Melissa Aston is a seasoned performer with over 20 years of experience in theatre, circus, and therapeutic clowning across the United States and Canada. As the sole female clown with the historic Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus, she toured the U.S. by train, performing in arenas nationwide. Her career spans a diverse range of performance environments, , from stage productions,  street theatre, and festivals to the wards of a children's hospital, bringing a light hearted but thoughtful presence to each space. 

 

Melissa received formal training in both modern and traditional clowning under Jeff Raz at the renowned Clown Conservatory in San Francisco. She further developed her craft through intensive study of character, clown, and Pochinko mask work with John Turner (Mump and Smoot) and Ian Wallace, co-founder of the Canadian Pochinko Clown Technique. Her exploration of contemporary clown continued under Mooky Cornish (Cirque du Soleil) and Deanna Fleysher (Butt Kapinski).

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In 2012, Melissa was invited by program founder Paul Hoosen to join the long-running Therapeutic Clown Program at BC Children’s Hospital. After a year of training, she became a full-time DisOrderly Clown Practitioner, working alongside current director Sand Northrup, and now also Tamara Unroe in hospital wards, clinics, and intensive care units. Her work in this setting requires a great deal of sensitivity and thoughtfulness, as she carefully adapts each interaction to meet the emotional and physical needs of each child and their family.

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Melissa is also the creator of Bucket Sessions, a deeply personal and exploratory creative process that harnesses voice, movement, imagination, and play to tap into unexpressed emotions and expand the boundaries of self-expression. Drawing from improvisation and clowning, this work allows her to engage with performance in a way that is raw, intuitive, and deeply connected to the human experience.

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Whether engaging with festival crowds, fostering meaningful one-on-one interactions at BC Children’s Hospital, or captivating audiences in her stage production Cosmo’s Pop-Up Circus, Melissa brings a unique blend of artistry, warmth, and playfulness to every performance.