Experience the Laughter League’s ‘Cool Fool School’—a specialized physical comedy workshop with renowned instructors coming to Alliance Theatre Atlanta from February 26 to March 8. Don’t miss this two-week intensive course. Scholarships are accessible, and enrollment is currently open!

ATLANTA, GA (January 10, 2024) – The Laughter League announces the launch of its inaugural Atlanta “Cool Fool School” at Alliance Theatre Atlanta (1280 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA) for a two-week intensive workshop in physical comedy from February 26 – March 8. All actors, instigators, interlocutors, improvisers, or those with a playful spirit who yearn to make others smile are welcome.

Featuring an incredibly experienced faculty, this course will help performers embrace their inner silliness and develop the tools required to be successful eccentric comedians. A core component of the Laughter League’s mission is to provide laughter and play as an integral part of the care of hospital patients. The “Cool Fool School” students will receive a special emphasis on developing their artistry so they may bring the uplifting healing power of humor to those most in need of it including those in marginalized populations, pediatric hospitals, and memory care centers.

The workshop is 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 them develop a foundation for their artistry that will give them the skills necessary to be effective messengers of mirth in a wide variety of situations.

The exceptionally talented ambassadors of physical comedy who will be leading the workshop have showcased their skills in everything from theater, circus, television, film, and of course, the hospital setting. The faculty is led by Michelle Matlock and features Dick Monday, Tiffany Riley, Djeli Forchion and Cleo DeOrio.

“The world could use a breath of hope, an authentic smile, an inspired laugh and that elusive commodity called joy,” said Dick Monday, co-founder of the Laughter League. “The Laughter League performers bring light and engagement to those dealing with difficult situations in hospital settings and we are excited to bring our mission to Atlanta.”

All classes will be held at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta and run from 10 am – 6 pm each day. Registration is open now and applicants are asked to email [email protected] or visit laughterleague.org to begin the application process or request more details.  In order to ensure that no one is excluded from this workshop because of financial barriers, scholarships are available and tuition will be on a sliding scale. Applicants may sign up for both weeks or just one.

.

LAUGHTER LEAGUE

The Laughter League is a nonprofit whose mission is to improve the lives of children, families, and senior citizens through the transformational power of laughter as an integral part of a patient’s care. We are an integrated therapeutic healthcare clowning program that currently reaches nearly 100,000 patients and their families annually.  Our professionally trained performers work with the treatment team to bring empathy, authenticity, and therapeutic humor to school-aged children and their families in healthcare settings including underserved communities.  The feedback about our impact is immediate – it’s the smile on a child’s face. When we see laughter and ease where once there was nervousness and trepidation, that’s when we know our work is successful. This makes our clown work so rewarding for both us and those we serve.

LAUGHTER LEAGUE FACULTY

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.

DJELI FORCHION

Djeli (the Artist formerly known as William) has traveled the world as an acrobat with many performing companies including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and Cirque du Soleil. He has worked as a Clown Doctor in New York City hospitals with the Big Apple Circus Clown Care Unit. His dream life also includes working as a Stuntman in Hollywood where you can see him as an Elf in The Polar Express. Djeli also has a B.S. in Metaphysics and is a Reiki master practitioner. He is a published author whose books include Billosophy: meditations on God, movement and miracles, Sacred & Sacrosanct: a collection of poems, and #A Poem A Day: one year of poetry. William’s poetic works have been showcased around the world. William was selected to be a U.S. State Department Cultural Exchange Ambassador for the Arts making multiple trips to Turkmenistan.

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 Showand 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 and 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.