Guided by our practitioners at Ugly Bucket, participants will explore games and exercises designed to reignite play and discover their personal clowns.

We will ask participants to draw on genuine emotion and over three days, come to accept and celebrate vulnerability. In doing so, we will highlight the genuine sparks within us that naturally tickle and entertain audiences. Participants will enhance presentness, mindfulness, instinct and trust. With these elements we can create clowns that are more bold, exciting and authentic.

We will delve into all kinds of relationships. Our relationship with ourselves, how clowns interact with each-other, and of course the clowns life source - their relationship with an audience. Together we will practice techniques to not only harness audience connection, but to play within it also.

Beyond this, we invite you to embark on a transformative journey of self-discovery and personal growth. The Ugly Bucket style is one of grotesque physicality, intuitive movement, and liberation. In defying conventional standards, our clowns offer a gateway to self-acceptance and new horizons of expression. Collectively we will think less, do more, and embrace failure as an integral part of the clowning process and life itself.

Over our time together, we will remind participants that when people are laughing, they are listening. We will think about how clowns, in their purity, can possess the audacity and boldness to tackle difficult conversations and confront social issues head-on through laughter. Beyond the retreat, we hope participants will understand clowning as a means to reflect ourselves and the world around us with unabashed honesty, and will consider how they can ignite action for positive change.

Ultimately, our clowning retreat offers a safe and liberating space for individuals to connect, cultivate joy, and harness the gifts of clown - both on and off the stage.