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Angels Can Fly Tour
Alan's book 'Angels can Fly, a Modern Clown User Guide', includes 50 practical clown exercises, plus some theory on the art form, a fictional series following the experiences of ten clowns, and some anecdotes from clowns from all walks of life.
Angels can Fly, was previewed at the Australian Circus and Physical Theatre Conference in Geelong in March 2005, and was well received at a tour of launch events in libraries in New Zealand and Australia.
Brisbane Writers Festival Launch
Alan was invited to launch Angels Can Fly at the Brisbane Writers Festival in October 2005, an event which included a short clown performance, a reading from the book and an opportunity for questions.
Also check out Alan Clay's new clown film, Moontan, starring Annette Devick from Canada and Mark Hudson from Australia which was shot in New Zealand in October 2006.
Alan Clay
Born in 1954, Alan Clay grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. He studied clown in Sweden in 1977 and has taught and performed extensively in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. For the past ten years Alan has lived in Sydney, where he has run Playspace Studio, Sydney's Physical Theatre Studio.
Alan's first novel, Moontan, is the story of a couple of clowns, set against the occupation of a theatre by a collective of artists in Auckland. It was well received at its launch at the Wellington Fringe Festival in New Zealand, and in Australia at the Warrana Writers Festival in Brisbane, in 1994.
His second book, Dance Sisters , is set in Sydney, and tells the story of a female song and dance trio which threatens to self-destruct on the brink of fame, when its leader becomes involved with a manipulative cult, touting sex, astrology and virtual dreaming. Dance Sisters was launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival in 1997. It gained particular attention when it was released in May 2000 as an eBook in a format which was packaged to enhance the reading experience on a computer with sound and visuals.
The State Library of NSW purchased the manuscripts and associated papers to both Dance Sisters and Moontan in 2002, to be held in the Mitchell Reference Library, together with a set of 12 archive videos from Alan's clown teaching work at Playspace Studio.Published in 2001, Believers in Love , Alan's third novel, was acclaimed by both Australian and American reviewers, leading to North American sales of the book, together with claims of the pirating of the book in Print on Demand, and Alan's subsequent tour of Canadian and US Literary and Book Festivals in 2003.
"In the best clown tradition, Alan held up a window-mirror for us to step through and reflect on the patterns, habits and rituals of our days. It was funny, moving and excellent theatre."
Check out the Angels can Fly - Blog , which tells the inside story of the publication of Alan's new book, and where you can currently read part of the introduction to Angels can Fly, and while you are there, why not check out some of the anecdotal sections of the new book.
Reviews of Believers in Love
"A book about love, laughter and life. Not just a story, this is an exploration of emotion and philosophy. A novel of journey and self-discovery." Aussiereviews
"Light and yet profound, this novel is a most unusual find which all will enjoy and savor, long after the last page is turned. Art and living may be treasured repeatedly, but must yield to the next magical moment!" RightLifestyle
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Last updated 05 December 2008
