LENS Theatermakers & De Maakfabriek present
Workshop – Clown: presence, play & connection (English)
14 november 2026 (10:00 -16:00)
In this workshop, you will explore how to turn vulnerability into creative material.
What happens when you feel exposed in front of an audience, or when your body reveals a reaction you were trying to hide, or when you feel you are not connecting at all? Instead of rushing to fix the moment, we will practise staying with it, noticing what is happening and discovering how to play with it. A failed attempt, a moment of embarrassment or an unexpected emotion can become the starting point of a scene. The goal is to discover how humour can emerge from being present and responding honestly to what happens. And the relief and pleasure this brings for the artist and the audience.
Through games, improvisation and short scene-making, we will take a practical journey from meeting your clown to exploring the creation of small scenes. We will work with presence, emotional awareness, the audience’s gaze and the absurd. Unlike abstract creation, where images, movement or associations may lead the way, clown often finds its material in a recognisable human situation pushed into unexpected territory. We will explore how a simple impulse, contradiction or failed intention can develop into a playable situation that invites the audience into the experience. No fourth wall here.
Location: De Maakfabriek, Churchillweg 144, Wageningen
Costs: standard rate €70 / reduced rate €40 (income up to €20,000)
About the teacher
I am Mariana, a Peruvian educator, actress and clown based in Wageningen. My work brings together theatre, movement, clown, play and storytelling to explore how we connect with ourselves and others. I am interested in what happens when we stop trying to appear capable, funny or in control, and allow ourselves to be seen as we are. Sometimes, that is where the most unexpected creative possibilities begin.
