Scholarships Available!
〰️
Scholarships Available! 〰️
ATLANTA 2024
COOL FOOL SCHOOL
ONE WEEK ONLY!
February 26th - March 1, 2024
Details
Join the Laughter League for our intensive playground for actors, instigators, interlocutors, improvisers, playful spirits and clowns!
WHAT
This course will guide performers in developing the tools required for being successful eccentric physical comedians, with an emphasis on bringing their gifts to the work of uplifting lives in marginalized populations, pediatric hospitals and memory care centers.
Faculty: Michelle Matlock, Cleo DeOrio, Tiffany Riley and Dick Monday
WHERE
All classes will be held at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. Apply today. To begin the application process for this program send us an email: info@laughterleague.org. Full tuition for the week is $500. There are five full scholarships available.
WHO
You! We are seeking a diverse group of students who are craving performance training that will help them deepen their artistic growth through the realm of physical comedy and interactive performance. This training will help you develop a foundation for your artistry that will enhance your ability to bring your gifts to populations who need the uplift of healing through humor.
Apply here: Cool Fool School Application
Faculty Bios
MICHELLE NICOLE MATLOCK
Michelle is a performing artist, creative coach, teacher, director, producer and founder of Circle Up Productions (CUP), a live entertainment and performing arts education company based in Tacoma, WA. Michelle has been a part of the entertainment industry for over 25 years and had the honor of being the first African American Person to create a main character for Cirque du Soleil. They toured with Cirque's big top show OVO for close to 10 years. Currently Michelle is an Adjunct faculty member at Dell’Arte International School for Physical Theater and a member of the Puget Sound Revels creative team. Recently Michelle was Clown Director/Consultant for Circus Bella and Emmy nominated actress' Carolyn Ratteray’s solo show Both And…A Play About Laughing While Black. Michelle has continuous teaching engagements and collaborations with organizations across the nation including, Clown Gym, Bindlestiff Family Cirkus, The Clown School, Laughter League, Circus Amok and Tacoma Light Trail. Michelle grew up in Tacoma, WA., studied theater for 3 years at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. and is a Graduate of the National Shakespeare Conservatory in New York City.
CLEO DEORIO
Cleo DeOrio (she/her) is a Physical Theatre and Dance artist-teacher from Cleveland, Ohio. Cleo received a BA at Baldwin Wallace University, where she focused her studies in Directing and Choreography, and an MFA from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, where she developed works such as Citizens of Nowhere and Visions of a Crying Girl. Cleo specializes in storytelling through movement, physical character development, emotional embodiment, and devising. Cleo is currently the Operations Supervisor at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse. Visit her website at cleodeorio.com
DICK MONDAY
Dick’s film and television credits include Brain Donors, Sweet and Lowdown, My Life, Saved by the Bell, The Late Show and The Tonight Show. Dick has been featured with Omnium Circus, Big Apple Circus, Circus Sarasota, Circo Atayde, Lone Star Circus, MadHattan in Las Vegas and Ringling. He co-founded the New York Goofs and Laughter League, a non-profit organization bringing the healing power of humor to top rated Children’s hospitals throughout the United States. Dick was Director of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey’s Clown College and Director of Clowning for The Greatest Show on Earth.
TIFFANY RILEY
Tiffany was the first female clown featured in The Big Apple Circus, has performed with Omnium Circus, Circus Sarasota, Circo Atayde, Lone Star Circus and Ringling. She co-founded the New York Goofs and Laughter League, a non-profit organization that brings the healing power of humor to patients at top pediatric facilities in New York, Boston, Providence, Ft. Worth, Dallas, Atlanta and Seattle. She holds a BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and Master of Liberal Studies from SMU. Tiffany’s book, Beyond the Red Nose: The Serious Business of Healthcare Clowning, is available on Amazon, Kindle and Audible.