Coney Island Clown Skool Expands as Nonprofit with 2025 Cohort and World-Class Faculty
TL;DR
Coney Island Clown Skool offers performers a competitive edge through intensive training with industry experts, enhancing skills applicable across entertainment and communication fields.
The program provides structured workshops in clown fundamentals, puppetry, mime, and comedic techniques, culminating in public performances for practical experience.
This nonprofit initiative preserves clowning as a cultural legacy, fostering joy and emotional connection while supporting community through inclusive, donation-based events.
Students explore unique skills like clown magic and social circus, with field trips and performances at Coney Island's legendary venues.
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The Coney Island Clown Skool will welcome students from across the country for an intensive week of creativity, comedy, and connection from September 14–21, 2025, at the Brooklyn landmark. Building on momentum from its inaugural year, the Skool reached a major milestone by becoming a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, cementing its mission to preserve, celebrate, and advance clowning as both a performance art and cultural legacy.
This designation underscores the growing recognition of clowning's significance beyond slapstick or spectacle. Rooted in vulnerability, physical storytelling, and improvisation, clowning teaches artists to connect deeply with audiences through humor, honesty, and surprise. As one of the oldest and most versatile forms of performance, clowning skills extend to theater, street performance, cabaret, and corporate public speaking, influencing countless art forms and communication methods.
The Skool's mission honors this tradition while equipping a new generation of performers to bring clowning into fresh contexts. Glen Heroy, Clown Skool's founder and creative director, stated, "This program has grown so much in just one year. We started with a vision of creating an inclusive space where people could connect through laughter and training, and now we're building a lasting home for clown arts in America."
Coney Island's legacy as a proving ground for performers who shaped American comedy and vaudeville provides an ideal backdrop. The neighborhood's theaters and sideshows served as training grounds for icons like the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Coney Island USA, the nonprofit arts organization behind attractions like the Coney Island Circus Sideshow and the Mermaid Parade, supports the Skool, ensuring the landmark's history of live performance remains vital. Adam Rinn, Artistic Director of Coney Island USA, added, "Giving clowns a stage in Coney Island isn't just about entertainment, it's about keeping the art form alive and thriving in the place where spectacle belongs."
Under the slogan "Enter Curious, Leave Inspired," the 2025 cohort will immerse in hands-on training led by renowned artists. Workshops include Clown Fundamentals with Glen Heroy, Puppetry with Tyler Bunch of the Jim Henson Company, Mime Arts with Becky Baumwoll of Broken Box Mime Theater, and Comedic Techniques with Joel Jeske, creator of clown acts for Ringling Bros and Cirque Du Soleil. Additional sessions cover mask, clown magic, social circus, and ensemble exploration, complemented by a field trip to UniverSoul Circus and performances on the Coney Island Sideshow Stage.
The Skool invites the public to two events: Flavors of Magic on September 18 at 7:00 PM, a magical showcase blending wonder and comedy with tickets available through FlavorsOfMagic.com, and a Student Showcase on September 20 at 7:00 PM with original clown performances and suggested donations supporting Coney Island USA. Aspiring clowns, actors, educators, and curious minds can learn more at ConeyIslandClownSkool.com.
Curated from 24-7 Press Release
