Instant Laughs

In this episode of The Comedians Paradise, we dive into the world of alternative comedy and physical theatre with Sean Gibbs, a Brooklyn-based stand-up comedian, physical actor, and classically trained theatrical clown. Best known on the comedy circuit for blending traditional stand-up with avant-garde physical comedy, Sean joins us to reveal the raw reality of the industry.

We sit down to discuss his eye-opening experiences undergoing clown comedy training at the legendary École Philippe Gaulier in France, the stark class divide within modern performing arts, and why the industry desperately lacks socio-economic diversity. Sean also unpacks the unique live performance genius of Mark Dean Quinn and shares what it really takes to survive the grind when you drop everything to hustle at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Here is an overview of what we discussed:

[[06:52]] My experience of the clowning courses I’ve done: The good, the bad, and the terrible [[10:40]]

[[11:33]] Going to École Gaulier’s “funeral” [[16:40]]

[[18:00]] Gaulier lessons many years later [[18:52]]

[[27:12]] A lot of rich kids go to Gaulier and think they are funny, what Gaulier is trying to do, rich and poor people [[33:06]]

[[33:34]] Clowning needs more diversity, you’ve got to be rich or very poor to make it [[36:51]]

[[34:00]] You got to be rich or very poor [[35:24]]

[[36:51]] The genius of Mark Dean Quinn [[40:51]]

If you would like to know more on Sean, you can follow him on Instagram at seangibbs108.You can follow this podcast on Youtube at https://bit.ly/41LWDAq, Spotify at https://spoti.fi/3oLrmyU,Apple podcasts at https://apple.co/3LEkr3E and you can support the pod on:https://www.patreon.com/thecomediansparadise.