Professional clown to give comedy workshop

Avner Eisenberg, a member of the International Clown Hall of Fame, will offer a free comedy workshop on April 14 at 4 p.m. in Bartlett Theatre at SUNY Fredonia’s Rockefeller Arts Center. The event is supported by grant from the Campus Convocation Committee.

Avner Eisenberg, a well-known comedian and member of the International Clown Hall of Fame, will share his knowledge of creating comedy, especially that of the visual/physical nature, in a free workshop at SUNY Fredonia.

The workshop will be presented Thursday, April 14 at 4 p.m. in Bartlett Theatre at Rockefeller Arts Center. The event is open to the public and precedes Eisenberg’s Kaleidoscope Family Series performance on Friday, April 15 at 7 p.m. in Marvel Theatre.

“Avner the Eccentric,” as Eisenberg is known onstage, has performed on Broadway and television and in films. He is also one of the world’s leading teachers of physical comedy. A permanent faculty member at the Celebration Barn Theater, Maine’s International School for the Performing Arts, he has taught eccentric performing and clowning workshops in the United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Finland, Spain, Mexico, and Japan.

The SUNY Fredonia workshop will look at creating things that make people laugh and investigate the lighter end of the creative spectrum, specifically how to develop and explore the creative spark for physical humor.

The workshop will be approximately 75-90 minutes and limited to 175 participants. The workshop is supported by a grant from the Campus Convocation Committee and is part of the 2010-11 convocation theme “Faces & Phases of Creativity.”