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Helen returned in 2002 after clowning with Cirque du Soleil for 1.5 years, performing over 400 shows all across the United States. Upon her return, she worked for their Special Events worldwide, from England to Brazil. Specializing in live comedic interaction (walkabout), she continues to entertain at special events in the corporate setting.
 
Helen is an actor, instructor and theatrical, therapeutic and circus clown. She has been teaching clown and movement workshops in the US and Canada for over 9 years at colleges and art institutions including Durham and Fleming College, Haliburton School of the Arts and Second City, Toronto.

Helen is a graduate from the University of Toronto with an Honours B.A., Specialist in Drama.  Helen has studied clown with David Shiner (Cirque du Soleil, Fool Moon), Roch Jutras (Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Eloize), John Turner and Mike Kennard (of Mump and Smoot fame), Grindl Kuchirka and Theatre Smith-Gilmour.  She continues her study of the art form with Francine Cote. She has worked in clown with other circus groups such as Cirque Sublime and Cirque Eos and continues her work independently, and with Circus Orange and Zero Gravity Circus.

Aside from her work in the theatrical clown realm, she is a professional therapeutic clown offering artistic clown interaction through therapeutic play at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital. Previously, she worked at The Hospital for Sick Children and with Dr Clown (Toronto)for over 2 years as Artistic Coordinator and Programs Coordinator. She is a founding member of The Canadian Association of Therapeutic Clowns. (www.therapeuticclowns.ca) Her passion in the therapeutic clown field includes raising standards of practice and involving herself in research efforts to bring about a better understanding about the effects of this alternative arts-based practice on clients.

In 2005, Helen formed her own theatrical clown company, Foo Productions. This company seeks to produce quality theatrical clown shows which entertain through parodying existing art forms. Its other mandate is to expose clown to a more multicultural audience as the invented language used presents no barrier.  Posey’s Wig  is a theatrical clown musical, performed entirely in gibberish (an invented language) with original music. The Foo Talk Show, created primarily for the corporate world, parodies the talk show formula as Foo the host interviews in gibberish with the guests responding in English. The format showcases Foo’s unique interview style and a musical sidekick (James Fisher), with original music. Last summer her clown persona Foo busked on the streets of Toronto, and was featured at Toronto's BUSKERFEST in August 2011.

To view video footage of Helen's clowns and shows, go to the 'video' section of this website, or view them directly from YouTube by inputting 'Helen Donnelly clown'.