I Made This For You is a silent film meets theatrical clown show that explores the vulnerability of putting yourself out there, and the resilience to try, and try, and try again, reminding us that connection is often found in unexpected places.
Production Photos
What’s it about?
A lonely Clown hires Hildegaard, a witchy matchmaker, who matches the Clown with potential dates from her meticulously curated client list.
Starring queer theater artist Carmen Nikae, the Clown interacts directly with the Pooblic (audience) to help her decide which dates to go on. Silent films, projected behind the live Clown on stage, show us what’s happening simultaneously elsewhere while we see the live Clown navigate the familiar human dilemma of modern dating.
Throughout the show, the Clown engages the Pooblic in real time but then exits the stage and enters the screen to play all the characters in the silent short films that tell the story of each date the Clown goes on.
Directed by Alyson Schacherer, this story of a Clown searching for connection is a meditation on love, queerness, gender, vulnerability and resilience revealing that deep seriousness and deep playfulness are in fact closely related.
CREATIVE TEAM
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CARMEN NIKAE
ACTOR/CREATOR
A bi-coastal actor, writer, and clown, Carmen began creating silent, black and white films in lockdown and discovered such pleasure in telling short stories in this medium. She’s so lucky to have such an incredible collaborator in Alyson and hopes to have many more collaborations in the future! You can watch her shorts on her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@carmennikae.
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ALYSON SCHACHERER
DIRECTOR/CREATOR
See her in the upcoming HBO series FULL CIRCLE and the Amazon feature SPACE CADET. This is her and Carmen’s 3rd collaboration; previously they created clown show at the Central Park Zoo and Alyson directed Carmen in Gruesome Playground Injuries at The Barrow Group. She’s also an auctioneer and makes t-shirts that say “I love you” on them. www.Alyson-Schacherer.com
Creative Statement
Theatrical Clown is about vulnerability and resilience, simple presence, and finding pleasure. I Made This For You is an exploration of these themes revealing that deep seriousness and deep playfulness are in fact closely related. We see the clown try something and it doesn’t work (vulnerability), but she uses her curiosity, simple presence, and pursuit of pleasure to try again in another way (resilience). The silent film aspect allows the story to be told through simple presence – the clown as well as the audience cannot rely on words and must instead exist in and respond to the present moment.
Creative Supporters
Patreon Patrons:
Andrew Kim, Ashley DiGiori, Brittany Scott, Christine Campbell, Dan DeCarlo, Eric Paeper, Keaton Morris-Stan, Tamra Jones, River Lin
Artistic Assistance:
The Barrow Group, Christine Cirker, Lee Brock, FAB Women, Arielle Beth Klein, Ally Bortolazzo, Amber Doerr
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