INTERVIEWS WITH CLOWNS: Senior Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn in rehearsal for “I.M. LOST!” the one-person, interactive play she wrote and will perform on May 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. and May 7 at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Marie Edward Matthews ’53 Acting Studio at 185 Nassau Street. “I.M. LOST!” is an interactive solo show based on interviews with different types of people who clown: birthday clowns, hospital clowns, actor clowns, clown teachers, even an astrophysics professor who enjoys going to clown classes. (Photo by Nadia Diamond)

The Lewis Center for the Arts’ Program in Theater at Princeton University will premiere I.M. LOST!, a show about clowns, an interactive, one-person, ethnographic play written and performed by senior Nathalie Ellis-Einhorn and directed by senior Ogemdi Ude. Performances will be held May 5 and 6 at 8 p.m. and May 7 at 2 and 8 p.m. at the Marie and Edward Matthews ’53 Acting Studio at 185 Nassau Street. A discussion led by Princeton Arts Fellow and playwright/theater artist Aaron Landsman will follow the May 7 matinee performance.

I.M. LOST! is an interactive solo show based on interviews with different types of people who clown. “Clowning is a performance form based on repeated failure,” notes Ellis-Einhorn. “We love the clown because they fail again and again but come back the next time with hope anyway.” The show will chart how each clown character, and Ellis-Einhorn herself, grapples with that inevitable failure. Audiences will be encouraged to actively participate in the performance through a variety of games. “And there will be balloons!,” adds Ellis-Einhorn.

Tickets for I.M. LOST! are $12 general admission and $11 for students and seniors when purchased in advance, and $17 general admission and $15 for students and seniors purchased the day of performances at the box office. Tickets are available through University Ticketing, which offers flexibility for online ordering and print-at-home tickets. To purchase tickets online visit arts.princeton.edu/imlost, call Princeton University Ticketing at (609) 258-9229, or stop by the Frist Campus Center ticket office. Tickets will also be available at the door prior to performances.

———