Clown through Mask is for all types of people – you don’t need to be an actor or performer to participate. The work uses games, improvisation, mask-making, painting, writing and a variety of physical exercises to open up hidden creative possibilities, to bring us back to an experience of play, impulse, wonder, a full range of emotions and limitless potential for expression.

This is a journey toward discovering your own inner clown – transitioning from working with a full-face mask that you create yourself into wearing the red clown nose. The focus is on personal exploration and adventure, not on performance as an end goal. 

This training is not intended to prepare you for the circus. There are no tricks, no juggling and no stilts involved. Rather, we seek to expose human vulnerability, innocence, and expression through the exploration of red nose clown. This work is a powerful tool for any artist, opening up new avenues of exploration which can be pursued in any medium. Participants do not need to be performers – all that is required is the willingness to experiment, to face yourself honestly, and to move beyond your comfort zone.

For a deep dive into my take on Clown through Mask, have a listen to my interview with Meg Nimigon for the Theatre for Good Podcast. 

Sara Tilley trained with Ian Wallace and Sue Morrison in Clown Through Mask (Pochinko) technique. In 2008, she mentored with Ian Wallace to teach Clown through Mask and Neutral Mask, and has been offering this training ever since. Sara uses the Pochinko work as inspiration not just for clown, but for acting, directing, writing, puppetry and design. She’s taught clown and Neutral Mask in St. John’s, Vancouver, Dawson City, Winnipeg, Calgary, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Sackville New Brunswick, and Cianciana, Sicily, so far.

What previous students have said:

“Sara Tilley’s clown through mask workshop was truly one of the most rewarding experiences I have had. It pushed me to places that were initially uncomfortable, but within the intimate group experience Sara facilitates it is easy to let ones’ guard down and embrace the zany, wacky, weird, and unusual.” -Stephen Quinlan

“The freedom I felt allowed me to do anything and everything! It’s almost like there was a part of me that came to life for the first time.  In my own writing, acting and dancing, these workshops have helped unlock ideas and a creative energy.  On a personal level, I think it’s opened my eyes to the beauty of everything that surrounds me. Sara is a fantastic teacher and guide. Her encouragement and spirit are so welcoming and freeing, she really makes you excited about the work.” -Mark White

“Thank you for generously sharing this work which is so sacred and close to your heart. You created a magical space and a place safe enough to experiment. The clown workshop has changed the way I experience a moment, the way I imagine the shape and texture of world, what my body is and how I inhabit it.” - Bryhanna Greenough

 “After the first class I realized that this course would have a profound effect on my life. I felt like parts of me were breaking out of cement; deep cement that encased many emotions that were difficult to access. I was both physically and mentally exhausted. It was the best I felt in ages. This course requires commitment to face uncomfortable emotions and to celebrate good ones. It is a roller coaster of crying and laughing and truly feeling alive. This translated to renewed fresh motivation in my visual art practice and in my life in general. I highly recommend it to everyone in the world.” -Annette Manning

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Sara has trained in clown with Sue Morrison (Pochinko/Gaulier), Dean Gilmour (Lecoq) and Ian Wallace (Pochinko). Her experimentation with the clown form has led to many different projects and characters since 2000, both scripted and unscripted, blurring the lines between theatre, performance art and (occasionally) burlesque. She views the Pochinko technique as the starting place for all of her artistic work, not only as a clown but as a writer, actor, director and designer as well. Its unique ability to tap into deep sources of personal creative potential is one of the reasons that Sara decided to learn to pass it on.

Sara has been teaching Clown through Mask, sometimes known as Baby Clown, since 2008, when she mentored with Ian Wallace as a Pochinko teacher. She gives workshops on Neutral Mask and Animal Work, as well as body-based approaches to writing. She also works with children and youth, teaching clown, physical theatre, animal work and play creation. Her teaching experiences have taken her from Dawson City, Yukon, to Winnipeg, to Labrador, to Sicily, so far. 

If you are interested in hiring Sara as a teacher or coach, contact her at sara@saratilley.ca

Selected Scripted Clown Works

Fruithead, solo show, She Said Yes!, 2013.

The Incomplete Herstory of Women in Newfoundland (and Labrador!), a clown play, commissioned by Rising Tide Theatre in 2004. Developed through RCA Theatre Company's Write On! playwriting workshop, 2006. Presented by the National Arts Centre's On the Verge New Works Festival, in conjunction with the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, 2006. Workshopped and given a staged reading through the Women's Work Festival, 2007. Co-produced by RCA Theatre and She Said Yes! in March 2009. Voted Best Theatre Production of 2009 by the Scope's Best of St. John's Reader's Survey.

No Mummers ‘llowed In, collective creation with Amy House, Jonny Harris, Steve Cochrane, Dave Sullivan, Dana Puddicombe and Phil Churchill, directed by Andy Jones, produced by RCA Theatre Mainstage Series, 2005. Not strictly a clown play but created in much the same fashion.

Mr. Invisible, clown collective with Robert Chafe and Pat Dempsey, directed by Mark Wilson, produced by RCA Theatre Mainstage Series, 2005.

Nosebleed, a solo clown show, written and performed by Sara Tilley, directed by Pat Dempsey, produced by She Said Yes!, St. John's, 2002 and 2004, and remounted for the Magnetic North Theatre Festival, 2006 and again for the company's 1oth anniversary in 2012.

One Big Mess, clown collective with Pat Dempsey, Pascale Horan, Sarah Malik, Shawn Malik and Tim Ronan, Potpan Productions Clown Theatre, St. John's, 2000.

Clown and Physical Theatre Directing

2017, Olé Clown!, created and performed by Vanessa Cardoso Whelan, a solo clown show incorporating flamenco dance and puppetry. 

2014, Jack Meets the Cat, Stephenville Theatre Festival, used masks and puppets as well as animated objects.

Fruithead, with Mark White, She Said Yes! 2013, clown, Butoh and puppets.

2009 The (In)complete Herstory of Women in Newfoundland (and Labrador!), She Said Yes!, co-direction with Lois Brown. Written by Sara Tilley, featuring Lois Brown, Ruth Lawrence, Susan Kent, Sara Tilley and Craig Francis Power. This process began with a two-week workshop on Pochinko Clown through Mask technique led by Sara, which then fed into the creation of the show.

2006 LULU, She Said Yes! and White Rooster Productions In the rehearsal process for this production we incorporated Pochinko-technique maskmaking, neutral mask and animal work.

2004 Grand Central Station (workshop), She Said Yes!, created by Sara Tilley. This was an experiment in combining Viewpoints and Butoh technique.

2001 Bellyflop, a clown show, written by Pat Dempsey, Potpan Productions Clown Theatre. A red-nose clown monologue written out of repeat improvisations.