The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown

by A.J. Ditty

Based on "The Odyssey" and "The Iliad" by Homer.

Bungo Calamity, a weary clown in a weary world, must make his way across the post-apocalyptic landscape of America twenty years after the Great Nuclear Whoopsie wiped out most of mankind in order to return to his wife and son in Ithaca, New York. Alongside his trusty new partner ILL, a young clown with brittle bones but an unshakable faith in humanity, Bungo must overcome many trials on his journey home...

Bungo Calamity, a weary clown in a weary world, must make his way across the post-apocalyptic landscape of America twenty years after the Great Nuclear Whoopsie wiped out most of mankind in order to return to his wife and son in Ithaca, New York. Alongside his trusty new partner ILL, a young clown with brittle bones but an unshakable faith in humanity, Bungo must overcome many trials on his journey home: hypnotic half-fish/half-human hybrids, the horrors of Mime Country, and his ex-partner in clown, the dreaded Sy Klopps! Will Bungo and ILL make it to Bungo's fated home in Ithaca? Will ILL overcome their haunted past and become the great clown they were destined to be? And just what the heck is going on in Hell, Michigan? The answers await you in The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown!

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The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown

Recommended by

  • SMJ .: The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown by A.J. Ditty
    “

    One of the best adaptations of Homer's work that you will find. Incredibly funny, smart, and moving. An absolute dream for all theatermakers to work on! May it have many productions.

    One of the best adaptations of Homer's work that you will find. Incredibly funny, smart, and moving. An absolute dream for all theatermakers to work on! May it have many productions.

    ”
  • Jack McManus: The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown by A.J. Ditty
    “

    With one foot in the world of absurdist sitcoms and the other in The Classics, Bungo Calamity is a joyful retelling of one of the oldest stories. Its post-apocalyptic setting is playfully macabre. The play is a gift to directors, the characters a gift to actors. It makes me laugh as hard as it makes me cry, sometimes in the same beat.

    With one foot in the world of absurdist sitcoms and the other in The Classics, Bungo Calamity is a joyful retelling of one of the oldest stories. Its post-apocalyptic setting is playfully macabre. The play is a gift to directors, the characters a gift to actors. It makes me laugh as hard as it makes me cry, sometimes in the same beat.

    ”
  • Paige Esterly: The Adventures of Bungo Calamity: Apocalypse Clown by A.J. Ditty
    “

    An epic play of apocalyptic destruction, clowning, radioactive goo, self-discovery, meth pigs, friendship, and a harrowing journey through a nuclear wasteland full of bats with just too many eyes, man. AJ Ditty has created one of the only pieces of theater I will ever call "life-affirming" unironically. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be able to face our own apocalyptic world with that much more hope and resolve.

    An epic play of apocalyptic destruction, clowning, radioactive goo, self-discovery, meth pigs, friendship, and a harrowing journey through a nuclear wasteland full of bats with just too many eyes, man. AJ Ditty has created one of the only pieces of theater I will ever call "life-affirming" unironically. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be able to face our own apocalyptic world with that much more hope and resolve.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • BUNGO CALAMITY
    A weary clown in a weary world. Determined to reach his wife and son in Ithaca, New York. Simultaneously Elizabeth Taylor, Charlton Heston, Bart Simpson, Laurence Olivier, and Mary Tyler Moore with just a dash of Bugs Bunny, for zest. Must be able to juggle.
    Any
    Any
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • ILL
    A joyful clown in a weary world. Their bones shatter at the slightest touch but they heal up pretty quick. Plays the clarinet like an absolute fiend. Chooses to believe in a better world despite all evidence to the contrary.
    20-30
    Any
    Non-binary
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary
  • SYLVESTER KLOPPS/PENNY CALAMITY
    KLOPPS: Bungo's ex-partner in clown. Cunning, conniving, the brains of the operation. Steadfast devotion to his horrible father.
    PENNY: Bungo's ex-wife. Excellent at looming. Tired of waiting.
    30 and up
    Any
    Any
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • ACTOR ONE
    KIKI KIKONES: "The Reaper", the badass leader of a gang in Fresno, CA.
    CALLIOPE: Cult leader in Colorado Springs, CO.
    JEFF 1: An aggressively normal guy.
    AL NAUSIBAA: Elderly sheep-man trying to keep his flock together.
    SYDON KLOPPS: Evil CEO of the Klopps Corporation and father to Sylvester.
    CIRQUECE: The Queen of Mime Country and Bungo's ex-girlfriend.
    INTERN: An Intern. Trying their best.
    CLEA CALAMITY: A world-renowned actress and Bungo's mother.
    RECTOR PELHAM HECTOR: A fiery preacher, an unrelenting demagogue. ILL's father.
    MANBUS: A man fused with a bus. His life is agony. Beep-beep.
    THE BEAST: A monstrous two-headed beast residing in the depths of Tartarus.
    JEFF SOOTER: The nicest guy you'll ever meet.
    Various
    Any
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • ACTOR TWO
    CULVER CALYPSO: Owner and operator of the Calypso Bar and Grill. Power-hungry, pragmatic, an old timey manager if there ever was one.
    DIANE: A deeply sad housewife/recently joined cult member.
    NAT NAUSIBAA: Princess of the sheeple in Baaaspen, CO. Optimism incarnate. A great dancer.
    LESTER GONIAN: A cannibal. Trying to fill an emptiness that cannot be filled. The last of the Gonian line.
    LARRY CALAMITY: Bungo's Dad. A farmer. Loves his son but could never figure out a way to say it.
    BOARIS HAMMHOCK: A pigman resident of Mime Country. Incredibly neighborly, longs to see the sky. Loves meth.
    AN ACTOR: An actor doing "No Exit" in Hell.
    PAT ROCLUS: A sweet half-horse boy. Loves The Killers.
    ANTONIO: An Italian cater-waiter. Loves canapés. Has a deep, dark secret.
    DR. JOHN C. PIELY: Doctor of pies. Please don't ask what they do with the pies.
    Various
    Any
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • ACTOR THREE
    BIG KNIFE: A really big knife.
    TELLY CALAMITY: Bungo's son. Wants to be a clown when he grows up. Until he doesn't.
    SPLERT: Splert.
    THE SYRENS: A half-fish, half-human hybrid made by Klopps Corp.
    TILDA SWINETON: Wife of Boaris. She LOVES meth.
    JACQUES: A mime resident of the French Quarter of Mime Country. Insufferable.
    STAN A.: Owner and operator of Stan Antichrist's Afterlife Adventure. Has a Gooseboat. Loves taffy.
    THE STAGE MANAGER: Mere moments from losing it entirely.
    HELEN HECTOR: ILL's Mother. A devotee of the Goo-d Book. Wants what's best for her child.
    THE BEAST: A monstrous, two-headed beast trapped in the depths of Tartarus.
    TY REECIUS: A deeply weird man held in solitary in the lower levels of Hell. Has a really big stick. Can tell the future.
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+

Production History

  • Fringe, Serials @ The Tank, 2024-2025