COVID has forced many new realities on everyone, not least a clown who can no longer perform routines that are suddenly in the “too dangerous for the public” arena. This show explores how we find humor and humanity in the face of catastrophe.

“At the outset of COVID, I immediately realized that my previous show, ‘King Pong,’ was no longer a viable public performance,” explains performer Michael Trautman. “The idea of spitting ping pong balls all over a theater, and into and at an audience—not to mention having 1,000 ping pong balls scattered about the stage—seems to be as dangerous as any kind of show one could experience. I believe that my response to my own personal dilemma has relevance for everyone in how we move forward in this, ‘new normal.’”

The creation of “Death of a Clown” was funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.