News
Alumna receives Fulbright Award
July 18, 2021
Hannah Gaff, Class of 2008, is the recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award to Egypt. Hannah will lecture at the Egyptian Academy of Arts as part of a project entitled: Devised Theatre as a Tool for Community Transformation. The project aims to facilitate learning opportunities and performance-based outreach that provoke positive public discourse, community connections, reconciliation, and healing through movement and laughter. As a Fulbright Scholar, Gaff will share knowledge and foster meaningful connections across communities in the United States and Egypt.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from over 160 countries the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
Hannah is an acrobatic clown, movement director, and teaching artist based in San Francisco. She is a core member of UpLift Physical Theatre and cofounder of ClownCorps, an organization that aims to transform individuals, bridge divides, and cultivate compassionate communities using the tools of clowning and authentic play. She holds a MFA in ensemble-based physical theatre from Dell'Arte International. Hannah works as a hospital clown with the Medical Clown Project, serves as core faculty at the Clown Conservatory at Circus Center, and teaches clown, physical theatre, and circus classes locally and around the world. She works internationally with non-profit organizations including Clowns Without Borders and ClownCorps, performing for families in refugee camps, conflict zones, or in communities who have experienced trauma or crisis. (Hannahgaff.com)