A queer-forward series curated by Janice Jo Lee
4th Sunday of the Month @Tranzac Club, Toronto
A short performance followed by a theatrical clown and spoken word poetry workshop. Designed for queers (and committed allies) who are clown-curious. Could be profound, or totally bonkers. Stakes are low, ambitions are high. Dress to move, bring a notebook. Pay What You Can. No Pre-registration. Try to arrive on time. Southern Cross Room, Tranzac, 292 Brunswick Ave, Toronto
Every culture has a tradition of oral storytelling. Contemporary spoken word and slam-style poetry as it is practiced today, comes from a mixed lineage of dub poetry, beat poetry, hip hop culture, rap, theatre, page poetry, and Indigenous storytelling traditions.
Clown is a style of theatrical comedy where the performer is fully embodied, follows their joy, is vulnerable, fully commits to the bit, is not afraid to flop, raises the stakes, and believes in themselves with their whole heart that they are brilliant. Everything is for the audience, to see them, and be seen.
Queers Poets Clowns is a spoken word workshop series with a foundation in clown philosophy.
Each month your queer-poet-clown artist facilitator will take you through a writing prompt, followed by a focus on performance including: stage presence, intonation, voice, rhythm and breath.
Schedule 2025
Sunday May 25 Workshop: Love your Embarrassment With Charlie Petch (they/them)
Join multidisciplinary artist Charlie Petch in a workshop that invites you to look at those things that you've been told to be embarrassed about, and turn them into satirical and comedic spoken word pieces. Charlie will also show you how to use a microphone and really connect with an audience, while making them laugh, and feel seen. There's nothing like comedy to shift power and deliver messages. Moo haha... mooo hahaha... MOOO HAHAHAHA
Bio: Charlie Petch (they/he) is a disabled & transmasculine multidisciplinary artist. Their debut poetry collection, Why I Was Late (Brick Books), won the 2022 ReLit Award, and was named "Best of 2021" by The Walrus. Their next poetry book “Infinite Audition”, is out in Fall 2025 with Brick Books. Petch received a Golden Beret Spoken Word Prize from the League of Canadian Poets. Their play “No one’s special at the hot dog cart” debuted in 2024 with “Theatre Passe Muraille and Public Energy”. They write plays, librettos, poems, and music and perform their work for audiences all over Turtle Island.
Sunday June 22 Workshop: High-Stakes Freak & High-Queer Bouffon Retaliation - With Angelic (they/them)
Are you an unpalatable queer? Aggressive homosexual? Too hairy (or hairless) to be cisgender? Missing a tooth, a heterosexual bone, or a polite dinner party set? In any case… calling all monstrous bouffons, deep freaks, and threatening-homos-in-training for this queer clown bootcamp! In this not family friendly seminar of playing High-Stakes so we can play High-Queer on stage, we will work on finding your freedom in performance, particularly to do things that freak out the audience, and even you (and we know you are… already a freak…so the bar is high).
Bio: Angelic Goldsky is a transmasc artist, poet, and performer whose work blends ritual, clowning, and queer futurism. A former poet-in-residence at Vancouver’s Roundhouse Community Centre (2021), they were shortlisted for the Canadian League of Poets’ Spoken Word Award (2023, 2024) and represented Canada at the international LGBTQ+ showcase in Brussels (2022). Angelic is a founding member of Queer Soul Poets, co-creating GAY ANCESTORS, a clown poetry ritual that premiered at STAND Festival (2024). They’ve opened the Vogue Theatre for Shane Koyczan with their former trio Tiny Tricycle Poets, and performed internationally—from sharing stages with rabbis and politicians to queers and clowns across Turtle Island and Europe, including at Switzerland’s Lila Queer Arts Festival.
Sunday July 27 Workshop: Puns and Wordplay with Anto Chan *special time 2-4pm*
For children ages 8-12 and their guardians
Anto aka Punfucius shares how to create pun jokes or as some call “dad jokes”. He will also guide writing freeform poems involving many ways to play with words including puns, alliteration, and humour. The main theme is wordplay and we will walk out with some hilarious jokes and silly poems! Parents/guardians are invited to participate or take a seat.
Bio: Anto is a Queer HK Chinese-Canadian spoken word performance artist, facilitator, mentor, producer, student and writer. He has toured across Canada and Asia featuring on Hong Kong Comedy Festival, Verses Festival of Words & TO. Poetry Department’s City Block Poetry. He is the founder of the Canada Council funded InnerGenerational and his album of the same name just released during Replay Storytelling Festival 2025. He ran expressive art therapy groups with Queer Art Therapy like “the Art of Masculine” and “Getting Bi+”. His life work centres on expansion, intersectionality, and self-love through the page, stage and community. Anto has taught children and youth for 18 years.
Sunday August 24 Workshop: Satire Beyond Sarcasm with Janice Jo Lee.
For Teens Ages 13-17 Parents/guardians are invited to participate or take a seat.
Satire is the art of mockery. Tear down the thing you can’t stand by becoming that thing. Illustrate the hypocrisy by saying what they would say. Combine your writing with clown spirit by infusing the performance with enthusiasm and earnestness. This is a performance style different from sarcasm, which indicates disdain. Through clown technique, performers will learn how to reach audiences’ hearts.
Bio: Janice Jo Lee (she/they) is a queer folk musician, spoken word poet, theatre maker, sound designer and arts educator born and based in Toronto. She has released three albums of music, two poetry chapbooks, and has composed music and sound for two musicals and five stage plays. She has featured at poetry slams and festivals across Canada. She has recently been published in Poetry in Place, an anthology of environmental hope poems. Janice founded and directed the Kitchener-Waterloo Poetry Slam from 2011-2017 and has worked as a youth arts educator for 15 years. Janice directs Play Play Clown Theatre, tours with her band and works as the DEIA Coordinator for Folk Alliance International. janicejolee.ca @janjolee
Sunday September 28 - Spoken Word and Clown Open Mic
All participants are invited back to perform. This event is open to everyone.
