefield presents a condensed history of the Sideshow Geek and several allied acts!
Sunday April 7th 5pm-6pm
In this lecture, author Nathan Wakefield presents a condensed history of the sideshow geek and several allied acts. He also delves into the challenges and processes that came with writing his book on the subject ‘The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek’. There will also be a brief Q & A session available after the lecture.
Nathan Wakefield is a writer, juggler, actor, musician, and marketer from Southeast Michigan. He has a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Ferris State University. Nathan has been featured in publications on the variety arts, written for the online eZine eJuggle, and served as a consultant on several published works on juggling. He recently released his first full length book, ‘The Rise and Fall of the Sideshow Geek’ which details the history of the geek act.