About the artist

Brian Kearney is a writer, visual artist and performer from Ireland, now based in Providence, Rhode Island. In word, image and movement, his work casts a tender look on the mess and play of human growth, often by way of self-deprecatory humor about his own genitals. He is a graduate of Brown University’s MFA in Digital and Cross-disciplinary Literary Arts and a member
of the Providence-based clown troupe, The Booboisie. He is also a licensed clinical social
worker. His first book, a collection of illustrated poems titled “When we are done with this planet we will live in malls in the sky”, is forthcoming from Shy Priest Press.

know your five emotions and never be asked to leave a polycule again

Brian kearney

CATEGORY:
​Clown

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DESCRIPTION OF PIECE:

Love hurts. And rejection hurts even worse. But to be rejected by all fifty-seven members of New England’s largest polycule at the same time? And by email? Ouchie, ouchie, Dr Fauci!

Join Dublin Brian on an emotional odyssey as he absorbs the shock of rejection and tries to beg, bribe and berate his way back into your life. Expect raisins, snuggies, nasal erotica, broad national stereotypes about Brian’s home country, and emotional psychoeducation in clear breach of international copyright law. Expect guest appearances from Mister Rogers and Esther Perel. Expect a vulgar, pugnacious performance with a tender heart that might just win you back.

A stripped-down, one-man clown show, Know Your Five Emotions and Never Be Asked to Leave a Polycule Again combines dramatic monologue and physical theater with an ample dose of crowd-focused improvisation. Over a run time of approximately 40 minutes, the show asks one of the great human questions: What depths of public humiliation would YOU endure to avoid being rejected by the fifty-seven loves of your life? A shortened version of the show ran at the Wilbury Theater in February 2026 as part of the You, Me and the Booboisie Festival, and its minimal technical requirements are unchanged. You can see a recording of that show here:
https://youtu.be/P3X7HrZFIB8?si=0EU9T79ZtHUvMogW