Welcome to the Foolish Peacock
I’ve gathered up stories of performance, mime, mask, clowning, puppetry and play that I found lying around.
We’re glad you’re here :o)
I was married to the house, yet I became a joyful sad clown. Being a clown made sense of my life. I’ve gathered up stories of performance, mime, mask, clowning, puppetry and play that I found lying around outside the box.
I’ve been clowning, performing and teaching in the arts for over thirty years. Creator of six original Fringe Theatre shows, I was a founding member of the Canadian Association of Therapeutic Clowns and co-founded the St. Boniface hospital clown program. I use mime and clowning to inform my work as a dramaturg, and in teaching drama to all ages and abilities. Currently, I’m Co-Director of the ‘Arts Inclusion Network’ in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
I love to create performances combining mime and clown with storytelling and puppets. I’m sharing my stories to grow the community of clowns around the world
This community is for you
Foolish Peacock is a community of performers, artists, dreamers, visionaries, teachers and clowns interested in the mysterious and intriguing world of mime, mask, puppetry, story and clown. With over 40 years in the performing arts, I want to share my experiences with other creative souls who like to philosophize about playing with comedic possibilities and finding steps to support others in discovering their own creativity.
Perks of supporting the Foolish Peacock
What does a paid subscription buy you?
Exclusive access to a weekly newsletter featuring stories of performance, mime, mask, clowning, puppetry and play
Philosophy and reflections on approaches to the arts of clowning
Special focus in some issues on providing inclusive arts for people experiencing intellectual disabilities
Guest posts by artists in the community
DIY plays and scripts that you can perform on your own, in a group, or direct for others
Stories from a different time.
What’s inside the Foolish Peacock newsletter:
Each newsletter will feature different stories related to clowning. Some of the topics that you can expect to be covered:
Clown Cortex
Clown thinking changes your brain. I can’t quite explain it. These stories are from the lived experience of being a clown. And surviving to tell the tale. I have found that my clowns take my things and leave a creative mess behind. I’m always trying to sort out what has happened and how. Could I repeat the same bit? Do I want to? Answers are slow in coming, I’m still sorting, but the puddles are getting bigger. It’s like shoveling rain. Oh, oh. Is that a mixed metaphor?
Peacock Performance
I’ve created and collaborated on many original shows along the way. Wolseley Tales is a monologue that I performed as Agnes around 2006 that we’ll post here as a serial. You can read it while you eat your cereal!
Wolseley Tales: Remembering Mrs. Lipton’s
Over 20 years after Mrs. Lipton’s Restaurant was closed and Karen had turned it into Mrs. Lipton’s studio where she made her batiks, Karen asked me if I would tell stories at her art opening at the Lacosse Gallery in Winnipeg. Together we reminisced about characters and events from the early 1980’s. The night before, I panicked, “Who was I to tell these stories? I needed a persona. Maybe the mythic Mrs. Lipton? No, that was Karen’s. I decided to tell the stories as Agnes, Mrs. Lipton’s sister from Toronto who had heard these stories for years. So, Agnes was born and told the stories from her perspective as a Spinster Aunt.
Odds and Ends
Bits I picked up from here and there. Sometimes nothing matches and other times it all works together. I’ve been emptying out my drawers for colourful remnants to share with you.
Popcorn Philosophy
Thoughts and research about clowning pop up everywhere and create baskets of thought like laundry. It’s pretty clear now so I’m hanging it on the line for the neighbourhood to see.
…plus much more. Subscribe today to support the art of clowning and the proliferation of this art form.