Next Step Workshop

Registration Form for Next Step Workshop 2027

Name__________________________________________________________ Age__________           Guy or Gal?

Mailing Address:_______________________________________________________________________________

Telephone:__________________________________

Email:_______________________________________________________

Previous Training?______________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Foods you won’t eat ____________________________________________________________________________

Medical issues we should be aware of:____________________________________________________________

Favorite comic actor/comedian?_________________________________________________________________

Where do you clown?___________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

What specific topics are you hoping to learn?_____________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Interested in sharing hotel room expense?       Yes    /     No                

Need transportation from the MSP airport?      Yes    /     No           ($10 travel fee accepted at pick-up)

Other stuff you want us to know:________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Payment included: $_______________      (Registration is $395. Alumni rate is $345.)

Please email to pastorclown@gmail.com  or paper mail to:

Randy Christensen, 2117 Peregrine Lane, North Mankato, MN 56003

# posted by Randy @ 4:12 PM 0 comments

 Hey Clown Friends and Variety Artists!

I'm excited to announce that premiere clown, Angel Ocasio, (The Clown Prince of the Rose Festival in Portland, Oregon) is coming to Mankato, Minnesota to join me for FIVE days of clown learning and training.  We decided to get past the busy holiday schedule (which dominates most performers schedules) and do it on January 27-31. That's a Wednesday afternoon through Sunday morning.  

I know immediately some are saying, "Hold it! January in Minnesota!?!?"  Yes ma'am.  Don't worry. It's an indoor event...and we have heaters that keep buildings warm.  :O)   Sometimes in Minnesota in January, it can be in the 40's... and yes, there are other scenarios not as warm, but we will take care of you all!

The Next Step Workshop is designed to help people take a "next step" in a number of ways.  A "Next Step" in your planning and preparations and performances: A "next step" in presentation skills, movement and audience connections. 

We do not teach basic clown make-up, costuming, character, etc....we want to help people that have the basics take a "next step."  We keep the numbers small for this workshop. It's very personalized and "hands on." We also want to help people, specifically in clown ministry, who want to have a solid spiritual component to their presentations. What is that "next step," spiritually?  We dig into the heart of clowning and also the heart of ministry.  I would say that 85% of the material is focused on simply being a better clown.  The other percentage is on being a better person and representative of Christ.

The sessions are held at my church: Hillside Church in Mankato, MN   It begins Wednesday mid-afternoon followed by supper and a Wednesday night children's program (by Angel and me).  It ends with Sunday morning Children's Church services presented by YOU!  Through our days together, we will learn how to write & present material and then actually do it for children on the Sunday morning.

Fill out the application and send it to me, either via email or paper copy.  $75 holds your place and full payment may be made later.   Email me for more information at:  procomedy@earthlink.net

We only allow up to 15 participants.  So make your plans soon!  I will send out information for housing and hotel options upon receiving registrations.  

# posted by Randy @ 3:11 PM 0 comments

During Easter season, my wife and I were watching the Sight & Sound Theater’s presentation of “Jesus” on television.  It was professional, engaging, and inspiring.  Yet, there were times we had to choose to ignore the fact that these actors were wearing theatrical wigs and hairpieces. It was so obvious that it was actually a bit distracting!  Now, a couple years ago we had gone to the Sight & Sound Theater in Branson, MO and experienced one of their live performances.  We could never conclude anyone was wearing a wig.  Why is that?  Simply, these theatrical performances are done on a giant stage a minimum of twenty feet away from the front row.  The distance masked some of the little visual details. But, when the camera zoomed in for close-ups for their television special, the little details were clearly seen.

In theater, the actors often apply a flesh base make-up, rouge and eye-liner.  When they come off stage for the after-party, they may appear overdone in that intimate setting. What seemed as a natural look on stage could be overbearing when close up.

Historic clowns are often known for their comical exaggerated cartoon faces. Today, few clowns perform with that type of make-up design.  The reason is, in the early 1900’s as the audience attended shows in circus tents and vaudeville theaters, the lighting was quite dim. The larger highlighted features on their faces were able to be seen across the ring even with lantern/lamp lighting. Even as electrical lighting improved, the clowns continued with large features because they wanted their smiles to carry across the ring and up to that old gal in the 31^st row in the bleachers.

Chagy, who performed and spoke at our 2023 FCM Convention, shares that there are three main forms of live communication.  We use our faces, our body language and our voices.  Each one may have a significant role to play in communicating with an audience. Sometimes our physical communication may speak even more loudly than our voices!  Our facial expressions display our thoughts and emotions.

Mime make-up is usually quite standard and stereotypical:  White face, small red or black lips, black eye liner, black eyebrows. That’s about it. The purpose of a mime “mask” is to actually give the mime a blank sheet for expression.  The white is actually intended to take away personality. A mime may want to be a “blowing tree.” He may want to be an old woman, or a preschool child, or a sail on a ship.  Any use of stylized colors and design on the face may hinder his ability to portray the whole variety of characters he may be presenting in various skits.  He doesn’t portray one character (like a clown) but creates different characters in different settings. This is why the features drawn on a whiteface are minimalistic. Simple small lines accent the mouth, the eyes and the eyebrows so those features when moved, portray and accent the emotion the performer is portraying. The face becomes a tool, rather than a billboard with graffiti on it. The “mask” is a blank canvas that will not distract from but allow the emotion to be portrayed.

This is where many fledgling clowns err.  The clown make-up is to help portray a character while at the same time helping show one’s expressions. Make-up is not used to hide who a person is, but is used to help them express who they are and connect with their audience as the character expresses thoughts and emotions.

The most important features in a make-up design are your eyes and your mouth. These are the areas of the face that move with expression.

Many clowns are minimizing the size of their facial feature designs. Some are eliminating usage of any make-up.  This is understandable as many are doing a lot of close-up interactions. The over exaggerated features in a close-up situation would actually hide expression rather than help it.

I adjust the amount of eye-liner and feature highlighting based on the size of my stage, my audience, my distance and lighting in the venue.  I pay attention to my expressions along with my verbal script because, as Fred R. Barnard said, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” The visual aspect of our presentations can speak loudly!

# posted by Randy @ 10:19 AM 0 comments

 Housing

# posted by Randy @ 4:20 PM 0 comments

 Registration Form for Next Step Workshop 2023

 Name_____________________________________________________ Age__________ Guy or Gal? 

Mailing Address:____________________________________________________________________________ 

Telephone:__________________________________ 

Email:_______________________________________________________ 

Previous Training_____________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________________

Foods you won’t eat __________________________________________________________________ 

Medical issues we should be aware of:___________________________________________________ 

Favorite comic actor/comedian?________________________________________________________ 

Where do you perform?________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________ 

What specific topics are you hoping to learn________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 Interested in sharing hotel room expense? Yes / No 

 Need transportation from the airport? Yes / No ($10 travel fee accepted at pick-up) 

Other stuff you want us to know:_______________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________________________

 Payment included: $_______________ (Registration is $395. Alumni rate is $345.) 

Please email to pastorclown@gmail.com or paper mail to: 

Randy Christensen, 2117 Peregrine Lane, North Mankato, MN 5600

# posted by Randy @ 4:06 PM 0 comments

Wednesday:

1:00  …Randy, Nick & Aurora walk through for Wednesday night program

2:30 Participants arrive at Hillside Church in Mankato

3:00 Opening Session

          -Meet other clowns

          -Creativity & Improve Your Improv - Randy

          -The Next Step Process & How To Get the Most Out of It – Randy

4:15 Body Movement and Facial Expressions - Aurora

5:30  Supper provided on site

6:30 Children’s Service presented by Randy, Nick & Aurora

7:45  Balloon twistin’ for the kids that are there! (by Next Step attendees)

8:00-8:30 Afterglow with snacks 

Thursday:

8:30 Prayer/Relection in sanctuary

9:00 Spiritual Warm-Ups with Aurora

9:30 Physical Warm-Ups with Randy

10:00 The Simplicity of Clowning with Aurora

11:00 Heart & Humor with Randy

11:40 Mime Concepts (Part 1)

12:20 LUNCH on site

1:15-45 “Using Misunderstandings As A Writing Method”  -  Randy

2:00-3:00  Character Development – Aurora

3:00 Circus Skills & Comedy Stunts - Randy

3:45  Developing Routines with Objects - Randy

4:30  Mime-based Communication with Randy

5:15 Supper off site with a friend

7:00-9:00?   Student Demonstrations (with coaching)

PLUS discussion of Sunday service development

Friday:

8:30 Prayer

9:00 Spiritual Warm-Ups with Randy

9:30 Physical Warm-Ups with Aurora

10:00 TBD with Aurora

10:50  Art of Clown / Comedy  with Randy

12:00 LUNCH on site

1:30 Walkaround Fun & Comedy Antics - Aurora

2:15 Writing Message-Based Material with Stories- Randy

3:00 break

3:15 Writing Message Based Material (Group Exercise)

4:00  Program Development for Sunday with Randy

4:30 The Power of Unified Movement / Tableaus -  Randy

5:45 Supper at Randy's house 

7:15 Student Demonstrations & Randy's favorite videos

Saturday:

 8:30 Prayer

9:00 Spiritual Warm-Ups

9:30 Physical Warm-Ups - Randy

10:00  Clowning & Working With A Partner - Aurora

11:00 Music In Performance - Randy

12:00 Lunch

1:00 Student Demonstration

2:30  Breath and Focus – Randy

3:15  Scripture Memory Methods – Randy/Nick

4:00  Blocking & focus for Sunday’s services - Randy

5:00 Supper off site

6:30-8:30 Run-through of program for Sunday 

Sunday:

8:00 Participants at church in “full-clown”

8:15  Clown meeting and prayer

8:30 Official service time start 

9:35 Service ends

*meet & greet

9:50 Official service time start 

10:55 Service ends

*meet & greet

11:15 Official service time start

12:30 Optional lunch on site  (Review & Rejoice!)

1:30 On the way “down the road”

# posted by Randy @ 3:54 PM 0 comments

The World Clown Association sponsors scholarships to various educational venues including the Next Step Workshop.  A few years ago, Laura Anderson attended with the aid of the WCA. This is her report that was published in WCA's magazine, Clowning Around.

---------------------------------------

Thank you,  

World Clown Association

You gave me the opportunity to go to The Next Step Workshop.  Before you, I had never signed up for any scholarships outside of our local troupe. This was the perfect training for me. I felt as if I had won the lottery. If you are a clown that wants to add to your existing clown ministry this program is a must. I hope my whole family will want to go someday.  

Even if you have zero interest in clown ministry, I promise this program will make you a better clown.  You will receive gentle criticism, not harsh criticism. This is rare, because many of us (including myself) have strong personalities. We can easily be misunderstood. This may make some give up. At my first clown convention, I about gave up on clown conventions all together.  I was hurt by criticisms I received there. I had never cried so much in my entire life.  I thought if this was what a clown convention was like, then I did not want any part of it.

Well, I gave up my pride a year ago and tried once more. I learned that the people I thought were grumpy were super generous, kind, and even shared my faith.  I learned to love everyone else and their different personalities.

 Once I put my feelings aside, I reached “the Next Step.” I learned how to slow down and pause.  I learned to really play with the kids because I did not pack any of my normal clown stuff.  I had no choice but to learn.  I learned that Randy really takes time to figure someone out, even when you don’t know that is what he is up to.  He is a sneaky guy that way.  LOL!

 A long time ago I was told I did not know how to spit.  It was a very true statement, and I finally got it! . I learned Mime concepts.  For those that know me I will never try being a professional mime because I do not know how to shut my mouth that long.  I have a lot to work on because I am not where I want to be.  I don’t know if I will ever get there when there is so much to learn.  All I can tell you for this clown that has been clowning professionally since 2001 is that I learned more in this past week than any other experience that I have had.

Every person gave me something to strive to be.  Jeff McMullen trusts God to guide his paths, Colleen Fouts is super sweet and funny, I only wish I could cook and keep house like Karen Christensen, and Randy-- Next Step taught me I need to pay attention to people more and to listen.  If you don’t pause to listen, you won’t learn. Again, thank you World Clown Association, Randy Christensen, Karen Christensen, Jeff McMullen, and Colleen Fouts for helping me take the Next Step.

Laura “Daizy Dee” Anderson

# posted by Randy @ 9:44 AM 0 comments

Registration Form for Next Step 2021

# posted by Randy @ 6:31 PM 0 comments