Hey, everyone. This is Liba from the Northeast Georgia History Center, and I have a special podcast extra for y'all. I'm here with Zechariah Pierce and David Weber. Zechariah is the director of the Gainesville Theater Alliance, and David Weber is the star of this weekend's show that I'm going to forget the title of.

It's called an actress. Carol one clowns. Dickensian marathon towards redemption.

That doesn't just intrigue you, then I don't know what will. But I was so excited to come here tonight to see the rehearsal for it, and okay, this is clown. I think we should probably start with a definition of clown, since I think that a lot of people will probably think, like Bozo the Clown back in the day. But this is totally different. We're talking about classical clowning and pantomime. Could you define that for our listeners? What is a clown? What is clowning?

Well, I think it's a great distinction between the birthday clown. The aesthetic of the clown dates way back, but I think a lot of our audiences would be familiar with it in vaudeville.

Okay?

Yeah, like jerry lewis or jim carrey. Or steve martin. That's the evolution of clown. But the red nose is what they call the smallest mass. So it allows the performer to really show the essence of who they are. And that is where the comedy comes from, is they say that a real clown reveals something that's true about themselves. So it's different. There is some yucca yucca, and there is some bits in the show. But even with tonight's rehearsal, some of the best cathartic laughs come from the moment, from the present, from that moment.

That has been acknowledged because it's so interactive, a lot of it at least like the experience tonight, I could see it being a different show, a different experience for the audience, every single show. And a lot of the energy that I was feeling during this show was totally based on the reaction or response or the energy you're receiving from the audience. Could you kind of talk to us about what are the ingredients that make up clowning? What would we recognize as clowning?

I think the ingredients is the connection, and so it's being present and it's being connected to the moment. And so even that presence of looking at someone and them turning away, if I was a bad performer, I would keep leaning in and make the person uncomfortable. Or I could just turn to someone else and say they're a little uncomfortable.

Kind of acknowledge it.

Acknowledge it. That kind of buy in gets people to maybe possibly, I've noticed in the show, loosen up a little bit, so once they're warmed up, they want to participate. Or even tonight. Like, when I asked a question, there was silence. I think that's our habitual training is to shut up and to give permission to speak, I think has to be.

Exercised a little bit. I would assume that most people have not been exposed to that kind of performance. If they're going to go to a theater, they're going to expect to have that fourth wall up. And tonight's show, I mean, it's super approachable, which I saw that you all advertise it as for all ages. And I totally see that because anybody can enjoy this show because it's a familiar story, too. So I was also curious to know why A Christmas Carol adapted using clowning. Where did that begin for you? Because this is an original show by you, right?

It is. I don't know if Zachariah wants to speak about that nature of family friendly because he's been instrumental of taking the work that has been built a lot in nightclubs and very small audiences that has developed a sort of irreverency. And Zachariah has been able to take it back to its essence to get it family friendly.

Yeah, I'd love to hear your perspective on that. Sure.

Yeah. Well, I think in the nature of clown work, it also is in recognizing the audience in which the clown is connecting to and finding the shared humanity and experience. Right. And so because this story rings so true for much of the Gainesville Theater Alliance's audience, and particularly being a holiday show and something so familiar to families and something that we all, me and my brood love this kind of story and we try to engage with it every year. So it's like I wanted to bring that to our community in a way and work with David in bringing that clown connected to that audience in a way that would unite all of us in the joy of this story and the redemptiveness of it. And so that was something that we really worked to find because there's many versions of this story depending on which community you're in. And so for this community, we really wanted to connect in that way.

That's really neat that it's so adaptive in that way, too, just based on your audience and the demographic in general. And Gainesville has such a great audience. The people that come here and enjoy Gainesville Theater Alliance shows and all the performing arts here, what distinguishes it for y'all? What do y'all notice about the audience and the people in the community here when it comes to theater and the support for it here?

I think it's a community ownership and a sense of identity in this is our theater, and we try to always hold that as part of our conversation in choosing seasons and in how we engage in theater and outside of it and what we try to form in our students as they go out into the community and beyond. And so I noticed coming back after grad school and wanting to sort of reengage with this community, I was reminded because going out, not every community has this kind of support, especially in a university setting. And it really is it warms my heart seeing our theaters refilling and selling out again like we have in the past prior to the pandemic. And it's just a wonderful sense of unity and community. And it's a gathering place where we're all able to come in and share a breath together.

Absolutely. Well, I encourage everyone that can come see the show to come see it. We'll get the details. So when can folks come this weekend? Because we're going to post this ASAP. What are the show times? How do they get tickets? How do they see it?

So you can go Gainesvilletheaterallance.org, and I think we'll probably be selling tickets at the door as well. It opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday. Tomorrow and Saturday are 730 performances, and Sunday we have a matinee at 230.

All right, awesome. And just search for Gainesvilletheateralliance.com. Org.org. Awesome. We'll have those links in the description. Thank you so much for allowing me to view tonight's rehearsal. It was really fantastic. And I would love to have you back on to tell us more about the history of clowning.

Yeah, Liba, I'd be very happy to do so. And I really appreciate you being here tonight and being just helpful for where we're at in the process. It almost needed you to be here just to have that reminder of an engaged audience member who wanted to receive the story, which is what you were doing.

Oh, thanks so much. Thanks so much, y'all. All right, y'all. I hope that you will see the show this weekend. Links will be in the description. And again, thank you so much to David Weber and Zechariah Pierce. Bye.

This Sunday, December 3, mark your calendars for an unforgettable holiday experience. It's the Christmas on Green Street parade open house at the Northeast Georgia History Center. And you're invited from 01:00 p.m. To 05:00 p.m.. Step into a festive wonderland as we open our doors to you, your family and friends, all for free. That's right. Free admission for everyone. Picture this, the history center transformed into a Christmas dream. The ideal backdrop for your family's holiday snapshots. And guess what? You might even catch a glimpse of Victorian caroler strolling about. But that's not all. We've got you covered with convenient parking, indoor restrooms for your comfort, and a fantastic gift shop stocked with treasures for the history enthusiasts on your shopping list. Join us at the Northeast Georgia History Center this Sunday for a magical journey through history and holiday cheer. It's the Christmas on Green Street Parade open House, where memories are made and history comes alive. Don't miss it.