Help Wanted

Help Wanted is a clown, mime, and shadow play inspired by real-life immigration stories and every clown’s fantasy of joining the circus. Through physical theater, the piece explores searching and failure, interspecies friendship, transformation, and belonging—tracing a journey toward finding a place to call home.

Running from La Migra, an exuberant and determined Reynato spots a HELP WANTED sign hanging from the side of a big top and slips inside, setting his epic in motion. He encounters a cast of misfits: Guido, a clown boss who saves him; a strongman with a fragile ego; a showgirl with an unrelenting John; a high-wire walker with a drinking problem; and other curious sideshow characters. Beneath the big top, Reynato tumbles into fantasy, bonding him to circus life in an exchange that sends him on a search to find himself and his place on the stage.

About the Artist

Flying along the edges of the world, Carmen Aguilar y Wedge (Whoopsie) is a designer, artist, and physical theater maker.

After a decade navigating the serious terrain of contemporary art and academia, Carmen tumbled headfirst into the playful, subversive world of clown in 2019—and has taken funny seriously ever since. A devoted clown enthusiast and amateur historian, she channels the lineage of tricksters through her own body and stories on stage.

In 2022, Carmen began an intensive study of physical theater, including improvisation, mime, clown, and buffoon. Her training spans a wide range of teachers, including Holly Stoppit, Dan Griffiths, Eric Wilcox, Michele Matlock, Hillary Chaplin, James Donlon, Bill Irwin, Skylar Sullivan, Daniel Orrantia, Paula Malik, Dean Evans, and Diana Bolaño.

Her solo show Help Wanted debuted in 2024 to three sold out audiences garnering multiple standing ovations and was awarded Best New Flop at the Church of Clown’s Flop Festival. Carmen is a proud company member of Church of Clown and performs with Fou Fou Ha and Pinecones & Portals. A regular at Church of Clown and on the street, she has also taken the stage at Oregon Country Fair, Burning Man, All Out Comedy, Jokeland, and most recently Coho’s Clownfest in Portland.

Whoopsie is an accident and a miracle at the same time—perpetually in search of Daisy, play, and anything that stretches her imagination. She harbors a deep affection for moths, oversized clothes, benevolent mischief, and blurting things out before they’re fully formed. Oops!
Help Wanted
churchofclown.org

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Host or Publisher The Lyric Hyperion