2022 Lecturers

HEADLINER:  Karen Hoyer:  Mime and Movement Specialist…Clown, Mask, Puppetry Design and Creation…but… Dot’s Not All!

With extensive and on-going training in mime and clown, Karen Hoyer is a physical theater artist grounded in exploring the expressive body as an instrument of storytelling and empathetic communication. She’s toured and taught in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States, sharing her original take on the arts of mime, clown, puppetry, mask, music, and movement. Her shows have been featured in several festivals and her teaching credits include Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and Mooseburger Clown Arts. For the past 23 years she’s visited hospitals as Dr. Dot, currently as the Chief Bonehead for Healthy Humor at La Rabida Children’s Hospital. She creates and performs original puppet shows with KFC Puppet Partners and tours nursing homes with Vaudeville Chicago. With James Donlon she interviews notables of the mime world on The Mime Radio Show Podcast. She lives in Chicago with her husband Richard and her two wonderful children, Jackson and Geneva.  See: https://www.karenhoyer.com/ and https://www.youtube.com/karenhoyer

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Brittany “Zoē” Allen began her journey in clowning in 2007 as a camper at Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp, as part of her goal to become a clown working with sick children and children in need. She returned to Camp year after year, adding skills like magic, balloons, puppets and caring clowning. Zoē has been on two mission trips to India and has been working as a hospital clown at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas, using the healing power of laughter since 2009. Brittany is on staff at Mooseburger Clown Arts Camp in Minnesota, where her infectious energy and positive attitude help inspire and motivate clowns. In addition to her adventures in clowning, Brittany has a graphic design company where she works with corporate clients to create marketing pieces that help them stand out in a crowded marketplace, as well as a smaller branch called Red Nose Design where she helps Clowns with their marketing.  Brittany currently lives in Florida (formerly in Texas).

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Norm Barnhart, (Norman the Clown), began clowning when he was 16, working as a clown in a local restaurant, entertaining with magic and balloon twisting. Eventually he turned this into a ‘real job’ and he began touring doing school assembly shows.  He did 13-16 shows and drove about 700 miles per week.  He has performed in 50 states and 16 countries (including the U S).  He has performed at the Minnesota State Fair (twelve times) and Knott’s Camp Snoopy (12 times), Lecturer – Performer at Clown Camp, La Crosse, Wisconsin (9 times) and also as a featured performer at Clown Camp in Singapore, Paul Bunyan Amusement Park (12 summers) and lots of churches, schools, malls, fairs, and more.  He was a clown/magician on the TV show:  The Solid Rock Kid’s Café (still on cable and satellite in various places).  He was named Clown of The Year for 2007-2008 by Clowning Around magazine.  He recently received the WCA Lifetime Achievement Award.  Norm loves to make people laugh!   Learn more about Norm on his website https://aces-show.biz/normantheclown

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Becky Deltenre graduated from the Cheerful Clown Alley Clown School in 1996 as Skeeter the Clown.   Since then, she served in various Board positions for Cheerful Clown Alley.  Skeeter clowns at churches, mission trips, festivals, fairs, picnics, corporate work, schools and at home parties.  She has performed in Michigan, Oregon, Washington and all over the state of Texas.  She also clowned on 3 mission trips to Haiti and 7 trips to Panama.  She is proficient in balloon twisting, face painting, party and picnic games, bubble parties and balloon décor and she is also a DJ.   She has won numerous awards at TCA and COAI Conventions and is a recipient of the Whispers Lifetime Achievement Award from Cheerful Clown Alley.  She was the Best All-Around Clown at TCA for 2 years and has earned COAI’s Clowning in Excellence Award.  Becky currently is married and lives in Spring, Texas.    

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Roly Gutierrez is from Houston, TX.  He learned to ride a unicycle at the age of 10 and learned to juggle when he was 16.  He graduated from the Cheerful Clown Alley #166 Clown School in 1991.  He has been a full-time juggler, clown and DJ since 1996 working in the Greater Houston area for birthday parties, schools, daycare centers, churches, festivals, etc. 

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Dr. Larry Hipps has spent all of his adult life working in a local church – churches of all sizes, from small churches running a hundred to a mega-church with 4,000+ in attendance. He has a wealth of information that he uses to help churches reach kids and their parents for Christ. You will find Larry funny, warm, energizing, interactive, and practical.  Larry has been in the Children’s Ministry for over 40 years, he combines old school with the latest methods to provide training that you cannot get anywhere else. Larry heads the Bring Them In Ministries, which he has for 40+ years and has spoken in Revivals, Bus and Children’s Church Conferences and Church Growth Seminars by invitation in 36 states, Canada, Mexico and South Africa. He is the past president of the International Bus Ministry Association and the author of several books, including the BTI Children’s Church Lessons, the BTI Bus Director’s Manual, and the BTI Bus Captain’s Handbook.

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Aurora Krause has been performing as “Bebop” since 1995.   She was a Banker for 34 years and retired as Sr. Vice President of a local San Antonio bank in 2009 to pursue her passion in clowning.  She is a Past-President of the World Clown Association (2010-2011) and served as WCA Education Director (2015-2016).  She has been an instructor and performer throughout the United States and also the UK, Mexico, Thailand, Canada and Malaysia. Locally Bebop has performed at schools, birthday parties, festivals, hospitals, nursing homes, shelters, churches and prisons.  She also conducts her own Clown Alley workshops; “Spotlight on Clowning” which offers education on general clown topics and a second workshop; “Open Heart Clowning: A Caring Clown Workshop” focused on the work of a Caring Clown.  Both workshops offer education and entertainment for those ready ‘to-clown’. She is an award-winning clown, among notable awards are: ‘2006 Texas Ambassador of Clowning’ from the Texas Clown Assn. and ‘2002-All Around Clown’ and ‘2009-Clown of the Year’ from the World Clown Assn.  Her goal as an instructor is to teach and inspire those wearing the red-nose to clown from the heart, always honoring and giving credibility to the ‘Art of Clowning’.  To learn more about Bebop, go to:  www.bebopsworld.com

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Brenda Marshall lives in Texas and has been wearing a red nose and performing as “Flower” around the world since 1981. From Spain to Singapore, and many points in between, she has shared laughter at birthday parties, nursing homes, hospitals, orphanages, churches and on street corners.  She loves sharing the art of clowning with anyone who will listen! 

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Donna Mathews has been a professional clown since 1994, with the persona of “Sweetie”.  She is a graduate of the Cheerful Clown Alley Clown School.  She has found clowning to be transformative in many ways; it has reduced her stress level and it has become her true passion in life to make people happy.  Her main mission with clowning is volunteering, however she does paid work as well.  She became a Certified Laughter Yoga instructor in 2019 and says: “it has been an amazing journey”. 

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Diana McCurtain-Talbert and her cheerful clown character “Buttons” have been clowning for over 16 years.  She clowns at nursing homes, hospitals, prisons, family gatherings, festivals and birthday parties.  She discovered early on that education was the key to growing her clowning potential. She now enjoys sharing what she has learned with others.  Diana likes to consider herself a jack of all trades.  She has competed, won and judged competitions at State and World levels. Diana also has a strong background in art and design.  She is a Past President of the TCA, has been the TCA convention photographer a few times, and has also combined this hobby with graphic and web design.   Diana lives in San Antonio, TX. 

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Phil Nichols is also known as “Otto” the Clown.  He is a Master Ventriloquist.  He is also a member of Cheerful Clown Alley #166 in Houston, TX.  He performs shows for all kinds of audiences by his favorite audiences are kids and seniors.  He also enjoys Vacation Bible School and Church group shows.  He is currently the King’s Ventriloquist at the annual Texas Renaissance Festival, and has been working there for 5 seasons and will be returning for more seasons.  He is also the Queen’s Ventriloquist at Dickens on the Strand in Galveston Texas.  He was a featured cameo in the Houston Auditions of season 14 of America’s Got Talent.  His photos hang on the walls of fame galleries at the Vent Haven Museum in Fort Mitchell Kentucky. Vent Haven is the only museum devoted solely to Ventriloquism.  Additionally, he is a magician and often does a combined show of magic and ventriloquism in an Old Time Medicine Show.  He was a movie, TV, theatre special effects man for over 27 years and retired from that work in 2015 to go into full time ventriloquism.  He builds all of his own dummies.  He ties to honor God in every show he performs.  He tries to make people, smile, laugh or groan with a bit of this ancient and venerable art. It is his way of making them forget the cares of the day for a moment.

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Jean Pirtle has been “KitCat” the Clown and a member of Cheerful Clown Alley #166 in Houston, TX since 2001.  She currently serves on the Cheerful Board of Directors as the Gig Coordinator and is also the current leader of the Kitchen Band.  She also is the Editor for the newsletter of the Greater Houston Puppetry Guild. 

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Red Nose Readers (RNR), Instructor:  Jane Kinney attended Mooseburger Clown Camp for the first time in 2009. She arrived as Mrs. Kinney, first grade teacher and departed as Ladybug the Clown, first grade teacher! Upon returning home she began weekly visits to senior care facilities to offer a moment of joy, delight, tenderness, and comfort to residents, their families, and staff, through humor, loving kindness, and a playful presence. She also began the Silly Nilly Clown Club in her school for 4th and 5th graders to learn the art of clowning. For the next six years the group entertained in Senior Care Facilities and their school. Ladybug continued to attend Moose Camp summer after summer and upon her retirement from teaching, she added Caring Clown visits at UW Children’s Hospital in Madison, and holiday shows at Senior and Memory Care Centers. Still having the teaching bug in her, Ladybug began performing shows on Fire Safety, Kindness, and Read Across America in schools to bring smiles and laughter to children of all ages. Her entertaining programs encourage and educate using humor, music, puppets, whimsical magic, and storytelling. When Pricilla introduced Red Nose Readers in 2019, Jane joyously jumped on board and continues to share the wonderful world of clowning, literacy, and kindness with kids everywhere.

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Teri Stokes is a certified balloon artist from Kingwood, Texas with over 20 years of experience.  She is an international award-winning balloon artist, a face painter, a professional balloon instructor for Qualatex Balloons and a professional clown (Happy Heart).  Teri won “Best All-Around Clown” at TCA and she loves traveling, friends, competing and transforming a room with her art.