CLOWN & CREATOR
HEYwire is a Physical Theatre Company created by Lauren Brady.
HEYwire Theatre examines the human experience through clown and physical theatre. HEYwire is known for its combination of dance and clown in creating a fresh look of physical theatre that invites the audience to connect and experience a private world with them. HEYwire combines projection, sound, light and comedy in one surreal theatrical experience where it is safe to explore the unspeakable.
We are all in this world living the “human experience,” but we are constantly being separated from each other through social media, technology and fear. HEYwire is fascinated by the human tendency to repress important issues due to fear of rejection or self. Fear can is an incredible vessel for story and teachings, so HEYwire creates work surrounding ominous topics and dissects them through comedy to make the undesirable content more palatable through laughter.
HEYwire is led by Lauren Brady, an award-winning clown artist in Edmonton, Alberta. She is trained in Baby Clown, Neo-Bouffon, Bouffon, and Neutral Mask. Brady began her journey in dance and then ventured into acting, where she trained at the BFA in Acting program at the University of Alberta until Brady found her footing in physical theatre through training with Jan Henderson studying Neutral Mask and Michael Kennard studying Pochinko Clown. Since then, she has continued to pursue clowning through Michael Kennard’s mentorship and explores physical theatre with Denise Clark through One Yellow Rabbit’s BYA Ensemble.
In 2021 Brady received a Canada Council Grant to pursue clown training with John Turner, Karen Hines, and Michael Kennard (The team of Mump & Smoot). In 2022 she came from One North Clown & Creation, where she studied with John Turner.
As a creator, Brady is fascinated by exploring how emotional impulses can be expressed through the body to further storytelling. Her creation process combines devised theatre practice, clown, and dance techniques. Lauren is known for her work combining contemporary dance and Pochinko clown.
Brady has done various works in festivals across Canada, including High-Performance Rodeo, Skirts a Fire, Play The Fool, Vancouver FORM Festival, The Nextfest Festival, Fluid Festival, The Common Clown Festival, Ottawa Fringe Festival, Edmonton Fringe Festival.
PRESS KITS
Selected clown & Creation credits
OWEaDEBT
★★★★★ –“DEEPLY LAYERED AND CONFRONTING” – The LIST UK
“STRIKING PEICE OF THEATRE” – GLAM ADELAIDE
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Director & Designer – Meegan Sweet
Coach – Micheal Kennard
Sound – Autumn Strom
★★★★★ Award winning clown
Do you believe in true love? Listen and play along with Odette, a chain-smoking half-swan, half-human creature stuck in limbo looking for someone to give her an undying vow of love to set her free. Come to a love story you will not forget where anyone can break her curse, maybe even you…
Special thanks to the creative team of Mump & Smoot, and Meegan Sweet.
“A huge talent” – Edmonton Journal
“Spot on comedy” – APT613
Workshop Presented– HEYwire Theatre – Old Strathcona Performing Arts Centre 2023
Video of performance can be shared upon request
@interWEBBED
★★★★★ –“Huge talent” – Edmonton Journal
“MUST SEE SHOW… SPOT ON COMEDY” – APT613 MAGAZINE
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Director – Michael Kennard
Coach – Karen Hines
Stage Manager – Zac Strom
History– Edmonton Fringe August 17th – 27th
Ottawa Fringe June 15th – 25th
Workshop Showing – HEYwire Theatre – Backstage Theatre
Workshop Showing – Nextfest Festival 2022
Special Thanks to Mump & Smoot, Karen Hines, and Canada Council & Edmonton Arts Council for their support.
@interWEBBED is a solo mixed media clown show exploring society’s relationship with social media. The show follows Ted BAMO, a clown discovering the fantastical new online world where “likes” are a currency for self-worth and desire. As Ted strives to get more likes, we watch it tackle the need for online popularity, cancel culture, influencers, and much more. Will Ted survive in this new world or get consumed by it?
Video of performance can be shared upon request.
onPOINT
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Coach – Christine Lesiak
Presented– Play the Fool – Rookie Cabaret
onPOINT is a reimagining of the classic ballet Swan Lake through clown and classical ballet. Lauren uses the themes of Swan Lake to outline gender stereotypes still placed on women in society today.
Watch Odette re-discover her story and reminisce on the good old days. Will Odette remember her story and find true love, or get further lost in her disillusions?
Video of performance can be shared upon request.
MediaTAKEover
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Coach – Karen Hines
Presented– Skirts a Fire Festival 2023 & Common Clown Festival 2022
MediaTAKEover is a solo mixed media Neo Bouffon show exploring the dangers of influencer culture. Come and meet Teddy in #IRL where she shares the most up and coming skincare routines, encourages self-care, and dishes about all of the recent tea.
Video of performance can be shared upon request.
Cut the cake or take the cut cake.
Strobe Warning
Director & Editor – Thomas Kassian
Choreographer & Writer – Lauren Brady
Sue: Lauren Brady
Office Workers: Candice Holloway, Hamna Tahir, Roxie Malone, Brynn Kassian, Douglas Macdonald, Gavin Wilkes
Production Assistant: Zachary Strom
Colourist: Cameron McCutcheon
Special thanks to: Vertical City and Creative Cottage
A LighT film production featuring HEYwire.
Presented – Vancouver FORM Film Festival
http://www.f-o-r-m.ca/2022-schedule/2022/10/17/commissioned-artists-world-premieres-live-artist-talkback
What will Sue do when she is overcome with anxiety as she meets the ultimate dilemma at the office birthday party? Will she just cut the cake? Or take the cut cake and RUN.
Video can be shared upon request.
BREAKing up
Created, Edited & Performed – Lauren Brady
Filmed -Thomas Kassian
We live in an ever-changing world where the only way we can stay connected to our friends, family, and loved ones are through our devices.How do our devices affect our mentality? BREAKing up explores the themes of technology and separation anxiety attached to our devices and applications.
BREAKing up is a performance created with Pochinko clown and contemporary dance
LOST IN CONNECTION – FLUID FEST
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Sharing our thoughts and feelings through the internet have never been easier. But are our words always perceived as we intended?
theBYSTANDER
Created & Directed – Lauren Brady
Staring – Max Hanic, Zach Strom, Julia van Dam, Thomas Kassian
(A covid creation) – What is the actual relationship between audience and performer? Who is truly witnessing the events? Is it the audience watching the performer and reacting, or is it the performer witnessing the reactions to their work while provoking the audience? Or is it something in between? theBYSTANDER experiments with the relationship between audience and performer by combining Pochinko clown and contemporary dance practice to see how far we can stretch the boundaries between audience and performer in dance theatre.
Eat It
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady & Joseph McManus
Awards – Finalist/Play the Fool Official Selection
Edited – Lauren Brady
(Covid Creation) “An arrogant clown learns the importance of following the rules… or does he?”
do not DISTURB – Play The Fool 2020
Created & Performed – Lauren Brady
Award – Fools Gold Award
Filmed – Thomas Kassian
“In a world that doesn’t make a lot of sense, ted try’s his best to get lost in work and distract himself from reality.”