The Podcast
2 Clowns in a Closet is a friendly, behind the scenes (and noses) chat with clown performers from the Circus Freaks.
For each episode of the podcast, these brave fools have agreed to be locked in a small closet armed only with a microphone and small pile of index cards.
These cards contain questions supplied by friends and fans.
They will not be released from captivity until satisfactory answers are provided to each episode’s questions.
Afterwards, they are rewarded with tea and snacks.
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A text transcription of this episode is available here.
03:44 After interruptions and delays, the first question!
14:10 Regarding clown noses and masks.
16:00 Stanley Allan Sherman (off-site link) and the kazumpet trade.
17:50 The nose says, “Hey, I’m ready to play!”
21:10 March 2020…
23:30 Wild Rumpus Circus (off-site link) and “The Parade”
26:10 The birth of #CircusInPlace (off-site link)
31:00 Making masks and wiping out craft stores…
32:33 Spoilers!
34:18 Life Hack: playing “address book roulette”
35:35 The sticker exchange project.
39:30 “Hammerspace” and the magic of doors.
42:05 “The clown expands to fill the space provided.” - Ben Sota (off-site link)
44:40 The trap of ‘unique, universal, and timeless’ material.
46:30 The origin of Avalon’s “stolen” diabolo act.
52:50 The world’s oldest fart joke (off-site link).
54:10 Processing the trauma of potty humor.
56:15 “We are born hungry, and we’ll die hungry…” - Avner (off-site link)
59:05 Jim Henson and the Conspiracy of Craziness (off-site link).
Recorded on 2022-01-17.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
03:35 The first question!
05:05 The Existential Variety Improv Lab, 2014-2018. (off-site link)
06:00 “Let’s do the weird stuff…”
08:15 The ‘radioactive clown bite’ story: Russ meets Dick Monday. (off-site link)
13:00 “We’re all on the same mountain…” - Jango Edwards (off-site link)
15:30 “Same show every night, but always different.” - Aitor Basuri (off-site link)
16:55 Commedia del Arte and the Lazzi. (off-site links)
22:05 Avalon reveals that we rehearse this nonsense.
24:00 Avalon’s on-stage catastrophe, tech theater, and victory.
26:25 Performance video: When I’m Gone
32:00 The joy, danger, and responsibility of working with a partner.
33:55 Russ drops the stack of cards after riffling them. Mayhem ensues!
35:00 Sad clowns: The Tramp and Emmett Kelly. (off-site links)
41:00 Grimaldi (off-site link)
43:10 The backstory and personal victory of Le Bele et Le Bete.
45:00 Marie’s rendition of Beastly Beauty. (off-site link)
51:25 The time when Scrooge sold Candy Cane Jane to a child.
59:25 The “Really’s” of being a clown.
61:20 Vamping, defined by example. (off-site link)
62:16 Avalon is two clowns…introducing the personas Jane and Chadwick.
63:15 The etymology of the word ‘person’. (off-site link)
65:05 The clown persona: sort of like Barbie, but different.
67:00 Development of the multi-faceted persona(s) of the clown.
71:30 Trance States, mental models, and resistance to the transformative stuff.
73:30 “It sounds like woo-woo, because it’s a little woo-woo.” - Russ Sharek
75:20 The Chadwick video. (off-site link)
77:25 Chadwick’s new clothes. On gemini and the web. (off-site links)
79:15 The Fediverse. (off-site link)
Recorded on 2022-01-24.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
02:10 Find Russ and Avalon on the Fediverse. (off-site links)
03:10 Avalon gets jealous of Russ' special friends.
04:30 The Titanic…too soon?
04:55 The first question!
07:40 Inkscape and free software. (off-site links)
08:35 Russ coins the term ‘dematerialismization’.
11:55 “If you don’t love the gross part…get out of it.” - Russ Sharek
14:25 Avalon the triple threat.
17:40 Flow Arts (off-site link)
18:50 The Big Comfy Couch (off-site link)
19:45 Davenport Junior Theater and Showtime Pal. (off-site link)
21:20 The rarity of female-presenting clowns in America.
22:30 Put Me in the Zoo (off-site link)
24:45 Jane and Lunette.
26:50 The (inevitable discussion of the) ‘creepy clown’ meme…
28:46 Avalon throws the Ringling Clown College under a metaphoric bus.
40:00 “Scary Clowns” are an American-centric idea.
42:05 Scary is one in a palette of emotions, why are you focusing on it?
46:25 “I want to be loved.” - Russ Sharek
50:25 “I like sharing the wow.” - Avalon Woodard
53:40 Sharing small, important wows.
57:05 “The clown is like a verb that ocassionally stands still.” - Russ Sharek
59:57 Celebrating the first dirty word of the podcast!
61:10 “An entire production studio in one red nose.” - Dick Monday (off-site link)
66:15 Objective distance and the director’s eye.
68:15 “I hope someone cracks a joke at my funeral.” - Russ Sharek
68:20 Serious, not Solemn.
69:45 Honk!
Recorded on 2022-01-31.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
00:45 Nailing the brand!
01:15 Contact information.
03:35 The first question!
06:30 The birthday trope: Some poor schmuck in a costume…and it’s sad.
07:30 Payaso Fiesta, Mexico’s party clown and their work as an emcee.
09:48 Pro tip: before busking, check your local laws!
12:55 Busking teaches kids the ritual of directly supporting the arts.
16:10 The best hat line ever.
16:48 “Boobie boobie boobie boobie boobie ha-ha.” - Russ Sharek
17:50 Milton Berle and Fozzie Bear (off-site link)
19:00 Backstage desperation, critical filler, and keeping the audience company.
20:10 How our “interstitial comedy” evolved out of tech theater.
22:10 Clown contrast: saving audiences from “Boobie Blindness”.
24:50 Russ survives the ‘running of the humans’ and finishes a marathon.
28:00 Rodeo Clowns are braver than you think. (off-site link)
33:50 The philosophy of ‘The Gap’.
37:20 Being the worst kid in the best room…
39:00 Avalon didn’t explain herself to anyone.
43:00 Different schools of clown thought, which speak different languages.
45:00 Avalon, the polyglot, struggles in workshop because of language barriers.
50:30 Sacred Clowns: The Heyoka. (off-site link)
52:30 Learning different approaches to the same tools.
54:51 Complicity: Where comfort, communication, and consent intersect.
57:20 “If you are doing, then you are doing.” - Pavel Karima
59:20 David Poznanter (off-site link)
59:40 Steve Jarand (off-site link)
61:50 The only clown that is difficult to work with.
63:45 Fixing the DFW Megalopolis and the five Quad Cities.
69:30 “New York Mob Voice” warm ups.
73:15 Losing a game of “nose goes” and getting stuck with a circus.
Recorded on 2022-02-14.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
01:04 Fastest first question!
01:48 Introducing Marie…
02:50 Fun Fact: mute means ‘many’ in toki pona.
05:35 Origin Stories: Marie has always been this way…
07:50 The enigmatic Frogus Maximus Rex
12:30 “If this were being run by clowns, we’d be having more fun.” - Marie Martin
22:00 Avner the Eccentric, a clown by any other name (off-site link)
23:20 Clown is a four letter word in America.
23:50 Buffoon and Bouffon (off-site links)
27:30 “The clown never knows better.” - Avalon Woodard
31:10 Curiosity, makerspaces, and being a human rubber duck.
38:40 “Helping people like things is even better than letting people like things.” - Marie Martin
41:20 Stilt dancing, comfort, and boundaries.
43:05 The dancing habits of Tree, Foley, and Jane.
45:20 A stiltwalking taxonomy.
52:00 “Confetti Doom” at the Hora Loca. (off-site link)
55:30 Sharing, and re-sharing, dances.
58:20 “Classic gags are like jazz standards.” - Marie Martin
59:30 The Whipcracker (video link)
66:15 “You don’t have to make everything new, just make it yours.” - Marie Martin
67:10 Avalon’s hot take: Clown noses do not squeak.
82:25 Dead and Alive, the clown’s “secret” handshake. (off-site link)
94:20 “Gnomes and magma don’t mix.” - Marie Martin
98:20 Bonus email jingle!
Recorded on 2022-02-26.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
04:45 First question!
07:20 Giving people a chance to catch their breath.
08:20 “Every time I exhale, I’m capable of inhaling again.” - Russ Sharek
10:20 Avalon reminds audiences that there are good (weird) people out there.
13:35 Into the Woods (off-site link)
18:30 Michael Courtemanche, human cartoon. (off-site link)
19:50 Wild West Shootout (video link)
23:00 Too many thoughts on writing implements.
…
48:45 A return to the clown-related conversation.
50:55 “Slow the @#$% down.” - Russ Sharek
51:55 So. Many. Beeps.
54:30 Barbara Karger, Mummenschanz (off-site links)
63:00 Throwing pies with Jay Stewart (off-site link)
65:45 “Don’t let adrenaline take you ahead of your technique.” - Jay Stewart
67:45 “You don’t need anything. Just Keep Playing” - John Gilkey (off-site link)
69:40 “One thing at a time!” - Angela de Castro (off-site link)
72:00 “ijo wan lon tempo wan” - #ClownWisdom, in toki pona.
72:45 Three Things! and Three Good Things!
Recorded on 2022-03-07.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
05:30 Content Warning: “Bodies are gross.”
05:50 First question!
07:40 The Acro Base: “The big person that gets between you and the floor.”
09:00 The Fart Flipper.
15:50 Focusing on the important things in the moment.
20:35 Why acrobats and aerialists perform to loud music.
32:20 George Carl (off-site link)
33:40 Intentionally not meeting a hero.
36:05 ‘Pedro Pedro’ Campa (off-site, memorial)
38:42 “It’s ok not to know how the magic trick is done.” - Russ Sharek
42:10 J’Accuse! (off-site link)
43:05 Almost 5 (off-site link)
51:05 Circus Prop Definition: Diabolo (off-site link)
51:45 Juggling for the Complete Klutz (off-site link)
52:05 Kids Shenanigans (off-site link)
56:30 Jane and the best breakfast.
64:00 Russ Sharek: Teacher of Arse du Idiote.
69:45 Improvised: Silly voice roll call.
Recorded on 2022-03-25.
A text transcription of this episode is available here.
02:20 Coining the term “Sneatting”
03:50 The first question!
04:30 Circus foods
15:00 “Cotton candy, the fluff dreams are made of.” - Russ Sharek
21:45 The dietary horror that is the funnel cake. (off-site link)
26:50 The wisdom of Big Bill
28:30 It all started with a bit of Creative Motion
29:20 Origin Stories: The debut of the Circus Freaks
43:00 Privacy and performance…
44:00 Free Software and seeing the code. (off-site link)
44:45 Legal Disclaimer: Two clowns with a mic may not be privacy experts.
45:20 Avalon’s privacy musings. (off-site link)
54:00 “Me time” and the space between your ears.
57:00 The Creative Commons (off-site link)
59:00 The importance of small theaters.
70:30 The scientifically accurate amount of closet-filling ramen.
72:00 The next question…
Recorded on 2022-03-28.
Send A Question (To The Closet)
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Credits and Thanks
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Podcast theme by mistakeless (off-site link)
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Download sheet music for our podcast theme.
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This podcast and its theme music are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. (off-site link)