Chase Brantley

Speaking More Than Is Set Down: Historic Structures in Clowning
2026-27 Folger Institute Artistic Research Fellow

Chase Brantley is an award-winning clown, graduate of École Philippe Gaulier, and founder of Moonlight Theater Company (est. 2018), based in Athens, GA. He has directed or collaborated on more than 25 productions in the US, UK, and Europe, including work as a clown coach on shows that were featured in The New York Times recommendations. His current show Don Toberman: Ping-Pong Champ has won over eight awards and received five-star reviews during his sold-out run at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

At the Folger Shakespeare Library, Brantley will be researching how historical English clowns designed and built the structures around their performance, including games, spatial arrangements, costumes, sound effects, and audience permission systems. Treating the archives as a rehearsal partner, he hopes to challenge and expand his contemporary clown practice by exploring primary clown courses like Robert Armin’s Quips Vpon Questions and the Folger’s vast collection of anti-clowning literature.

Graduate of Ecole Philippe Gaulier and founder of the award-winning Moonlight Theater Company, Chase Brantley has worked with over 26 productions across the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, New York, Los Angeles, and Georgia. His projects and collaborations have been featured in The New York Times’ “Fall Recommendations” for clown coaching on Caitlin Cook’s The Writing on the Stall and labeled “a physical comedy masterclass” by The Wee Review (★★★★★). After two sold-out years at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, his award-winning clown show Don Toberman: Ping-Pong Champ will finish its international tour at London’s famed Soho Theatre in September 2026.