This Workshop is Sold-Out!

An Introductory Circus Performance and Printmaking Workshop

The circus is coming to town- and we're looking for new clowns! This free workshop is a 4-week course in circus clown performance and printmaking for beginners to lifelong artists. Students will learn the basics of clowning performance and printmaking techniques. Come one and all to learn how to create, craft, and promote your very own circus act!

*Must be 55 or older to register.

🤡 9 Classes  
🤡 July 9, 10, 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, and August 1 
🤡 4:00 PM-7:00 PM

About the Instructors

Karen Bell

Karen Bell has a 27-year career as a Professional Circus Clown and is the only female clown with a solo-ring gag at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. As a ‘Producing’ Clown for Ringling, she created material to perform and other clowns on the show. Karen toured the world clowning with Ringing and the Department of Defense. Since 2005, she has worked with The Circus Arts Conservatory. She has helped the Outreach programs to excel by developing original and creative group programs. She has been involved in the development of Humor Therapy Clown programs in local Nursing Homes and hospitals. Currently, she is instrumental in creating a curriculum-based education program for The Circus Arts Conservatory, teaching area students; theater, language arts, and physical science. Karen was presented with the Nancy Roucher Arts Education Award at the 2016 Arts & Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County’s annual “Celebration of the Art”. Karen was also featured on ABC7’s “Amazing Women of the Suncoast” by Linda Carson.

Jane Harris

My journey into the world of art began in the vibrant surroundings of my youth, nurtured by the creative spirits of women excelling in textiles and calligraphy. Always engrossed in a project, my childhood was framed by the outskirts of a small Indiana town, with cornfields extending like a canvas right in my backyard. These fields were not just a backdrop but a playground where I embarked on countless adventures, collecting bugs to preserve in egg cartons—my earliest foray into the preservation of nature.

My formal exploration of art commenced in my late teens with an introduction to printmaking, although my academic pursuits in college leaned more toward furniture design and sculpture. Nonetheless, printmaking managed to weave its way back into my life by the mid-2000s, firmly establishing itself as my chosen medium. Its multidisciplinary and sculptural facets captivate me, offering constant awe at the emergence of two-dimensional images from a block, a process that underscores my belief in the journey's importance over the destination.

Now, my life unfolds in Southwest Florida with my husband and three children, where I have the opportunity to fuse my personal and professional passions. My commitment to art education is further exemplified in my role as a Museum Education Specialist at The Ringling, where I engage with the intricate stories behind our exhibits, enriching visitors' experiences. Teaching artist workshops in various mediums to a diverse range of students continues to be a source of joy and fulfillment, allowing me to share the transformative power of art with others.

Ronald J Hoffman

Ronald J. Hoffman received his Theatre Arts degree from North Dakota State University in Fargo North Dakota. He performed with Orchisis Dance Company and The Little Country Theatre in productions of A Flea in Her Ear, Really Rosie, and The Miser. Ronald moved to New York and danced professionally with The Humphrey Dance Ensemble, and the Harbor Island Dance Theatre. He performed in productions of Oklahoma The Bells are Ringing, and Carnival. Ronald attended Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Clown College. He toured with RBBB for two years as a Clown and Physical Comedian. He continued his physical comedic performances with The Hudson Vagabond Puppeteers. He has appeared on Television and Movies. He is co-founder of Two Left Feet Dancing Duo, a comedic dance troupe. He has performed Internationally in China, Mexico, Scotland, and South America. Ronald has danced with the Concrete Canyon Cloggers, and won a Gold Medal in the Cultural and Arts Events of the 1994 Unity Gay Games.

He had choreographed and directed original shows for Off Broadway, Touring Companies and Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Bailey Clown College. His productions are still performed in repertoires internationally.

Ronald performed with The Big Apple Circus Clown Care, a performing based program working with medical staff to help achieve specific medical requirements using circus performing techniques. He was Supervisor of two CCU Programs in NYC and one in Miami. He also was named a Creative Staff Associate where he mentored, trained, audition, and conducted continuing artistic workshops for the BAC-CCU.

Ronald holds a Dance Teacher Certificate from City Center’s Teaching Artist Training Program. He has developed and conducted many curriculum-based workshops and programs using circus skills, performance techniques, and dance movement to demonstrate the concepts and principles of Science, Math, Language Arts, and Geography. He continues to work as a Teaching Artist in Education.