Meet the Team

Down to Clown got its start as Clown Party (presented by Clown Gym) in fall 2023. In April 2024, Julia decided to take a well-earned sabbatical from Clown Gym and Rachel started planning for grad school.

Jess, Brooke, and Kevin were having too much fun on those Thursday nights and asked if they could continue the party under a new name. They wanted to keep creating a place for clowns and other artists to share new work, collaborate, take risks, make friends, build community, and just be silly.

Fortunately, the fine folks at Pine Box Rock Shop were on board. And thus, Down to Clown soared out of the Clown Gym nest and into the world! Same clown chaos, same time, same location, just a new name.

  • Brooke Ferris

    BROOKE FERRIS (she/her) is an actress, singer, and clown. She was most recently seen by sold out audiences in her original solo show How to BDSM at PhysFest NYC, directed and co-devised by Rachel Resnik. How to BDSM has also graced the stages of The Hot Festival at Dixon Place, the Eccentric Bear Cabaret, The Idiot’s Hour, and Pine Box Rock Shop.

    Throughout 2023, Brooke performed in A Really Real Serious Play series, created and directed by Rachel Resnik.

    In addition to clowning, Brooke was delighted to be a part of Babel, a communal acrobatic theatrical dance piece off-Broadway at the 14th Street Y. She has performed solo cabaret at the Duplex in Brooke Ferris: On Fire, and with the 4-part harmony group Harmonic Proposal in Enjoy the Journey and I Can’t Even.

    Fun Fact: Brooke played Alpha 5 in the national tour of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, where she wore a wok on her head. Brooke has a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Michigan and is married to insanely hot and talented actor Kevin J. Allen.

    @songstars

  • Jess Ducey

    Jess Ducey (they/them) is a producer, writer, fundraiser, and occasional clown. They are co-chair of the board of National Queer Theater, producer of Edu Diaz's multi-awarded solo clown show A Drag is Born, and operations manager for Yaa Samar! Dance Theatre.

    Jess previously produced for Moxie Arts NYC's 2024 Incubator, toured two queer musicals in rep at Edinburgh Fringe, co-founded and directed Queer AF, Wellington, NZ’s first festival of queer art, and created Unfinished Business, an immersive work in which artists shared works in progress over a dinner party.

    Performance credits: The Idiot’s Hour, queer ballet Sapphic Lake, Naked Girls Reading, and assorted nude installations. Their writing has appeared in Radio NZ, Landfall, and off-Broadway in Primary Stages’ Echoes playwrights fellowship.

    Jess enjoys dinner parties, public transit, books, puppies, cheese, birds, cycling (slowly!), and creating order from chaos.

    @thejduce

  • Kevin J. Allen

    Kevin J. Allen (he/him) is an New York City-based actor, clown and writer. He'll co-star as Principal Isaacs in the upcoming feature film, Fakes, by writer/director John Hayeck.

    Kevin has starred in over a dozen commercials, including spots for J.P. Morgan Chase, Abbott Pharmaceuticals, Samsung and Best Buy.

    Kevin understudied the role of Dad/Obama in the national tour of Jabari Dreams of Freedom. The original play by Nambi E. Kelly was a New York Times Pick on March 31, 2022. In 2021, Kevin played movie star Chris Price in the O’Neill Award Finalist Play, Abigail, by Sarah Tuft

    As a writer, Kevin is a member of the Writers Guild of America, a Black List quarterfinalist & a Big Apple Film Festival semifinalist. When not writing or performing, Kevin teaches Iyengar Yoga to adults & children.

    Kevin has a BA in Government from Dartmouth College and is married to the insanely hot and talented actress/singer Brooke Ferris.

    @kevin.j.allen

  • Francesca Piccioni

    Francesca Piccioni (they/them) is a clown and cycling enthusiast. They studied acting at a now-defunct university (UARTS ‘13!), but would much rather hear about your bike.

    They have clowned around town with Clown Gym, Down To Clown, and The Idiots’ Hour, where you will find them moonlighting as Ched R. Cheese.

    Francesca is the resident tech wizard of Down To Clown and is also available to help your clown show look and sound beautiful. Follow them at @cescapiccioni for cats, clowns, and bike rides.

    @cescapiccioni