Clown workshops 2026 at the Samovar – Theatre-School in Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis)

From 06 july to 13 december 2026

Discover the 2026 clown workshops at Le Samovar, one of France's leading schools for training in contemporary clowning, physical theatre, and burlesque. Located in Bagnolet, on the outskirts of Paris, Le Samovar – Théâtre-École offers a particularly rich program of 23 workshops throughout the year, led by renowned artists, directors, and educators from the French and international clowning scene.

Whether you are a beginner, an artist in training, an actor, a circus performer, an improviser, or a professional in the performing arts, these workshops allow you to discover, deepen, or perfect your clowning skills through a variety of teaching approaches. The training explores stage presence, improvisation, clown writing, slapstick comedy, physical theatre, rhythm, body work, emotions, character creation, the jester, and various forms of humor.

The year begins in July with Bernard Plantié (From Character to Writing), Camille Garcia (The Brain, Put Away!) and Alan Fairbairn (An Introduction to Clownish Presence). August continues this exploration with Sophie Amieva (The Jester), Rafaële Arditti (Finding Your Clown and Writing for Him), Emmanuelle Bon & Marc Mauguin (Writing for the Clown, a Two-Week Workshop) and Yumi Fujitani (The Enigmatic Burlesque Body).

At the start of the academic year, several workshops allow you to develop more specific skills with Elise Ouvrier-Buffet (La Catastroph'initiation), Christine Rossignol-Dallaire (Rythme et Expression, also offered over two weeks), Barthélémy Gueret (Le clown et le prétexte), Hélène Risterucci (La fourbe sincère), Emmanuel Sembely (Les différents types d'humours pour le clown), Éric Druel (L'analyse du jeu clownesque) and Guillaume Thiery (Entrées... Sorties !).

The program continues in November with Ben Rajca (From Play to Clowning), Marianne Le Gall (Clowning in Every Way), Isabelle Garcin (From Sensation to Expression!), Sylvain Devin (Improvisational Clown: The Alchemy of Clown and Improvisation), Céline Lesage (Finding Your Inner Stupidity), Maïa Berling (The Joy of Being on Stage: Laughter, Body, and Emotions), and Léa Roblot (Making Soup with Stones). Finally, the season concludes in December with Thomas Chopin (Physical and Burlesque Theatre) and Istvan Van Heuverzwyn (Clown & Stage Presence Workshop).

The courses alternate between intensive five-day workshops, advanced weekends and two-week cycles, allowing each person to build a personalized path according to their level and artistic objectives.

All training takes place at the Samovar – Theatre-School, located at 65 avenue Pasteur, 93170 Bagnolet (Seine-Saint-Denis, Île-de-France).

Samovar has been Qualiopi certified since July 22, 2020, for continuing professional development courses in "Clown Artist" as well as for Validation of Acquired Experience (VAE). This certification allows, depending on the participant's situation, for financial support from professional training organizations such as AFDAS or OPCOs.

Five-day (30-hour) courses are offered at a price of €460 including VAT, with a reduced rate of €395 including VAT. For company-sponsored courses, the cost is €616 including VAT, plus a €20 registration fee payable by the participant. Weekend (12-hour) courses are offered at €177 including VAT, with a reduced rate of €153 including VAT. For company-sponsored courses, the price is €234 including VAT, plus a €10 registration fee.

Samovar also provides a welcome guide for people with disabilities to participants in order to promote the accessibility of its training courses.

For any information, registration or funding requests, you can contact Mattéo Perrier, educational officer, at 01 43 60 98 08 or by email at formations.lesamovar@gmail.com.

Thanks to the diversity of its speakers, the richness of the themes addressed and its educational standards, Le Samovar is today one of the essential places in France to discover, deepen or perfect the art of clowning, burlesque and physical theatre, in an environment conducive to artistic research, creativity and the development of each performer.

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