Coventry and Kaluza Elevate the Art of Clowning at PA Art Center

While the duo of Natasha Kaluza and Jamie Coventry will be clowning around, juggling, and performing acrobatics during the Circus Family Day at the Art Center on October 21, they take their craft very seriously.

“We think of it as a sacred calling,” says Natasha who attended the prestigious Clown Conservatory in San Francisco with husband Jamie. “It’s an important job to bring joy and laughter to people, and we want to be sincere in our efforts to be uplifting.”

Jamie adds, “We think of it as an art form.”

For their act, known as Coventry & Kaluza, Natasha and Jamie engage in acrobatics, juggling, hula hooping, physical comedy, musical comedy, and audience participation.

Before they met, Natasha says they both had office jobs and neither one enjoyed what they were doing and wanted to hone their acting skills. They met during their time at the Clown Conservatory in 2002, formed a working partnership as a performing duo, and got married in 2008.

“During our wedding, we exchanged noses,” says Natasha. “We were going to pie each other at the end of the ceremony, but instead pied the guy who married us.”

Both Natasha and Jamie say that their friends and families were generally supportive of their decision to enter the world of clowning. Natasha says that her family was excited about her career decision because she’s always been interested in the theatre.

Jamie received a slightly different reaction.

“My family was supportive because I ‘found’ myself,” he says. “But some of my friends were questioning my choice and saying, ‘So you’re a clown—make me laugh.’”

Natasha points out that the art of clowning has changed throughout the years, based on our culture. “I think a good clown can not only do the classics, but will respond to the zeitgeist of cultural change,” she says.

The physicality of their act can also be daunting. Natasha says that during the course of her clowning career, she has suffered back, neck, foot, and wrist injuries.

“Physical upkeep is important,” says Jamie. “We definitely work towards keeping ourselves healthy, and we do a lot of yoga.”

Coventry & Kaluza typically travel throughout the Bay Area to perform for audiences, including charitable shows at convalescent homes. They also work through Bread and Roses, a group that provides free entertainment to underserved communities.

They have also performed on an international stage in Japan, which they found to be an interesting experience.

“It was difficult to communicate verbally,” says Natasha. “And it was during the winter when we were there, so everyone in the audience was wearing gloves and we couldn’t hear them clap. But we knew they liked our act because afterwards everyone wanted to have their picture taken with us.”

Both Jamie and Natasha are also interested in changing people’s perception of clowns.

“We want people to know that we’re not the scary kind of clowns, with painted faces and bright orange hair,” says Jamie. “We’re more like the Charley Chaplain type of clown.” Natasha adds, “We think of the clown as the ultimate actor who can do a wide variety of things.”

Performing on a large stage where they are unable to see their audience can also be a challenge, says Natasha.

“It helps to be able to see the audience because making a connection is what clowning is all about—being in that space at that time with those people,” she says. “It’s magical because there is no fourth wall.”

Circus Family Day will take place at the Palo Alto Art Center on Sunday, October 21, from 2-4:30 p.m. Coventry & Kaluza will close out the event, performing from 4-4:30 p.m. For more information, go here.