Clown Class with Laughter League

• Dive into physical theater training, breaking the fourth wall for a complicit audience experience.
• Emphasize listening, awareness, authenticity, and being present for effective physical comedy. 
• Utilize improvisation and clown logic to foster relationships among students and with the audience.
• Build character development centered on truth, vulnerability, and humor. 

Maximum of 12 students
Tuition: $350 

Dick Monday and Tiffany Riley

Dick Monday and Tiffany Riley have been performing and life partners for the past thirty years, headlining at circuses and festivals worldwide. Dick was Director of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and Tiffany wrote a respected book on healthcare clowning “Beyond the Red Nose”. After Clown College, they created the clown troup the New York Goofs who who performed through the years at Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center and Symphony Space. Monday and Riley led intensive clown training programs in New York City for over 20 years before partnering exclusively with the University of North Texas and at the Booker T. Washington High School for Performing Arts in Dallas. In 2007, they co-founded the Laughter League, a non-profit organization providing therapeutic clown services to hospitalized children in pediatric hospitals across the country as well as to people living with dementia. They are committed to recruiting and developing physical comedy talent that will help carry the art form well into the future.

Michelle Nicole Matlock

Michelle is a performing artist, creative coach, teacher, director, producer and founder of Circle Up Productions (CUP), a live entertainment and performing arts education company based in Tacoma, WA. Michelle has been a part of the entertainment industry for over 25 years and had the honor of being the first African American Person to create a main character for Cirque du Soleil. They toured with Cirque's big top show OVO for close to 10 years. Currently Michelle is an Adjunct faculty member at Dell’Arte International School for Physical Theater and a member of the Puget Sound Revels creative team. Recently Michelle was Clown Director/Consultant for Circus Bella and Emmy nominated actress' Carolyn Ratteray’s solo show Both And…A Play About Laughing While Black.
Michelle has continuous teaching engagements and collaborations with organizations across the nation including, Clown Gym, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, The Clown School, Laughter League, Circus Amok and Tacoma Light Trail. Michelle grew up in Tacoma, WA., studied theater for 3 years at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. and is a Graduate of the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York City

Gina Rickicki

Gina Rickicki is a multi-hyphenate, award-winning performer based in Atlanta. She received her BFA from Long Island University, and has been performing steadily since her teens. In addition to improvising as part of the ensemble of Dad's Garage, she is a professional actor and a healthcare clown in pediatric hospitals. Through her almost decade-long work with patients, their families, and medical staff, she has honed the art of providing relief and distraction amid life-changing moments. She runs a monthly show, Joy Deficit, focused on bringing joyful connection through performances from artists in the Atlanta community and beyond. Her voice work can be found on many podcasts, most notably “12 Ghosts”, co-starring Malcolm McDowell. She is dedicated to constantly training and generating art, and looks forward to finding new avenues where improv, clowning, and a deep dedication to craft can create opportunities for connection and healing.