Workshops
Sign-up for clown classes, character workshops, physical comedy intensives, ideation labs and bit builders led by Alice Gillette, one of the artists making Denver an “incubator for new work” in alt‑comedy.
I work with artists and everyone in-between to use clowning as a way to help put shapes to emotions, discover characters, and get more comfortable bouncing back from failure. My clown classes are centered on using play as a language to develop meaningful connections with the audience.
[For information on directing and devising, visit my directing page.]
“It’s always for the audience.”
“While some clown teachings rely on shock value, shaking the audience out of their day to day, most clowns in the Denver scene prefer a consenting audience.
‘There doesn’t have to be a splash zone at every show,’ Gillette said.”
-from an interview with Parker Yamasaki, The Colorado Sun
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Clowning for artists & performers
Contemporary clown & devising classes: training for the modern performer in Colorado 🤡
[Alice Gillette (left) pictured with fellow Denver clown teachers Kii Clark and Madly Regular. ]
Alice Gillette’s hands‑on clowning workshops are designed for:
beginners discovering their voice
stand‑ups wanting to create characters
improvisers eager to take more risks, and…
clowns looking to deepen their devising practices.
I teach with a consent‑forward and joy-focused approach to building immersive comedy and physical theater.
My workshops help you create work that is authentic, vulnerable, and irresistible to audiences. You’ll learn how to bomb / fail / mess up and revel in it.
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You don’t need to use a lot of words. Together, we’ll use physicality and joy to find the irresistible parts of you and heightening them into the work you’re trying to make.
You’ll get to play. A lot of what we’ll do together is playful, joyful and curious. We’ll let our guards down in an environment that’s lowkey, safe and full of games.
You’ll get unstuck. If you’re feeling uninspired, I’ll guide you to the edge of discomfort and give you some tools to push past it. My past students have described working with me as “inspiration in a bottle”.
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I think of my classes as a creative practice because any physical skill, these tools require ongoing conditioning. The more you show up to the work, the more instinctive and sharp your performances become.
Come as you are, and let the work meet you where you're at.
Tools we don’t use in class: hate speech, real weapons, aggressive violence towards others, bodily fluids, nudity, real sex and real drugs.
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Let’s take our time.
My classes and workshops are designed to stretch your creativity. This can stretch any performer, regardless of how long they’ve been doing the work.
We’ll be isolating specific creative muscles and exploring a different type of play.
Together, our goal is to challenge existing habits, but to do so safely. I want you to prioritize taking care of your mind and body and to ensure you’re not harming other folks in the process. Don’t sacrifice these things for a workshop, performance or class.
As many teachers have said, this work can be therapeutic, but it’s not therapy.
Also, it’s totally normal to hit a wall or feel like you’re about to fail really hard. The moment you notice this, It’s a signal that you’ve got some new things to discover inside of you. It’s up to you to decide if you’re in a good spot to push past the discomfort to show the audience your most vulnerable self.
Sometimes, we’re not in a spot to do that, and that’s okay. I always want you to do what’s best for you in the moment. So, if you’re feeling like you’re pushing past your point of resilience, let me know and we’ll reset.
We don’t need to risk it all during a class or workshop. Your well-being and longevity as a performer (and human) will always come first. Take a breather, get some air, or sit this one out if you need to . You can always c’mon back whenever you’re ready. I’ll be here.
[Alice (left) pictured with former student Meg Cantwell at the Denver Fringe Festival.]
Alice Gillette teaches clown classes in Denver and Boulder, Colorado. Available for travel for teaching abroad and nationally in the United States upon request.
Upcoming classes
Alice is currently working on directing projects until July 2026.
Her classes in modern and contemporary clowning are coming back in August 2026 (weeknight evenings and weekends) in Denver, Colorado.
Get notified when classes drop below.
To find clown classes before then, visit CLOWN cal for classes from other great teachers in Colorado like Nick Trotter, Kii Clark, Madly Regular, Melo Acevedo, Soleil Kohl, Meghan Frank, Buba Basishvili, Julianna Beckert many more:
** Alice Gillette doesn’t run or own CLOWN Cal. It’s managed by Blake Isaclown and Caroline Krantz **
Clown class & workshop offerings in Denver
Character for clowns
Study modern clown fundamentals and discover your inner clown by tapping into the parts of you onstage that are honest, ridiculous and deeply human.
Learn stage presence, build a shared clown vocabulary and craft an absurdly meaningful character.
World building for clowns
Develop a workshopped piece that’s deeply personal, delightfully strange and built for the stage.
This class is for performers ready to make bold, new work that connects, surprises and gives back.
Clown is for the people, so let’s build something worth sharing together.
Devising for clowns
You know your clown and you’ve built your world. Now, let’s play.
We’ll use play and writing prompts to devise vibrant, vulnerable scenes without a formula.
This class is ideal if you’re ready to deepen your creative practice and gain more experience working the room using the magic of collaborative play.
“When Gillette teaches clown classes, she tells her students that modern clowning is about getting in touch with childlike humor and wonder. .”
[Alice Gillette (right) with former students at the Denver Fringe Festival.]
‘When you study clown, you're relearning how to be that toddler who puts sunglasses on for the first time and wants to show everyone your cool sunglasses,’ Gillette says.
‘If you can just be that the whole time on stage, you're doing clown, that's it … And there's all those definitions of clown, but for me, that's like the physical embodiment. It's just like a kid in sunglasses.’”
-from an interview with Hazel Feldstein, Denverite
Ideation lab description: How to be a genius(fka “Developing show ideas”)
Unlock a level of creativity all your own in this collaborative ideation lab. Designed for artists who are feeling stuck or looking to deepen their work, this workshop aims to reframe creative blocks into whimsical “problems.”
You’ll engage in structured games, writing prompts and conversations to get on your feet and devise to find unexpected solutions to help you devise new work for the stage.
Sharpen your ability to give and receive constructive, artist-to-artist feedback in a supportive community.
This workshop can be helpful to you if:
You're making something and feeling stuck.
You’re all out of ideas and wondering how to come up with new ones.
Want to get more comfortable working with directors and with getting feedback.
Join us turn your wildest ideas into a new bit alongside a cohort of fellow “geniuses.”
Instructors: Alice Gillette and Bryan Richard Martin (the creative team behind Meat Show in Space and Bumpsy)
Join the waiting list
Alice Gillette’s Denver clown classes sell out fast.
If you don’t see any open classes, share your email address with me and I’ll let you know as soon as we post new classes and workshops.
