Pittsburgh Fringe 2026
The Queen (WIP)
Sara Kantner
Genre: Clown, Comedy, Interactive
Venue: Mr. Roboto Project
Festival: Pittsburgh Fringe
Low Down
Queen Anne the 8th of Farthingham requests your presence for an hour of absolutely enchanting fancy foolery—a work-in-progress show from award-winning clown, Sara Kantner. Kantner will be presenting new material each night, exploring the fun in playing like royalty when you come from working-class blood.
Sara Kantner is an award-winning comedian, clown, and comedy educator based in Pittsburgh, PA. Her work includes long-form improvisation, characters, physical comedy, and fully embodied play. She has performed in the Montreal Clown Festival, Fun & Dumb Improv Festival, Second Best Improv Fest, and Detroit Improv Festival. Her premiere clown show, The Final Badge, won Outstanding Solo Comedy Production at the Pittsburgh Fringe. She has traveled far and wide to study clown under teachers like Philippe Gaulier, Carlo Jacucci, Spymonkey, Peta Lily, Deanna Fleysher, and Zach Zucker.
Review
Hear ye, hear ye! Sara Kantner is bringing her talents in clown performance and her charisma interacting with a live audience together in this new in-progress piece entitled, fittingly, The Queen. Before the audience even has a chance to ask questions, they witness a scientific marvel before their very eyes; for it’s not Kantner but rather her charming new character, her highness Queen Anne the Eighth who has time traveled all the way here from Farthingham. The performance that ensues is an excellent balance of Queen Anne sharing many details and traditions of her home time and place while also calling upon the audience to help her learn about this day and age, so she can have hope of both surviving and one day being able to return home. Between games, jokes, and even a bit of resume building, audience members will never know particularly what they will be walking into, but they can rest assured the Queen will ensure all her subjects are actively entertained.
As a person familiar with the process of workshopping and developing shows, one of the bravest steps an artist can take is sitting down and saying, “OK, it is now time to put this in front of an audience.” In the world of comedy, this can often be more daunting, between the intimacy between performer and audience and being able to audibly hear in real time the reactions to each passing joke and gag. Kantner truly is a professional in her craft, as she not only is showing us a raw and vulnerable side of herself through character clown performance, but is still rolling with each punch and putting all of her energy forward every night, no matter audience size, energy, reactions, or otherwise. Everyone will be quick to note how daringly funny and deeply entertaining Kantner is, which is deserved in every right, but allow me to also take a moment to acknowledge Kantner’s bravery and trained skill. Here she is, taking The Queen on the road, performing material while analyzing her live feedback simultaneously.
Through each audience contribution—to a person looking for it–Kantner can be seen mentally moving to her next material bit or improvised reaction that can best connect the dots for what the audience is wanting, all while in a character in many layers of clothing and accents. Therefore, before anyone has the chance to note the bounciness of some transitions or the inconsistencies of some pacing, I urge them to focus on the personal look into the process of new show development of The Queen. The show description perfectly manages these expectations: there is new material every night, which is to say, Kantner is pulling from her mass of material written or prepared and is bringing you, the audience, a fresh new combination of these puzzle pieces, and through audience reactions, Kantner is in turn able to learn more about Queen Anne (and herself as a performer). In the world of clown performance, it is often so easy for audience members to be taken with the effortless nature of the performer, and Kanter is no exception to this as she entertains as easily as breathes. I urge you though, to engage with the work of The Queen and marvel in the mastery of an artist polishing the “next big thing.” In fact, with ever-changing material and Queen Anne’s infectiously endearing antics, try to catch this show as often as you are able! The Queen may always win at marbles, and she most certainly will win all of your hearts.
