Brianna Ahlmark
BRIANNA AHLMARK is a comedian.
Her show is best described in an audience review: “Dillis is absolutely unhinged, in the best way possible. Completely captivating clown show that draws you in ever so deftly, bringing you into the madness step by step until, before you realise it, you're in the eye of the storm and all hell unleashes… describing it will only do Dillis injustice, but I was laughing the entire time.”
A few other female creators I've interviewed have recommended your show, and it looks almost impossible to describe. What are your audiences in for when they come see DILLIS?
I would agree it is hard to describe. I’d like to keep it that way. Audiences are in for a super stupid hour. Ideally they are laughing and whooping and screaming like last nights audience.
Tell us about the "character" you're embodying in DILLIS? Who are they? What do they want? What are their greatest fears, hopes and dreams?
The character of Dillis is a secret. All I can say is he is embodying power. Maybe also the Vietnam war. And my uncle.
As a physical performer and clown, how do you engage directly with audiences? Is there a moment, joke or bit that tends to get the biggest reactions out of your audiences?
Every night is different. And clown performance means I rely heavily on the audience to generate where to go next with my material. Feeling and responding to the room makes everything a bit more dangerous and amazing when the laughter comes from seemingly out of nowhere because we’re all on the same page… finding the release of tension from a moment we built together. So I can’t pinpoint an exact moment because I find the laughs in different places each time. I’m always telling people after the show is over how great they were because the show is truly made with the audience and I can’t take credit for the whole thing. ❤️ And that’s the power of connection. 👉🏼👈🏼
How did you find clowning, and when did you realize you wanted to be a performer?
I found clown after my professor in college saw me do stand up and suggested I look into some “idiots” that were doing “dangerous” work he thought I’d like in Los Angeles. This would be people from the Idiot Workshop. Actually John Norris of Mr Chonkers cult fame here was my first idiot teacher. He’s now a great friend and my father. (His words.) my first clown show I saw was the award winning The Living Room by Gemma Soldati and Amrita Daliwal who are both at Fringe with solo shows this year. I saw that and knew I had to do and be a part of this work. It shattered everything else I’d seen before.
Can you tell us about some other female-driven shows you've seen at Fringe this year that you would recommend checking out?
I don’t have to tell you to see Natalie Palamides’ one day work in progress here but you should. And Courtney Pauroso’s Vanessa 5000. She’s the only person who can make me laugh and also bawl my eyes out. I’m in a performance group with Reshma Meister in LA and she and my friend Sarah Shtern are doing a show here that is built off of such great play and complicité. My friend Liz Toonkel is a wonderful magician with a show called Magic for Animals. And Gemma Soldati is here doing her brilliant show The Poor Rich.