“Not Just for Shock Value: A Femmes-Clowns Assemblage” is a nine woman clown ensemble theatre event. It resides in the realm of modern clowning, i.e. no big shoes, and it zig-zags between broad humor and the darkly satirical. A series of vignettes are formed from the collection of clowns, with varied and morphing combinations. For instance, there is a trio for one moment, and two more join to form a chorus, these five disappear to give way to a brand new duo and so on. What is it to be a clown in a group? Who makes whom funny? What binds the different elements together? These are the questions we set out to answer, and continue to explore.

Thoughts from Kendall:

"In a traditionally male field, I have discovered the need for women clowns. Women’s clowning has a specific beauty. Only a woman can uncover the deep humor of women’s experience – and perhaps of certain life truths. For me, it has been necessary to go back to the ancient core principles of clowning to re-find a place for the women, so they are not merely an imitation of the male tradition, but instead they reveal (and create fun with) their own distinct terrain. For the audience, the experience may also be new territory. In order to laugh at a clown, we have to sense a certain mutuality, which means that both men and women in the audience will identify with the clown on stage. It can be a startling thing for both groups to recognize themselves in a woman on stage (and a sovereignly foolish one!). Clowning can cut through our differences to our universality, at the same time that it wakes us up to our unique selves."

In other words:

"I dreamt that I was in a world where women were free to be funny all the time. Where if they ran and their skirts hiked up to reveal their underpants, it was comical and not scandalous. No one saw London. No one saw France. I dreamt of a world where falling on the floor brought laughter -- not smelling salts. A world where body parts were for joyous, expressive, uninhibited fun -- not for selling cars. Where a woman’s bodily smells, sounds and jiggles were cause for quick, cheap gags -- not the foundation for a billion dollar fix-her-upper industry. A rich world where a woman’s delighted giggle would be as valuable as her jewels, and her naughty cackle as coveted as her beauty. No one would look askance. No one would gossip. Oh, for a world where dropping your drawers meant comedy, not promiscuity! I carry that simple dream within me today – that we can create a place on the stage where many women will be extremely funny together. A world devoid of the vanilla caricatures of dumb sex pot, uptight librarian and drab mother, but rather filled with the complex, deep, multi-layered, poignant fools that women can be. I dream of a world where a woman, too, can claim the job of village idiot, or be anointed as the skewering high jester of the realm. A magnificent world with women clowns!"

Read more about Kendall and her work here.

Download our Press Release

Listen to our Podcast on nytheatre.com

Listen to us on WBAI radio 99.5FM on Tuesday, April 17th 2007 8:40am here. (scroll along to the last 20 minutes of this mp3)

Contact us here or at info@notjustforshockvalue.com.