Can we do 1 Show?

1 Show can service up to 300 students. We chose this number after much experience. 300 students keeps the audience closer to us and allows us to have more fruitful connections with the audience. One of our goals is to make every student feel like they were a part of the show- when the crowd gets bigger than this that becomes a major challenge. With three hundred or less it is easy to get all of them physically involved with the material over the course of a 45 minute program.

Some schools choose to split the shows by grade level. The advantage to splitting up your students by grade is that we can tailor the tone of each performance to fit the level of development and engagement of the students in the room. As an educator or parent you probably know that there is an awful lot of development across the elementary age span. The way we present our material can be tailored to those groups when possible. When all students are in one group, we perform to the median which means that there is still something for every student. We leave the ultimate decision to your school because we know that you know your students’ needs best.

We do offer a significant discount on the second performance in order to help facilitate the two show structure. We are always happy to work with an Arts in Education Coordinator or a PTA/PTO representative to determine the correct number of shows for your school.

What do you need from us?

10 x 10 foot minimum performance area (area should be clear and swept)
2 Adult sized non-folding chairs
1 student sized desk
Access to a working outlet within 20 feet of performance area

Our backdrop is free standing and Fire Retardant. (compliant with NFPA specification #701)

We are fully insured through Specialty Insurance Agency of the US(proof available on request)

Are you BOCES approved?

Yes. We have a good relationship with the BOCES in the areas that we cover, and work hard to keep our status up to date as per the recommendations of each individual BOCES. If you are interested in hiring us and we discover that there is an additional BOCES requirement to be met we will do so immediately.

If you have additional BOCES related questions, please call our office at: (347) 612-4123 or email us at info@foolsacademy.com

Do you have references?

We do have references available upon request. We have chosen not to publish their information online in order to restrict the volume of contacts directly to them. All of our references are educators and have schedules as busy as you must. Please respect their time as they are doing us and you a favor by acting as references.

If you’d like a list of references please call our office at: (347)612-4123 or email us at info@foolsacademy.com

How do you determine your price?

The cost of our performance is determined by the going rate for two performers combined with the costs to our office in booking a show. We have worked hard to calculate the minimum cost to you at which we can be profitable, and believe that we are offering a price-point commensurate with the rest of our industry.

How do your shows teach?

Each vignette or scene in our shows is designed to do four things:
We use a structured piece of curriculum as the basis for each scene. Using mnemonic devices, rhyme, riddle, game-play, high-impact imagery, explanations for multiple learning styles, and repetition we build a scene that is founded on the information we intend to teach.
We use our combined 30+ years of experience as performers to make the scene entertaining. Each scene is written, rehearsed, video-taped, reviewed, and reworked in cycle until we believe that the learning and entertainment are on par with one another. If it isn’t entertaining we keep working until it is.
We try to make every scene exciting. Each piece of information should unravel into some kind of a trick or a big finish. We want students to develop a visceral memory to attach to pieces of information so that they become harder to forget.
Every scene has audience participation. When we write in our office we remind each other constantly that every scene needs a Suzy or a Billy (Suzy and Billy are our imaginary rehearsal children.) We don’t feel that it is enough to perform educational shows, unless students get physically and actively involved. Every scene we write will feature a student, and many will provide an opportunity for all of the students to be involved in their seats. This is one of the ways we capture the attention of the kinesthetic and verbal learners, as well as the visual and aural learners.

Where are your red noses?

We do not wear red noses or makeup.

The strong visual tradition of clown makeup was created to enhance the expression of the face over great distances as experienced under the big top of large circuses. When a clown is a hundred yards away in a grand arena the make up makes them seem more personal. When a clown is up close wearing the makeup and noses it can seem very very scary to most young people. Because we work closely with young people in our shows we prefer to be more approachable to them. We certainly don’t want to scare them away.

We have chosen to emulate another strong clowning tradition that was handed down through the medium of film and television, as well as theatre in which clowns did not wear noses or makeup. We draw our inspiration from such clowns as Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Lucille Ball, Carol Burnette, and Bill Irwin to name a few.

Why is your hair colored?

The simple answer to this question is that we both like our hair brightly colored. When Christina and WT met in 1999 they both had the colors they do now. It has been a long and hard consideration not to grow out of that. At this point it is a big part of our individual identities.

The complicated answer to the hair question is this:

The colored hair roots us in a world of imagination that makes what we do instantly recognizable to the kids. When we step in front of an audience of students they immediately recognize us as being atypical of the adult they usually see, and the fact that it is not a wig makes it authentic. It causes students to ask a lot of questions about who we are and what we are doing in their school. Strangely, it puts them in a place that is ideal for learning engagement before we even open our mouths. The brightly colored hair also works in the same way a more traditional red nose would to identify us as clowns(without obscuring and altering the face in a way that tends to make people scared of clowns).

As you can imagine the hair gets a lot of questions. If you have one feel free to ask us in person, we have probably heard them before.

Do you have shows that aren’t listed on your website?

We are always creating new shows because we are both learning all the time. If there is a particular piece of curriculum that you would like to see activated through clowning, please call us at: (347) 612-4123 or email us at info@foolsacademy.com We would be more than happy to work with your school to create a program that suits your needs. Depending on the complexity of a given topic and our touring schedule, we can usually create a custom show within 6-8 weeks. Give us a call!

Who writes your shows?

WT and Christina do all of the research and writing for the Fool’s Academy shows. We write the shows in cycles. There is a typing and computer component, but once we have a rough sketch we spend most of our time in a rehearsal studio trying things out. We video tape our rehearsals and then edit the script according to what works.

Do you offer any kind of discount?

We run promotions occasionally that will be made available through our website and our mailing list. Sign up for our mailing list here. If you are having trouble putting together the funds to bring us in to your school please contact us and let us know the particulars of your situation. We may be able to help you find a program that can solve the problem.