Jan_Feb_1997

January/February, 1997
Meet the Artists
Danny "Lanky" Kollaja has been clowning for two
decades , after a modest start. Says Danny: "Lanky was
created solely for the purpose of a High School variety
show. A clown in the audience noticed something in my
performance and invited me to an alley meeting; the rest
just has been evolutionary."
Through the succeeding years, Lanky has performed
internationally, earning Top Ten honors in both state and
national competitions. He has been conducting clown
classes annually at his local community college.
Lanky performs for restaurants , fairs, picnics and the
frequent birthday party. He has led two clown troupes on
working tours of Russia, and has served on the COAi Board
of Directors.
Danny teaches on a personal level and instructs on a
variety of subjects.
He can be reached at 4221 Winters, Corpus
Christi, TX 78415-5156. P. (512) 852-5696.
'Half Pint'
Lori "Half Pint" Hurley brings a decade of performance and teaching to
her appointment as a CAIR. She began performing singing telegrams and
birthday parties in 1986, and a year later attended the Ringling Bros. and
Barnum & Bailey Clown College. In 1989 she toured with RBB&B through
Japan, then returned to New Mexico to finish her BFA degree in music
theater and to pursue her clowning business.
In 1992 she moved to Minnesota to work for a professional children's
theater company, and began performing regularly as a clown in addition to her
full-time job. She now clowns full time, performing (with her husband) some
150 events a year and an additional 100 or more performances solo, reaching
over 25,000 children and adults.
She has conducted clowning workshops for numerous groups, and has
been teaching complete clowning curricula since 1990 to children and adults
ranging from 4 to 84 years of age. Among her subjects: Beginning and
advanced makeup, beginning juggling , beginning unicycling, improvisation,
nose-making , dealing with children's fear, creating clown routines, physical
comedy , team building, starting a clown business, creating a character, and
clown movement.
16 The New Calliope
Lori can be reached at 139 Congress St. E., St. Paul, MN
55107. Ph. (612) 298-1909. Fax: (612) 225-5674. emall:
clowns@slmplycom.net