Q&A with Maya Ricote AY AM!

AY AM! sounds completely chaotic in the best way. At what point did you realise you wanted to tell this story through clown rather than traditional stand-up or theatre?

Traditional stand up and theatre feel limiting to me, not as human or intimate as clowning. Training as an actor pushed me towards perfection rather than freedom, something I only understood once I trained as a clown. Clowning is lighter, more playful, connecting with the audience eye to eye.

You worked as a telenovela actress before moving into clowning. What drew you away from one world and towards the other?

I found telenovelas untruthful and superficial not fulfilling enough for me, I found the world a bit hypocritical and dangerous when it's being fed to towns as education. I saw my first clown show in Mexico city called “Guerra, a clown play” where I uncontrollably cried and belly laughed to a point where I couldn’t distinguish if I was sad or happy, I was everything all at once. That’s where Clown got me. I want to make people feel everything. 

Winning the London Clown Festival Clong Award was a huge achievement. Did that recognition make you feel more confident bringing this show to Edinburgh?

Winning the LCF Clong Award gave me a green light towards the decisions I had been making til now. This is it. Excitingly this year i'll be cohosting The Clong show, 3 nights in Edinburgh at the Monkey Barrel!

You’ve worked with people like Julia Masli and Phil Burgers. What have you learned from that world of contemporary clown?

I’ve had so many teachers who have given me only more insight and clarity of the form of art. From Julia Masli, I learned the key to optimism is truly believing that everything is possible when we open our hearts and lean on others. Another great teacher for me was Lucy Hopkins, known as Clown Mother, who gave me the gift of feeling the clear difference between being observed and observing which opened a whole world for me. Phil Burgers taught me to be ok in the shit feeling of something not working, and really helped me embrace my beauty and strength. And of course, Dan Lees helped me co-create and direct my show. He gave me tools and space to express my most joyful self when being free on stage.

Director Dan Lees is known for highly original clown work. What did he bring to the process creatively?

I can talk endlessly of how much I’ve learnt from Dan Lees. Not only is he my mentor and best friend. Not only did he help me find a story with songs that facilitated my joyous freedom but gave me so much of his time and heart to build a show that told my story and showcased my fun and humanity. It has been the most joyful collaboration, when it came to my vision and choices, we couldn’t of been more aligned. 

Maya Ricote: AY AM! performs at Pleasance Courtyard - Cellar from 5th - 30th August at 10:40pm. For more information visit https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/maya-ricote-ay-am