Mark your calendar! Dec 7th Comedy Show

Come see two great comedy acts 
Hartford’s Sea Tea Improv and Middletown’s own BenTopher and Friends entertain you with a wonderful night of comedy!

Our improv shows are different every time!

Friday, December 7th at 7:30PM

First Church of Christ Parish Hall, 190 Court Street, Middletown CT

Tickets $10 day of show, 2nd ticket $5

Click here to reserve discount tickets via Eventbrite 

Doors open at 7PM
RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED

Call 860-325-2386 or visit www.thediversion.com for more info.

Monthly Improv Show Delights Audiences

Each month, a group of talented comedians and performers take stage at First Church's Parish Hall. The shows are mixture of improvised comedy and fun. We've had shows featuring imaginary spaceships, pirate battles and the completely unexpected.

The next show on December 7th at 7:30PM will be a special treat. Hartford's Sea Tea Improv is coming down to Middletown to delight you! Also, the comedy of BenTopher and Friends will be opening up the night with more made-up fun.

The shows are funded through a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts and sponsored through The Buttonwood Tree Performing Arts & Cultural Center. Because of this, tickets are at a special, reduced price of $10 for one, and half off for your second ticket.

You can find out more by visiting www.thediversion.com.

Serious (But Fun) Lessons From A Clown

For a world-renowned professional clown, Jef Johnson can be a pretty serious guy. He smiles and laughs with ease, but sounds at times more like a philosopher.

Johnson, who has performed on Broadway and taught workshops to Cirque du Soleil performers, will give a free talk entitled "Q&A: Expectation, Hope and Promise" at The Buttonwood Tree at 8pm Thursday night.

Then he’ll lead a 3-day workshop this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. . The cost is $50 per person for the 3 days - down from $200 thanks to a grant from the Middletown Commission on the Arts.

“Making it affordable, we’re hoping to attract a wider range of people”, said Johnson.

That wide range of people includes not only clowns, actors, and performers, but anyone else with a creative urge, or anyone who wants to get closer to what they enjoy doing. “We get actors, olympic athletes, painters, florists” he said.

Johnson’s workshops are not just about clowning. They’re also about eliminating the pre-judgment and self-expectations that often hinder the creative or spiritual flow. That’s where the clown comes in, although a more Eastern/European idea of the clown than that presented by Ringling Bros., et al. (Click here to see an example of Johnson's performance.)

“The clown - not the circus clown - is a pure being encountering the world naively.” That naive state is where Johnson tries to lead people in his “Creative Awakening” workshops. The idea is to react to the world in a more direct way, not only as a performer but even as audience. “We’ve lost the ability to be [just] witnesses. We go in as critics. Why does this exist?” Johnson asks. “I’m investigator as much as teacher--more of guide.”

That guidance includes exercises that are really games. “Play” is a key concept, trying to tap into that child-like wonder. “Play is what happens when there is no social consideration,” he says. “Play can emulate social relationships but can be more primary than that, can be just about experience. When we play, even as strangers, [people] can in 5-10 minutes find a very balanced way of presenting a solution to a problem. I can provoke them into creative problem solving.”

Middletown resident Aryn Kyer is one of the people responsible for bringing Johnson to town (he lives in Mexico and teaches worldwide.) She also helped get the grant from the MCA. “I wanted to share the work with everyone that I love, share it with my friends. I wanted to make it the world I live in everyday.”

Jef Johnson Middletown Workshop receives MCA Grant

Creative performance pioneer Jef Johnson returns to Middletown with a new workshop titled "Expect Nothing" December 16-18 with supplemental funding provided by the Middletown Commission on the Arts, sponsored by The Buttonwood Tree. Regularly $200, with support from the MCA, Jef is able to offer this 20-hour workshop at a reduced rate of $50.

Creative Awakening Workshop: EXPECT NOTHING

"Man's nature is to establish predictable circumstances and to hold tight to the daily manner of maintaining that predictable 'reality'. The desire to attain the approval of others has resulted in a society motivated by judgment and fear. Creativity requires freedom from rigid constructions and formulas. It requires presence and participation...without the guarrantee of any special benefit. To offer myself to the world, I must first remember how to experience the world without expectation, without arrogant assumption and without fear of rejection." - Jef Johnson


Who is Jef Johnson?

Jef Johnson is a leader in the field of performance theory. His research focuses on naive experience, consciousness, play, patterned behavior and social identity. He is a principle artist in the Broadway and International touring company of Slava's Snowshow. He has also worked with Cirque du Soleil as clown, special artistic consultant and workshop director. He has been investigating personal perception, performance and play for the last 25 years and has more than 20 years of experience working in live performance. He has given Master Classes, Conferences and Workshops to many organizations, theaters and universities including Cirque du Soleil, Slava's Snowshow, Circo Sentido, Circo de Mente, Camp Broadway, University of Houston, University of Pennsylvania, Colombia University, University of Minnesota, CUNY, SUNY, NYU, UNAM, UDEM, UQROO, and CENART. He is director of Mascara/Clown and is on the faculty of the Nouveau Clown Institute in Barcelona, Spain. Currently he is in Mexico, conducting research into the nature of human consciousness, creative association and social performance. Drawing from Clown, Mask and Butoh, his work has initiated deeper investigation into the primary essence of human experience, character and performance.

Workshop Details

The workshop runs Friday, December 16 from 6-10 pm, Saturday and Sunday, December 17 & 18 from 10 am – 6 pm, at 100 Riverview Center, Lower Level. This space has been generously donated by Harding Development Group in Middletown. Regularly $200, with support from the MCA, Jef is able to offer this 20-hour workshop at a reduced rate of $50. For more information contact Aryn Kyer at Arynky@gmail.com.

Talk at The Buttonwood Tree

In addition, Jef Johnson will give a talk entitled "Q&A: Expectation, Hope and Promise" that is free and open to the public at The Buttonwood Tree at 8pm on Thursday, December 15th. The Buttonwood Tree is located at 605 Main Street in Middletown.