Recommended: NY Clown Theatre Festival

I happened to be in NYC this past weekend and caught just a sliver of the New York Clown Theatre Festival at the adorable Brick Theatre in Brooklyn (seriously, I had no idea it was SO tiny).

The three-week festival started Friday, and Gothamist has a great recap of the opening-night insanity and a preview of what’s to come. But of course it took no time for someone in the comments to pipe up with “I fuckin hate clowns”.

God bless America.

People, I implore you. Give it a shot. It’s not what you think it is.

Especially if you’re a creator of other forms of comedy, go see at least one show during the festival. These performers are armed with strong characters, strong points of view, wicked-fast improv muscles, and crowd interaction skills that rival that of even the best road comics. All that, and often done without even speaking.

Let your too-cool-for-school guards down for five minutes, and you might actually be impressed by it all.

Full lineup can be found here: http://www.bricktheater.com/clown

My picks:

Morro & Jasp Do Pubert:
The duo from here in Toronto have made a huge name for themselves on the Fringe circuit, and deserve every one of the five stars in the reviews they get. (Sept. 9th @ 8:30pm; Sept. 10th @ 9pm; Sept. 12th @ 9pm)

Neon Lights
My friends Jeff Seal and Chris Manley shed their noses to channel an old-timey vaudeville duo. Wackiness ensues! (Sept. 8th @ 8pm; Sept. 13th @ 9pm; Sept. 18th @ 8pm; Sept. 22 @ 7pm)

FERDINAND THE MAGNIFICENT!
For those who like a little “whaaaat?” in their viewing experience. (Sept. 9th @ 7pm; Sept. 11th @ 10pm, Sept. 12th @ 5pm, Sept. 13th @ 7pm)

About the Author

Sharilyn Johnson is the author of the book Bears & Balls: The Colbert Report A-Z. Called "one of the city’s most discriminating comedy critics” by NOW Magazine, Sharilyn has been covering comedy for longer than she cares to admit. She served as the comedy reporter for Winnipeg's Uptown Magazine for five years, and was the host of the radio show Laugh Tracks for three seasons. Her work has also appeared in the Toronto Star, the Winnipeg Free Press, The Apiary, and on CBC Radio's national comedy programs LOL and Definitely Not the Opera.