SAN FRANCISCO: Circus Center has named Sara Moore as the director of its Clown Conservatory. She will work closely with creative director Steve Smith and executive director Barry Kendall to develop new curricula, expand performance opportunities, and improve career support for alumni of the Clown Conservatory.

“Sara is deeply knowledgeable about the theory and practice of clowning,” said Kendall in a statement. “Moreover, she is gifted at using and sharing this expertise to get the best out of student performers. She will be a terrific asset to both the local clown community and the global circus industry, and we’re confident that the Clown Conservatory will take giant leaps forward under her leadership.”

Moore has more than three decades of experience in clowning, big top, film, and theatre. She has worked with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, the Krofft Puppets, Royal Caribbean International, Tropicana Hotels and Resorts, The New Pickle Circus, Six Flags Show Productions, and Merv Griffin’s Resorts Casino and Hotels, among others. Moore’s work has been acknowledged by the McKnight Foundation, the Jerome Foundation, the Pew Charitable Trusts, Playwrights Foundation, and the Bay Guardian.

“I am in a state of enthusiastic gratitude to join Barry Kendall, Steve Smith, and the wonderful team at Circus Center,” said Moore in a statement. “I love the American circus and clown community, and it has been the sweetest, most noble honor of my life to be a part of it, especially here in glorious San Francisco.”