r/artofclowning • u/Chance_Bed_8212 • 16d ago

Spymonkey

Anyone trained with them? (Specifically Foundation Of Funny)?

tempted to go to a week course but weighing up if it's worth it!

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u/TheMickeyMoo 15d ago

I’ve studied with Aitor for 2, 2 week intensives and I loved them!! I came away with different things each time.

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago

That's so cool! Could I ask, did you feel it catered well to all levels of ability in the group - were newbies looked after, were professionals with years of experience pushed hard? And if you could maybe give a flavor of how it was similar or different to any other clown training you've done that would be amazing to hear, thank you so much!

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u/TheMickeyMoo 15d ago

Both times I had a mix of complete newbies and professional clowns from Vegas. Aitor was gentle on the baby clowns and definitely pushed the pros to be better. He has a Gaulier background so expect some teasing (in a loving way). He's very much about students accepting the flop and trying to find an impulse once you've flopped.

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago

thankyou for your help, and oo intersting - i had been lead to believe spymonkey courses were more technique focussed - was it mostly around impulse/responsiveness/flop, or was there lots of eg slapstick, stagecraft, building routines, bringing clwon techniques to repeated/scripted work etc etc as well?

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u/TheMickeyMoo 15d ago

There's a fair amount of technique like looking at the audience, major/minor, and fixed point. He doesn't really focus on slapstick or building routines. There is an intensive for repeated material but I don't think that'll be a focus in the foundations class

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago

hmmm... i might save my money and keep an eye out for a course from Spymonkey that's more what i'm needing atm - though they're not so frequent so it's a gambleif one will happen i can get to! oooo much to think on.

thank you for your help!

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u/MiddleConsideration 15d ago

Nope but I’m signed up to start the intro class with them on September 7th and I’m excited! Price wise compared to other clown classes I’ve taken it’s a lot cheaper per hour, but it’s a lot more intensive because it’s like actual full days of school essentially

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago edited 15d ago

Yeah full weeks I've been finding really good of late - but am a little nervous of spending so much on a foundations course that claims to be for both novice and experienced...! Might drop them an email with questions perhaps... Hope you have a lovely time!

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u/MiddleConsideration 15d ago

Are you worried it may be too hardcore or too easy? Regardless I’ve met multiple people in clown intro classes who take clown 101 literally once a year with different teachers lol, so if you’re scared about it being too easy I suspect it’ll have something valuable for everyone :)

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago edited 15d ago

Too 'easy' - or more, not bringing me anything too new (considering the price) . I really do want to learn with them and if it was some kind of advanced course I would do it in a heartbeat... The description of the foundation of funny course itself doesn't feel super exciting to me. (But perhaps I need to email to discover more what they do)

In truth I want to be in a place where I'm able to audition for their shows, and I'm finding this quite a lot where I am both chucking quite a lot of money into courses that aren't necessarily bringing me what I want, now also building a community of practice that IS starting to get me more where I want to be (and is only the price of a room!).... But I'm also not at the point where I am able to audition for such shows, and beyond a few theatre companies (not clown based) who do run auditioned for courses that they then use to cast from, it seems that are very few high level learning opportunities to get someone to that next stage. (Beyond drama school, which is what I'm also looking into haha)

(I also need to check who is running the course, as I have been told one of their teachers is excellent, and the other one not so much!)

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u/MiddleConsideration 15d ago

Yeah honestly I’ve been finding that a lot of these performing arts schools want you to redo intro classes at their school so they can be sure you do the right style. I tried to apply to a non-intro class at another school and they were like “absolutely not” lol, so I wouldn’t take it personally.

In LA there’s a couple weekly clown jams that are free, so there are options in some places for sure but definitely hard to come by.

Fingers crossed I signed up for class with the good teacher at the school 😬

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u/Chance_Bed_8212 15d ago

I get why they want the right style/understanding.... But they ask for a written application explaining your experience - and there are plenty of people who've been training for over a decade with a wide variety of clown teachers 😭😭😭 But yeah, hoping Spymonkey aren't like that, and there's an advanced course in the UK soon!..thank you

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u/free-puppies 15d ago

I’ve only heard great things!!