Each class is limited to 14 students.

Craft a mime piece from scratch! Designed as a Level 2 to the intro class "Physical Storytelling" with Broken Box Mime, this next-level class will continue the exploration of contemporary mime as a storytelling form. What stories can the body tell, when words, props, costume pieces, and sets are stripped away? What can the limitlessness of the audience's imagination teach us about communication? Students will develop a brief comedic mime piece over the course of the class, integrating multiple rounds of brainstorming, writing, and feedback, all in embodied practice.

Prerequisite: Physical Storytelling course at BCC, prior workshop with Broken Box Mime, or prior experience in mime.

5-Week Class: Tuesdays, 6:00 PM -9:00 PM, September 8th - October 13th, 2026

• This class skips Tuesday, September 22nd.

• This class may end between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM depending on enrollment.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

• Class Show: 8:30p. Friday, October 16th. Eris MainStage (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Becky Baumwoll

Bio:

This course will be taught by a member of BKBX. Broken Box Mime Theater (BKBX) is a collaborative theater company that performs original work entirely through movement. Our mission is to activate the imaginations of our audiences, contemporize the art of mime, and remind us all of the power of simple storytelling. Based in Brooklyn and founded in 2011, our version of “mime, redefined” blends techniques of French pantomime, cinema, performance art, and contemporary theater. The artists who call BKBX their artistic home believe in making innovative, provocative theater that erases the spoken language barrier and champions the power of simplicity in performance. 

Photo by Bjorn Bolinder

Student Testimonials:

Becky made everyone feel welcome and empowered to improve.

Becky was absolutely fantastic in every way!

Becky taught us so many tools and tricks to story telling through physical movement, while also being so fun and supportive!

Becky is such an incredible teacher! Too many strengths to pick one, but a couple that stand out are her unbridled enthusiasm for mime and her capacity to share that with others. She taught us that mime is grounded in trust between the audience and performer, and she brought that same ethos to class. She's the rare teacher who realizes that how you teach has a bigger impact than what you teach, and it's refreshing to be in an education space that starts from a foundation of embracing that we all learn in different ways, and that's great! There's a curiosity to Becky's teaching that's really encouraging - asking students what we want from the class, and adapting her style and lessons to suit us. Class felt like a team effort to learn and discover together. Despite her obvious deep knowledge of the subject, Becky's was still very clearly also interested in our experience and ideas - it made for a fantastic environment for creating and sharing work. Her obvious joy when something clicked for us was infectious. It's a welcome change from traditional education models where an 'expert' relays knowledge to students. Everything about her teaching style makes it clear she's as eager to keep learning and exploring as we are - no gatekeeping in site. Honestly, I think more teachers should take Becky's class to inform their own pedagogy!

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

Each class is limited to 14 students.

Broken Box Mime Theater (BKBX) invites artists of all backgrounds to join in exploring the audience's imagination as medium. From the perspective of BKBX's unique brand of mime based in American narrative style, participants will look at body language, basic mime technique, staging metaphor, efficiency in storytelling, and devised process. How can precision, efficiency, and specificity in physical storytelling help to craft our comedy? Over the course of the series, students will craft mime pieces that will be shared in a final showing.

5-Week Class: Saturday, 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM, September 12th - October 17th, 2026

• This class skips Saturday, September 26th.

• This class may end between 2:30 PM and 3 PM depending on enrollment.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

Class Show:  7:00pm. Sunday, October 18th. Eris Deep Space (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Ismael Castillo

Bio:

This course will be taught by a member of BKBX. Broken Box Mime Theater (BKBX) is a collaborative theater company that performs original work entirely through movement. Our mission is to activate the imaginations of our audiences, contemporize the art of mime, and remind us all of the power of simple storytelling. Based in Brooklyn and founded in 2011, our version of “mime, redefined” blends techniques of French pantomime, cinema, performance art, and contemporary theater. The artists who call BKBX their artistic home believe in making innovative, provocative theater that erases the spoken language barrier and champions the power of simplicity in performance. 

Photo by Bjorn Bolinder

Student Testimonials:

Becky made everyone feel welcome and empowered to improve.

Becky was absolutely fantastic in every way!

Becky taught us so many tools and tricks to story telling through physical movement, while also being so fun and supportive!

Becky is such an incredible teacher! Too many strengths to pick one, but a couple that stand out are her unbridled enthusiasm for mime and her capacity to share that with others. She taught us that mime is grounded in trust between the audience and performer, and she brought that same ethos to class. She's the rare teacher who realizes that how you teach has a bigger impact than what you teach, and it's refreshing to be in an education space that starts from a foundation of embracing that we all learn in different ways, and that's great! There's a curiosity to Becky's teaching that's really encouraging - asking students what we want from the class, and adapting her style and lessons to suit us. Class felt like a team effort to learn and discover together. Despite her obvious deep knowledge of the subject, Becky's was still very clearly also interested in our experience and ideas - it made for a fantastic environment for creating and sharing work. Her obvious joy when something clicked for us was infectious. It's a welcome change from traditional education models where an 'expert' relays knowledge to students. Everything about her teaching style makes it clear she's as eager to keep learning and exploring as we are - no gatekeeping in site. Honestly, I think more teachers should take Becky's class to inform their own pedagogy!

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

Each class is limited to 14 students.

Do you want to try out one single clown class? Have you been wondering what this joyful world is all about? Come to the drop-in class! In each class students will practice exercises from some of the greats (Lecoq, Conway, Johnstone) while working on taming their ego and bringing out their true inner clown. Come to just one class, come to all of them, do what your heart desires. This is the perfect place to get your feet wet and learn from the incomparable Hannah Mitchell.

All experience levels welcome.

Drop-in Class: Saturday, September 19th, 3:00 PM - 5:30 PM.

Where: BCC Pig Pen, Studio B (130 Graham Ave, Brooklyn)

Teacher: Hannah Mitchell

Bio:

Hannah Mitchell is a performer, theater-maker, and educator whose process is guided by the improvisational arts, especially clown, bouffon & being a human with a body. She regularly collaborates with various ensembles to make new works, including with her clown company, WüfPak, and the experimental theater collective, CHILD. She’s performed at venues around NYC including The Public Theater, The Brick, The Collapsable Hole, Lincoln Center, LifeWorld, The New Ohio, Theater Mitu, HERE Arts, Target Margin, and The Brooklyn Comedy Collective, among others. And regionally/internationally she’s performed at The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Bard SummerScape, Princeton Seuls en Scène, & The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

Each class is limited to 14 students.

Slapstick: Physical Comedy in Clowning

We’ll explore the craft of slapstick comedy with a focus on precision, timing, and physical clarity. We’ll work on how character fuels comedy, character matching, character dissonance - The “Straight Man” and The “Fool”.

We’ll also cover tried-and-true slapstick classics like the double take, convincing trips, the invisible chair fall, chases, and well-timed collisions.

All experience levels welcome.

Drop-in Class: Saturday, September 26th, 3:00 PM - 6:00 PM.

Where: BCC Pig Pen (144 Boerum Street, Brooklyn)

Teacher: Anya Opshinsky

Bio:

Anya Opshinsky is a German American mime, actor, director, improvisor, physical theater creator and teacher. Originally from NYC Anya moved to Paris to study physical theater at École Jacques Lecoq 8 years ago and has been creating, teaching and performing there ever since. Anya is the co-founder of Shift Shape Theater through which she creates and tours original shows the most recent of which is entitled "ROVERS: Two Mimes on the Run" which is currently touring around France. Anya has taught mime, mask-making, clown, physical theater and improv with HUGE Improv, MN, Vis à Vis Théâtre, Rise Comedy, Denver and Théâtre de Verre, Paris. She is the creator and producer of The Ultimate Set-Up that performs in Denver, Paris and NYC and works as a solo artist performing original drag, mask, burlesque and clown pieces in the Parisian cabaret circuit

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

This class is limited to 12 students.

Level 1: Welcome to Clown Town

Clown. The Great Equalizer.

"It's you, of course, the clown. And that's important." -Nader Farman

Clown trains us to be fully present. Class curriculum includes exercises from Jacques Lecoq, Jean Taylor, Merry Conway, Nader Farman, Keith Johnstone and more, aiming to move us past ego and toward our shared humanity. Winter is coming. But class is joyful and warm! Come on out, try on the red nose.

Recognize the universal shared experience that is clowning.

This class culminates in a class show at the BCC Pig Pen.

7-Week Class: Sunday, 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM, August 30th - October 18th, 2026

• Note: Class may end between 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM depending on the number of enrollments.

• This class skips Sunday, September 6th for Memorial Day Weekend.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

Class Show: 7:00pm. Sunday, October 25th. Eris Deep Space (167 Graham Ave).

Teacher: Riley Soloner

Bio:

Riley Soloner (he/him) is an actor, writer and clown living in Queens. As his character Vacation Jason, Riley has performed in venues across the country, on television (TruTV's The Chris Gethard Show) and for five days straight aboard The Norwegian Pearl on a cruise that he was not booked to perform.

Riley has performed in and produced comedy shows in New York City since 2008 for shows like Harold Night and Cage Match (UCB Theater), Xtremely Serious Wrestling (People’s Improv Theater) and C.L.O.N., (Manhattan Public Access TV). Riley grew up spending summers as a camper, counselor and teacher at Camp Winnarainbow, a Northern California circus arts summer camp for children of groovy hippies. Riley is excited to bring his eclectic mix of theatrical, circus, and humanitarian clown experience to the students of BCC!

Testimonials:

Riley's class offers an exciting and dare I say groovy introduction to clown. Classmates came in with zero performance experience and left with literal crowns on their heads. This definitely started a long term interest in clown for me.

I've never laughed or cried so much in a comedy class. This is a fantastic introductory clown class with a lot of substance and heart. Class with Riley is fun, funny, and deeply moving. You'll find a class environment where you can try new things, be vulnerable, and connect with your fellow clowns in clown town!

I think Riley is one of the funniest humans around and I am happy to have taken his class. I wish he taught all the levels. Of course no offense to the other great teachers at Brooklyn Comedy Collective.

He's incredibly funny, warm, and authentic. Really great vibes all around. It's hard to name just one strength, but he did an awesome job of creating a low-pressure, welcoming environment for people to have fun and learn about clown and take risks. He's also really good at karaoke. I laughed so much in class. I also appreciated that he put a lot of focus on getting us to understand the spirit of clown.

I learned that I really enjoy clown, and I want to do more of it. It really changed my life. I love that the class was focused on being vulnerable and authentic.

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.

This class is limited to 12 students.

Level 1: Welcome to Clown Town

Clown. The Great Equalizer.

"It's you, of course, the clown. And that's important." -Nader Farman

Clown trains us to be fully present. Class curriculum includes exercises from Jacques Lecoq, Jean Taylor, Merry Conway, Nader Farman, Keith Johnstone and more, aiming to move us past ego and toward our shared humanity. Winter is coming. But class is joyful and warm! Come on out, try on the red nose.

Recognize the universal shared experience that is clowning.

This class culminates in a class show at the BCC Pig Pen.

7-Week Class: Thursday, 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM, September 3rd - October 15th, 2026

• Note: Class may end between 9:30 PM - 10:00 PM depending on the number of enrollments.

You will receive a welcome email with your room assignment. Our classes meet at BCC Pig Pen or BCC DogHouse in East Williamsburg.

• Class Show: 8:30pm. Saturday, October 17th. BCC Pig Pen (144 Boerum St).

Teacher: Hannah Mitchell

Bio:

Hannah Mitchell is a performer, theater-maker, and educator whose process is guided by the improvisational arts, especially clown, bouffon & being a human with a body. She regularly collaborates with various ensembles to make new works, including with her clown company, WüfPak, and the experimental theater collective, CHILD.

She’s performed at venues around NYC including The Public Theater, The Brick, The Collapsable Hole, Lincoln Center, LifeWorld, The New Ohio, Theater Mitu, HERE Arts, Target Margin, and The Brooklyn Comedy Collective, among others. And regionally/internationally she’s perfromed at The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Bard SummerScape, Princeton Seuls en Scène, & The Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

If this class is sold out, sign-up for the wait list here.