(University of Oregon, 2012) Bates, Kimberly; Bates, Kimberly; Schmor, John
Historically, women have been largely discounted from the public comedic arena, typically serving as the butt of the joke or other various comedic fodder. As a female comedian, I became interested in how gender played into the performance of comedy, particularly in clown work. This case study follows an all female clown troupe called Clowns Ex Machina, based in New York, and investigates the impact of generating clown work in an all-female environment by all-female performers. The work that they do not only validates female participation in clown, but it also shows that the female experience is a human experience, and that gender lines do not have to prevent empathic identification.
