The Fresno State Experimental Theatre Company (ETC), a student-run group, will showcase its play “Clown Bar” Nov. 15 through Nov. 17 in LAB School Room 101.
“Clown Bar” was written by Adam Szymkowicz. It is a catchy Broadway play with a burlesque, silly clown twist to highlight how often people are still terrified of clowns as adults.
The main clown in the play, Happy Mahoney, finds out his brother Timmy has been murdered. Happy is the only one who has reliable answers for what may have caused his brother’s death. In order to solve the murder, Happy has to return to his roots and rekindle his friendships with former coworkers at The Clown Bar.
Kimmy Kaur, director of “Clown Bar,” is a fifth-year student majoring in theater arts technology. Kaur is a first-year director for ETC, who loves the ETC program because every position is student-based, spanning from sets to directors to costumes.
“It is really hands on. You don’t get to do a lot of that stuff on our main stage shows. You do not get to build everything by hand, so it is really nice to have that opportunity,” Kaur said.
Kaur discovered the play “Clown Bar” two years ago and loved how quirky and weird the show was.
“I feel like the play is something we haven’t really done here in a long time,” Kaur said. “I thought I was going to submit the play in the spring, but then I submitted it in the fall and happened to get picked, and here I am directing a show about clowns.”
When asked about the qualities that Kaur was looking for when casting her actors, she said honesty was key.
“I am the kind of person that appreciates when people are honest with their mistakes or when they mess up. I look for positive vibes and positive energy,” Kaur said. “I understand that theater is super stressful but if you cannot pull through and understand that is a good learning experience, then you should not be here.”
The play features a casting of 10 actors, with seven male characters: Happy Mahoney, Giggles, Shotgun McGhee, Dusty, Timmy, Twinkles and Bobo, along with three female roles: Petunia, Popo and Blinky Fatale.
Joshua Taber, history major in his senior year, is playing “Clown Bar’s” main character, Happy Mahoney.
Taber is in his first year with the ETC program and is enjoying his experience in theater at Fresno State.
“I did a similar experience at Fresno City College with their theater department of student-written shows. But this program has been really nice because it is has been more organized and centralized,” Taber said.
Taber’s character, Happy, is the best of the best clowns. He’s straight edge but eventually loses touch with his passion for clowning and becomes a cop. However, when his brother is murdered, he returns to his old stomping ground at The Clown Bar as an outsider to solve the murder himself.
“Happy was the easiest role. All the jokes are at my expense, so that was the easy part. Really, I had not done something like this that was just real black comedy,” Taber said. “It was just really out there and weird. As much as I like a weird play, this is not usually on my radar. But his character is so determined and driven, I got to dive into the character.”
Happy’s brother, Timmy, is played by Tyler Murphy, a theater arts major, who is a freshman in his first year at ETC.
“Timmy is not a very funny clown, but he is really trying to be funny. After his brother leaves the clown business to be a cop, he is not getting any better at being a clown,” Murphy said. “My character resorts to drugs, which is how I start to get funny, where I eventually get myself killed. So Happy is trying to find out who killed me through the flashbacks of me being a sweet, innocent clown to then a druggy who is a hitman.”
“Clown Bar” is Murphy’s first college play, where he is learning the major transition in how different college plays are from high school plays.
Murphy decided to audition for Timmy because he likes the role of Timmy being the one who is watching over Happy during most of the play’s duration on stage.
“I am normally a more dramatic person but in this play, I am more the dramatic sad character who just is not funny. It widens my horizons in my acting,” Murphy said.
Tickets for “Clown Bar” are $5 for general admission and can be purchased at the Speech Arts Building Box Office Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m.
For any additional information, call (559) 278-2216 or email [email protected].