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.