Welcome to the official site for Alan Clay's writing and his latest book, Angels can Fly a Modern Clown User Guide.
Alan Clay
Alan was born in 1954 in New Zealand, he attended a Clown School in Sweden in 1977, and has since taught and performed extensively in Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand.Alan lived in Sydney from 1992 to 2006, where he ran Playspace Studio, a physical theatre training centre in Newtown, which gained international recognition for a uniquely irreverent Australian approach to clown.
Alan now runs a retreat centre in Wanganui, New Zealand, where he teaches clown retreats in addition to regular Sydney workshops and touring. Check out the Clown Retreat.
Angels can Fly
This is a textbook for a fast changing art form. The traditional approach to teaching clown is routine or gag based and this sits uncomfortably with teaching practices in modern performing arts education and with today's audiences.
The book includes a mix of fiction which follows the adventures of ten clown characters, some personal clown anecdotes from clowns from around the world, and some theory on the nature of modern clown, as well as 50 practical clown exercises appropriate for workshops or performance, developed by Alan through 30 years of teaching in Australia, Europe, America and New Zealand.
There are warm-up and introductory exercises in the early chapters, mid-session or mid-course exercises in the middle chapters, and more performance-oriented exercises, and relaxation exercises, in the final chapters. Specific prerequisites to any exercise are detailed in each chapter. The exercises have all been coded for individual exploration, for work in pairs, for workshop use, or for use in a performance setting, or for some combination of these.
“Clown is a fascinating, diverse, complex and exciting art form, which has existed around the planet for thousands of years. Like any art form it has to evolve to stay relevant to the culture nurturing it, and at the same time, and by its very nature, clown teases and turns upside down the cultural patterns and boundaries around us.”
If you'd like to view a preview of Angels Can Fly from Google Books, click this button.
A note from the author:
"I am happy to share the results of my research on clown, so on this site you can get a free ebook copy of the book, as well as read a preview on Google Books, however if you like Angels Can Fly, I would appreciate if you would buy a copy of the paperback, as this gives me something for my more than three years of writing and thirty years of clown teaching experience. The paperback also includes over 70 photographs." Alan ClayBuy this book on Amazon Here are some of the reviews of the book which have been posted on Amazon:
thru, helpfull, inspiring,
April 23, 2008 I just got the book one day ago. It pulled me through. although i work in the field of clown for quite a while it is a great book to learn, remember and to remind you. thanks a lot for putting a the stuff together. Great job, Daniel.
By Fritz "DM-Fritz" (germany)
October 31, 2005 This is a terrific book, and should be read and used frequently. The stories about the real clowns are inspiring and the exercises are practical and important, especially if you are serious about exploring the clown in you.
By Michael C. Getlan "caring clown" (New Rochelle, NY)
August 2, 2005 This unusual book has a lot of good character development, audience interaction exercises. It is also a novel about street performers and includes several entertainers biographies all mixed together. For a very enjoyable educational read. Julie "Jewls" Wright
By Julie A. Wright "Jewls" Also check out Alan Clay's clown film, Moontan, staring Annette Devick from Canada (pictured above) and Mark Hudson from Australia which was shot in New Zealand in October 2006.
Some of the anecdotes and exercises from Angels Can Fly have been posted on this site, and you can check them out under the chapter links below. And you can also sign up to receive a free eBook version of Angels Can Fly.
Chapters 1. Go Your Own Path
2. When to StartExercise: Slapping Balance
3. Bliss4. Breath
5. Play
6. ExploreAnecdote: Female Clown - Sue Broadway
Exercise: Normal Question
7. Observe
8. Interact9. Learning
11. Growth
12. Laughter
Anecdote: Rumpel's Foolosophy
13. Emotions14. Body
15. Mind
16. MistakesAnecdote: Lady Margo
17. GamesAnecdote: David MacMurray Smith
18. Fool19. Self
Anecdote: Like Herself - Hillary Chaplin
20. OthersAnecdote: I don't juggle
21. Expression
22. Communication
23. Audience
24. Rapport
25. Vulnerability
26. SpontaneityAnecdote: Celebrate Abandonment
27. Process28. Practice
29. Teaching30. Theatre
31. Story
32. Character
33. Structure34. Tension
Exercise: Nonviolence35. Patterns
36. Expectations
37. Risk
38. Release
39. Failure
40. PerceptionAnecdote: Johnny Melvile - Basque Flowers
41. Normal
42. Taboos43. Freedom
44. Acceptance
45. Change
46. Creativity
47. Art
48. Love
49. Spirit
50. FaithOn this site you can also find archived blog items from the Angels Can Fly book launch and tour.
You might also like to check out our ePublishing links or information on the Artmedia Newsletters, or the Artmedia Publishing Services.
Other Books by Alan Clay
Moontan
Alan's first novel, Moontan, is the story of a couple of clowns, set against the occupation of a theatre by a collective of artists in Auckland. It was
well received at its launch at the Wellington Fringe Festival in New Zealand, and in Australia at the Warrana Writers Festival in Brisbane in 1994.
"Moontan, which describes the occupation of the Civic Theatre in Auckland by a collective of artists, is simple but well-told. The novel is enjoyable, the characters are convincingly portrayed, and the city of Auckland is sketched in with a deft touch." Otago Daily Times
Alan's first novel, Moontan is available in paperback from the Australian online Bookshop
Alan shot a short film based on this novel in 2007 and this is now available in a DVD compilation including the 15 minute short, a 30 minute rough cut, a twenty minute 'Making of Moontan' documentary, and a two camera split-screen extra clown performance (total: 72 min.), US$14.95 from Amazon.com.
Dance Sisters
Alan's second novel Dance Sisters is set in Sydney and tells the story of a female song and dance trio which threatens to self-destruct on the brink of fame, when its leader becomes involved with a manipulative cult, touting sex, astrology and virtual dreaming. It was launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 1997.
Dance Sisters gained particular attention when it was released in May 2000 as an eBook in a format which was packaged to enhance the reading experience on a computer with sound and visuals. See link below.
The State Library of NSW purchased the manuscripts and associated papers to both Dance Sisters and Moontan, to be held in the Mitchell Reference Library, together` with a set of 12 archive videos from the work at Playspace Studio.
Dance Sisters is currently being produced as an innovative cross media project, find more information at: www.artmedia.net.au
Believers in Love
In Alan's third novel, Believers in Love, a father and daughter team of sand-sculptors embark on a crazy adventure which takes them from Sydney's Bondi Beach, to a magic mountain in New Zealand, in which they explore the transient nature of art and life, and discover that dreams are real.
American reviews of 'Believers in Love' were so good, that Alan toured literary festivals in the USA and Canada during 2003.
"Believers in Love is a powerfully creative work, with prose that sings like poetry. Beautifully told and evocatively rendered, Believers in Love comes very highly recommended."
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Last updated 25 June 2009
