TAMPA, Fla. — From Ringling Brothers clown to the bright lights of The Straz, this Patel Conservatory artistic director may have taken off the rubber nose and big floppy shoes, but he continues to pass along the lessons he learned in the circus with his students.
This month Matthew Belopavlovich worked with more than 30 of Tampa’s most talented young performers at the Patel Conservatory theater intensive camp, Showstoppers: Mega Musical.
Belopavlovich may look like a serious director, but deep down, he’s a barrel of laughs.
“It has been a childhood dream ever since second grade. My parents took me to everything, every magic show, circus, performance you could think of,” said Belopavlovich.
But Belopavlovich’s determination was no joke. In 2012, after three auditions in four years, he landed a job with the Greatest Show on Earth.
“The most exciting thing that I’ve ever done, and it was truly everything I thought it was going to be,” said Belopavlovich. “When you see someone light up, and you have that human-to-human connection, that’s the best thing, especially in a world with so much technology and everything.”
Now a decade later, he's passing down his experience and knowledge with Tampa Bay’s next generation of performers.
“What’s so cool about coming back to teaching after that is that I’m able to tell my students that, ‘yes, you can do anything you want, even as crazy as being a clown.’”
Students say it’s a nice jester to have a director offer such a fresh perspective.
“I never met someone who portrayed a clown before,” said student Linus O’Palick
Belopavlovich said clowns can certainly make you smile, but they can also make you think.
“Teaching them how to relax into a character or develop a character physically, so a lot of those skills come into play, the same skills we use in clown," said Belopavlovich.
