Academy Academy ~ a school for shenanigans
presents:
BOUFFONSEMBLE - Teacher Grayson Morris
(An Ensemble-Focused Class in the Art of Bouffon)
September 22nd- October 27th
Tuesdays
7-10pm
Price $275
Scholarships available. Please reach out to morris.grayson@gmail.com
In this 6 week physical comedy class we will deep dive into the ancient satirical artform of bouffon. Popularized by the late French clown master Jacques Lecoq in the 1960s, bouffons are grotesque outsiders who gleefully point a mirror at society’s conventions and those who uphold them. Bouffons are freakish outcasts, brought to town to entertain the masses and the authorities alike, all of whom they do not respect. Bouffons mock everything; they play with everything; they jubilate in playing at being human and all the stupid things that come with it.
This class is for people who already have some clown or physical theater experience, but could be suitable to beginners who want a trial by fire. We will incorporate techniques from physical theater and clown, but work primarily with the bouffon body and the bouffon gaze. We will embody the spirit of the bouffon in its most powerful form - the hideous, exuberant, roiling, sweaty mob: the bouffonsemble.
BIO:
Grayson Morris is a multidisciplinary comedy artist originally from Asheville, NC. She has studied clown with some of the greats including Norman Taylor, Aitor Basauri, Mic Barnfather, and John Gilkey. She has studied movement with Movement Theatre Studio of New York, Emmanuelle Delpech, and Julie Becton Gillum. She has been teaching clown for four years in Los Angeles at The Elysian Theater, Public Displays of Altadena, The Clubhouse, the Lyric Hyperion, and Thymele Arts. Her pedagogy for theatrical clown incorporates elements of red nose and bouffon, and focuses on actively supporting students in developing their sensitivity and connection to the audience. She creates a safe environment where people can take risks and fail in an honest way--always accountable to their audience.
Grayson was a founding member of the bouffon troupe Mil Grus, which took Hollywood by storm in 2019 with a sold out run at The Hollywood Fringe Festival, winning an Encore Award and Pick of the Fringe and went on to perform at The Fringe Encore Series Off-Broadway at the Soho Playhouse. She took home another Encore award in 2022 with her existential immersive/puppet/clown solo show, Mother Nature. She was a founding member of the LA-based bouffon troupe iL FUNGO, and is currently directing LA's premier bouffon troupe: the absurd French waitstaff that is Ooh La La!
A former standup comedian, she has opened for Maria Bamford and Louis C.K. and appeared on AXS TV’s Gotham Comedy Live. A lifelong puppeteer, Grayson has appeared in numerous puppet slams with original shorts and co-founded Street Creature giant puppet collective in Asheville, NC. She co-produced The Tiny Paper Theater Festival, an international tiny puppet festival that took place online during Covid. She loves teaching ensemble puppetry and hopes to bring more puppetry to clowns.
Student feedback:
"An excellent clown teacher"
"Very fun"
"She'll zero in on exactly what makes a scene fun and make you feel dumb and brilliant at the same time."
"A creative and safe atmosphere for exploration and taking risks"
"Unlocked a sense of fun and play in everything we did"