Conversations with Chad Damiani

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chad Damiani

Hi Chad, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This is a question I get a lot.

How does someone become known as The Clown Boss?

A peculiar thing happens by the time you turn 64 years old. People can’t seem to grasp that you were ever young and foolish. All they see is the sum of your victories and losses. A student once wrote I was “the single most important voice in modern avant-garde comedy.” Another told me I was “the only clown with the courage to take comedy seriously.” Embarrassingly high praise.

But I’m not focused on the product I create. Process is what makes an artist. The second you rest on your laurels, the thing you created begins to rot and decay.

You don’t have to die to be reincarnated. I’ve lived a dozen different lives. Some unimaginable successes. But many more devastating failures. I’ve been a pro wrestling announcer. A screenwriter. Dancer. Teacher. Ranch hand. Carnival barker. I helped launch the very first attempt at a streaming network – in 1996. Sometimes, you’re so ahead of the curve, you’re actually behind it.

Eventually, I found clown work. I sold all my worldly belongings and flew overseas to study with true masters. I graduated from the most prestigious clown conservatory in Europe and became the only student to ever finish their six year program in four.

And, honestly, the rest is a blur. In the best and most beautiful way. Decade after decade of finding my truth on-stage. Standing ovations. Damning silence. Let me tell you the secret to being timeless. Always generate new and innovative work. But always have the same goal.

To create art that defies logic and disrupts reality.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Here’s the thing about smooth roads. You can go so fast that your feet disappear underneath you. You scramble, slide and land face-first – still being driven forward by unearned momentum. All the world sees is that you are miles ahead of everyone, not realizing your body and will have already been broken.

When you try to create something fresh and original, you make a thousand wrong choices before it finds its audience.

Easy answers are the result of uninspired questions.

But that doesn’t mean it feels good to bomb. The first stage is usually outright rejection. I was told I was too fringe for fringe. Ugly. Nonsensical. Distasteful. I’ve been yelled at, spit on and nearly hit by an Oldsmobile station wagon. One time, I walked an entire crowd in the first three minutes of a show and had to be escorted to my hotel. I’ve bared my soul to cackles and had jokes met with wails and tears.

Give it time. You’ll start to attract people who feel disconnected and overlooked. Some will be overly complimentary. They’ll say you’re brilliant. Transformative. A lighthouse of hope in a fog of mediocrity. What can you even say when someone says you’re easy to look at, but hard to face? If you’re in the right headspace, it will all feel awkward and embarrassing. I did read a comment once for my show STAND UP AND CLOWN that I really loved. This show is a shocking, one-of-a-kind spectacle. Cruel and unusual – but far from a punishment.” Ha. So good. I wish I’d come up with that!

Once the positive reinforcement comes, the backlash isn’t far behind. Haters pick on the weakest and the strongest. You just have to continue to believe in your vision – even if you know, at some point, you will be wrong. If you see the journey as the most fulfilling part, you have nothing to lose.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a clown master who performs and teaches around the world.

I don’t know who gave me the moniker The Clown Boss, but it stuck. This is a common clown term, referring to the clown with the greatest knowledge and highest authority. I am widely considered one of the architects of LA’s modern clown scene. Modern clowning is hard to define, but the short answer is that it doesn’t require makeup or red noses. It’s all about creating a unique connection with the audience through risk, foolishness, authenticity and mischief.

Over the years, I’ve done pretty much everything. But I’m best known for my hit monthly show STAND UP AND CLOWN, where I direct well-known comics through their first clown show. Last Mondays, 930pm, at The Elysian. I also host the only modern clown podcast in existence, which shares the same name (on Apple Podcasts and Spotify).

There are a ton of great clowns in LA. I’ve worked with many of them and created some inspiring work. But there’s a good reason I have comics do my show — many of whom who’ve never done any clowning. It’s because stand-up is the laziest and most unimaginative form of live comedy to ever exist.

Comedy clubs are the purest form of capitalism. They gouge you on parking, admission, and two drink minimums. They need you to be a little tipsy, so you don’t complain about being crammed into a dark room. Like cows at a factory farm. They don’t do that just to make more money. It’s psychological warfare. A way to break a crowd’s will, so they are complacent and grateful for anything resembling entertainment.

My show STAND UP AND CLOWN happens at a real theater. And I don’t coerce audiences to laugh at garbage.

I empower them.

The Clown Boss does more than orchestrate the chaos. He gives a voice to the voiceless. He speaks the truth, no matter how wicked and ruthless. He lets the audience know their worth. Only their approval can save the show, but with that power comes great responsibility. It’s an emotional rollercoaster – equal parts comic brilliance and genuine catastrophe. The Clown Boss is a villain who proves to be the hero that comedy desperately needs.

That’s the experience we’re chasing with every show.

Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
I don’t usually give interviews. Not only about clown work, but also my contributions to building the LA clown community and my tireless commitment to inclusion and allyship. Don’t talk. Do. That’s how I work.

But if this interview even reaches one person, then it was time well spent.

If you are an audience member who wants to experience visceral joy at a show, seek us out.

And if you want to know what it’s like to truly be seen on stage, take a class.

I’m the best teacher in LA, but my colleagues are better than most. Find out what happens when you let go of all your defenses and protections. Clown is about playing from the most genuine and flawed part of ourselves. It’s intense and terrifying and satisfying in a way that cannot be described.

Oh, and just a reminder, I have a podcast. STAND UP AND CLOWN. On Apple podcasts and Spotify.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/chad.damiani
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechaddamiani/
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stand-up-and-clown/id1646507210

Image Credits
Jill Petracek
Matt Miner
Greg Feiner
Luke Dellorso