Philippe Gaulier is the 80-year-old French master clown and founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a clown school in Étampes, about an hour outside of Paris.But, as Luxe told ABC podcast Days Like These: "I was hearing very mixed things. I remember someone in the improv community was like, 'Oh, you shouldn't go there. There was a girl we knew who went there, and she came back and her performance was even worse than before.
But, she adds: "If you do something well, he'll tell you. Good things are rewarded, but the good things are not so common.""The things that he says that are really harsh are important," Luxe insists. Walker initially went to Gaulier's school for a one-month summer intensive, but returned to do the two-year course in 2014.
Walker says this makes it crystal clear to the performer what isn't working — a different approach to most comedy and improv courses, which emphasise positivity and praise. Clown school isn't cheap either. The 2024/2025 year-long program costs $13,875, and students also have to pay for rent and food."There's no way I would have gone without parents who were able and willing to bankroll me there," Walker admits.Randa Sayed, a writer and actor from Western Sydney, was funded by Create NSW to complete a number of short courses at Gaulier's school in 2019.
"He said to me, 'When you feel that you're in danger, stay free on stage, stay in your joy, keep performing and be strong' … that's something that I have always needed to hear because, especially in the climate we're in right now, as an Arab woman standing on a stage, I don't feel that safe."
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