Jenny Hazelton is a clown. And proud of it.
But the talented Sudbury woman, who is also a director, designer, puppeteer, playwright and technician, knows making a living in theatre is no laughing matter.
When Thorneloe University cancelled its theatre program in 2020, she lost her job as a professor. Rather than leave town like many of her colleagues, she created her own job as artistic director of One North Clown and Creation.
The clown school, which promotes creative expression for actors and non-actors, will be offering courses this summer at Thorneloe and is currently taking registrations from adults aged 19 and older.
Clowning is a serious business. A theatrical clown like Hazelton is a much more complicated creation than those roly-poly circus clowns who make balloon animals and entertain at children's birthday parties.
The comical satirists of society date back to ancient Egypt, and they entertained audiences of Greek and Roman theatre. Shakespeare put fools in his plays. Famous modern clowns include Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Lucille Ball, Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean) and Jim Carrey.
"There is a misconception about clowning," said Hazelton. "Clowning is an honest portrayal of humanity. It is holding up a mirror...a clown shows us what we often want to hide.
"We laugh because we relate to the truth."
Hazelton attended the prestigious Ecole internationale de théâtre Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France, where she worked with students from throughout the world.
The teachers there are known for taking a critical rather than an encouraging approach, she said.
"They are separating the wheat from the chaff,” Hazelton said. “If you don't have the stomach for it, you don't make it … It taught me what kind of teacher I didn't want to be."
Alumni include English actor Toby Jones and director Julie Taymor, who won Tony Awards for Best Director and Costume Designer for her work on "The Lion King."
Originally from Fort Erie, Hazelton is a graduate of Laurentian University and studied for her master's degree in collaborative theatre-making at Coventry University in England. She attended the Mime Centrum Berlin and studied at the Clown Farm on Manitoulin Island with John Turner. Turner (Smoot) is part of the horror clown duo Mump and Smoot.
She is one of the creative minds involved with the Crestfallen Theatre Cabal, which, when there is grant money available, produces new works and multimedia presentations in unusual settings.
In 2016, Crestfallen produced "Brokedown Town" in the old Silverman's Department Store.
In 2021, she worked with her frequent collaborator, Matthew Heiti, on "Nutcracker of the North," performed as part of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra's Christmas program. Hazelton designed and hand cut shadow puppets to accompany Heiti's short story.
Hazelton is currently working with France Huot on a new work about burnout and unrealistic expectations of work.
"We are in the early stages,” she said. “We are not sure what it is going to be. France and I do not work in a traditional way. We don't start with a text. We are more body-focused: clown, mime and puppets."
In 2020, Hazelton and Huot, sometimes billed as Huot and Haz, developed on a 15-minute clown bit set in a chip wagon called "Le Shack à patate - un casse-croûte amblant pour l’âme, (A Travelling Chip Stand for the Soul)." The show was produced to mark Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario's 50th anniversary.
"Huot and I are interested in combining the French and English worlds or working beyond the text to reach a wider audience," she said.
As a clown, Hazelton says, "I do not believe I am funny, necessarily, but I put my humanity out to people. It might be funny or tragic."
Vicki Gilhula is a freelance writer. Arts & Culture is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
