PhysFestNYC Presents: The Classically Trained Artiste // Day in the Life of a Clown: And Plastic // Once Upon A Clown

The Classically Trained Artiste 

Hilary Chaplain’s work centers on her pursuit of normalcy, to be a grown-up woman in the face of adversity. Her series of Classically Trained Artistes reveal her true nature as a delightfully classy idiot, as she frolics her way through outrageous comic situations. Always attempting to maintain their dignity to the highest degree, her characters battle familiar dilemmas with hilarious results. She allows us to laugh at ourselves as she reflects the serious nature of being human. From New York City, Chaplain is introduced and accompanied by Seattle’s always entertaining Jane Nichols.

Hilary Chaplain tours internationally with A LIFE IN HER DAY directed by Avner Eisenberg and with her short comic numbers. Her newest show, THE LAST RAT OF THERESIENSTADT, is an ensemble puppet play with music and multi-media about a rat and a prisoner during the Holocaust. She appeared in Bill Irwin's Largely/New York and on Broadway and the Delacorte in the NYSF production of The Tempest. For 24 years she entertained children in NYC hospitals as "Nurse Nice”, was a founding member of The NY Goofs, taught clown at NYU's Tisch and continues to teach Physical Comedy and Clown internationally.

Jane Nichols (she/her) is a teacher, director, and actor who has been teaching Clown for 35 years. She has studied with Philippe Gaulier and Keith Johnstone, and has taught at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, Harvard University, Brown University, University of Washington, ART, ACT, The Actors Center of NYC. Founder/Artistic Director of Crosswalk Theatre in Boston and Logic Limited, LTD ( a clown company of former students), Jane has directed shows at Harvard, Brown, University of Washington, Seattle Shakespeare Co, Intiman Theatre, Cornish, Seattle University. She has performed Off-Broadway and Regionally. Film and TV credits include School Ties; Heights; Ed; Law & Order SVU; and Rachel’s Dinner with Olympia Dukakis.

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A Day in the Life of The Clown: And Plastic

Milla Blackwelder’s “A Day in the Life of The Clown: And Plastic” addresses themes of self expression, escapism, materialism, and the human condition. By using plastic materials, the mundane tasks of daily life become not so ordinary, as an extraordinary series of events unfold. The clown discovers the ability to utilize these plastics to create the most desirable life, all within a day. The clown expresses joy, love and kindness, curiosity and confidence. The physical storytelling consists of mime, object manipulation, dancing, contortion, and sincere play. From waking up, getting ready for work, to flying, ice skating, and performing at a live event, the clown accepts and commits to this new reality of a plastic world.

Milla Blackwelder (They/Them) is a multidisciplinary performance and theatre artist, actor, and clown, from Greenville, SC. They hold an undergraduate B.F.A in Physical Theatre Studies from CCU and Accademia Dell`Arte (Arezzo, Italy). Milla enjoys exploring opportunities for connection between performer and audience, with imaginative play and tethered joy. They provoke and challenge themes of self awareness, reality, and evolved materialism by expressing the duality of universal themes of shared human experience. Milla’s work includes teaching clown and puppetry at Wavy Gravy’s circus and performing arts camp; Camp Winnarainbow. They participated in Clowning & Care with Patch Adams in Costa Rica, including national and international solo street performance consisting of humanitarian clowning, mime, and theatrical absurdism.

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Clown Gym presents: Once Upon a Clown

Created by Aya Tucker, Kevin Allen, Julia Proctor, Nadav Wiesel, and Rachel Resnik. 

Directed by Julia Proctor

What happens when a gaggle of clowns is invited to the Festival? Come find out in the playful fairytale inspired show about living your dream and getting what you wished for. What happen when you get them? We wish more than anything that you'll come and find out! 

Director and Performer: Julia Proctor (she/her) is an educator, collaborator, and community builder. She's the Founding Director of Clown Gym, NYC's community clown hub, and is a Co-Founding Producer of this festival. She devises and performs her own material, and loves collaborating with artists on smart, funny, and innovative theatre. Julia is a member of Actors Equity, has an MFA from the Academy for Classical Acting, and has trained with so many clown teachers. Julia currently teaches Physical Acting specializing in Clown, Le Jeu, and Shakespeare at NYU Tisch Drama and was Beanie Feldstein’s personal Clown Coach for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.

Performer: Rachel Resnik (she/her) is a seasoned comedic performer with extensive clown training. She is known for her solo comedy shows, which she has toured internationally. Rachel holds a certificate in mask & physical theater from PadovArts Academy (formerly The School for Theater Creators) under Paola Coletto. She has also trained with Philippe Gaulier. She is a Resident Teacher at and the Production Manager of Clown Gym. Rachel directs and produces a monthly Clownprov show at Pinebox Rock Shop in New York City with her company, A Really Real Serious Collective the third Thursday of every month.

Stage Manager: Francesca Piccioni (they/she) is a graduate of University of the Arts (Acting '13) and has performed in both theatre and film. They fell in love with clown through the lense of Pochinko and connected with Clown Gym in 2019. They been stage managing for Clown Gym since 2021 as well as other solo shows in New York.

Performer: Nadav Weisel

Performer: Aya Tucker (she/her) is a clown, physical theatre artist and certified Lucid Body instructor. Aya holds an MFA in Lecoq-Based Actor Created Theatre (Naropa University, hosted at LISPA). Her original clown act, Kiki and Ted, was nominated for The 2010 NY Downtown Clown Golden Nose Awards (Audience Choice Best Clown Act). Credits as a physical theatre artist include Hold Music (Sightline Arts; The 2011 NY Innovative Theatre Awards nominee for Outstanding Performance Art Production). After completing a year-long cohort mentorship, Aya has become one of the resident teachers at Clown Gym. She also works as a healthcare clown with Laughter League.

Performer: Kevin Allen (he/him) is an actor & writer. He'll co-star as Principal Isaacs in the upcoming feature film, Fakes. Kevin was the understudy for Dad/Obama in the national tour of Jabari Dreams of Freedom. As a writer, Kevin is a member of the Writers Guild of America, a Black List quarterfinalist & a Big Apple Film Festival semifinalist. When not writing or performing, Kevin teaches Iyengar Yoga to adults & children. Kevin would like to thank his fellow clowns, his wife, Brooke, and his family & friends for their love and support. kevinjallen.com

Clown Gym started in 2014 as a collaborative member-sourced experiment in play. Over the years it has grown into New York City’s home for clown and physical comedy by building a thriving learning environment and community. Clown Gym’s mission is to build community, spread joy, and support artists as they embrace their humor, beauty, vulnerability, skill, intelligence, passion, and dreams. We do this through affordable high-quality training, teacher mentorship programming, new work development, performances, and community events focusing on clown and physical comedy.

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PhysFestNYC is a community-focused festival that celebrates, enriches, and envisions our field of physical theaters. As an annual gathering, provides space for practitioners, audiences, and the physical-theater-curious to share in presented works, diverse workshop offerings, and community-building events.

Broken Box Mime Theater's mission is to activate the imagination of our audiences, contemporize the art of mime, and remind us all of the power of simple storytelling.