New Virtual Workshops

Show Up and Write: An Online Writing Community led by Shannan Calcutt
Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:45 PM - Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:00 PM PST

Show Up and Write is a fun and safe environment that promotes creativity, self-growth, and the practice of writing. It’s a space for you to jumpstart a new project or pick up where you left off on an idea that’s been sitting on the back burner for weeks, months, even years. Sometimes even the most ambitious of us need a kick in the pants (even a gentle one) to get moving. In fact, simply being accountable to someone often sets us in motion. 

You'll meet twice a week, spend the first 20-30 minutes connecting with other writers, write for 75 minutes, and spend the next 75 minutes conversing about each other's work. Writing without editing yourself or focusing on the end product is encouraged. Our collective goal is to support you, help advance your story, improve your craft, and identify your individual writing style.
Staring at a blank screen can be daunting and lonely, Show Up and Write is as much about being part of a supportive community as it is about strengthening your writing. Past students have made lasting friendships and continued to meet and write together long after the workshop finished.
This workshop culminates with an optional public reading (live on zoom) where you can read 5-7 minutes of your material, or if you prefer, have a friend, actor, or fellow writer in our group deliver your goods. This provides an additional vehicle for development and growth.
Past students have developed solo shows, musicals, songs, sketches, memoirs, plays, screenplays, novellas, novels, humorous essays, speeches, YouTube scripts and poetry. Many have gone on to public readings and performances of their work and credit Show Up and Write as the springboard that set them into action.

Sun Dec 27, 2020 4:45 PM - Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:00 PM PST
Online Zoom

Class Details:
Classes are limited to 6 participants
We meet twice a week for 4 weeks (8 classes total)
We meet week 5 for a public zoom reading + Talkback
Price: $300
Early Bird Special: $275


“Shannan creates a safe container for us to grow together as writers and as people. She respects our writing voice, makes gentle suggestions to hone our prose, and draws out the stories we need to tell. If you get a chance to work with her, do it! Sitting down to a blank page is hard. Sitting down with Shannan gets me writing every time.” 
— Dorothea Deley, writer, performer


Virtual Playground at The Clown School
2 slots to choose from: Every Monday OR every Thursday in January

VStudy with the amazing and inspirational clown master Shannan Calcutt of Cirque du Soleil’s ZUMANITY fame! Play big, risk gloriously and fail better. This class was workshoped and designed to be experienced virtually. It's time to bring the playground into your own home where all the props, toys, and costumes you often wish for in the studio are suddenly at your disposal. Participants must explain to housemates ahead of time that they will be noisy, move throughout the house and be free of inhibitions. It’s recess for grownups! A chance to play, get moving, let loose, be silly and make genuine connections with other fabulous fools. Common side effects include (but are not limited to) feeling more alive, awake, joyful, connected, playful, confident, hopeful, present and creative.


Class Type: Online, Group Experience on Zoom
Dates:
-Mondays ONLY, January 4 thru January 25, 2021
-Thursdays ONLY, January 7 thru 28, 2021

Times 5pm-7:30pm PST / 6pm-8:30pm MST / 7pm-9:30pm CST / 8pm-10:30pm EST
Location: Wherever you are!
Cost: $250

Testimonials for VIRTUAL PLAYGROUND

“Clown class with Shannan has by far been the most fun I’ve had in 2020 and certainly the most fun I’ve had with a toaster (in 2020, that is). Shannan is incisive and hilarious, probing and expansive. She’ll needle your clown until you land fully into the achingly tender depths of your truth. Be prepared to cackle and cry, boo and cheer, waddle and skip. You’ll stretch your body, stretch your clown, and stretch your joy. Shannan's class is a necessary antidote to quarantine: we are joyfully alone. Together.”  - Anna Slate, singer, actor, performance artist 

“This class taught me how to use zoom creatively as a tool for performance rather than a limitation. Playing the games and creating together helped me rediscover a long-forgotten excitement and joy as if I was a kid again. I recommend this class to anyone who wants to explore their idiot side and fall in love with their inner fool.” 
- Daria Sobelman, Artist, Cirque du Soleil

“Shannan has found ways to curate intimacy and play within the boundaries of zoom by being truthful in the moment. Giving new life to classic exercises, a new problem arises around every corner. A problem, just what a clown needs. This workshop invites you to challenge the limits of zoom, find all new ways to connect and never stop playing!”  - Mikey Ross, Artist, Cirque du Soleil