Brewing philosophy: humor and clown
One Hopi word for clown is 'Delight Maker'. In this context, there is an objective of levity, of lightness, of laughter, sometimes beauty and poetry, and in the best of moments, evoking that feeling of delight. Exploring these territories is of interest to people from many walks of life. For everyone, the exploration offers opportunities to engage one's sense of humor, to enjoy. For performers looking/working to be consistently funny, this requires an intensity brought on by a depth of understanding and training.
As a teacher, I am interested in exploring this 'clown' from the inside out, rather than the outside in. The moment by itself may be funny, but how you play that moment is where the magic lies. My interest is to develop one's capacity to express humor, from the greatest degrees of subtlety to over the top exaggeration.
Throw into a mixing bowl: one's sense of trickster, of the fool, a healthy dose of ridiculousness and/or absurdity, along with one's capacity to be present in the moment. Throw in spoonfuls of exuberance, zaniness and rigor, and you almost have it. A friend of mine has an expression "Think Chaplin, not Bozo".
Teaching in Zen Centers and teaching/working with Zen Masters these past 10 years has led to greater understanding of parallels between Clown and Zen. Both strive for being present in the moment. Both engage the major theme of listening. In Zen, to listen to one's breath is the basis for meditation. In clown one listens a lot: to the audience, to stage partners, to one's own impulses and actions. Other parallels include the idea of amplifying and expanding the moment, of a sense of relationship, of being connected within and without.
Richard Pochinko, my clown teacher ( Montreal,1984) placed great emphasis on listening; asking us to listen to the circle between the audience and the stage, to hear the impulse to respond, and to let it grow inside us before sharing it, to exercise rigor in the exchange. True magic lies in the complicity one develops with partners, with the audience. The stronger that engagement, the more opportunities for laughter unfold.
"Listen to the garden" Zeami Motokiyo, noh playwrite (1364-1443)
about Workshops for Performers.
The world of clown and humor can be approached from many directions, from the storyline, the structure and gags and/or from the performer(s) sharing of his/her/their world (s). Ideally it comes from some combination of these. Workshops for performers are meant for all performers (clown, actors, dancers, musicians, puppeteers ) who wish to dig deeper into the expression of humor in the performance venue.
These workshops are opportunities to both:
-create and explore new facets of what one may call one's clown world, as well as
- to revisit areas that are familiar in an environment that allows you to reinvent, invigorate, connect with and enjoy.
I have found that audiences, both mature, and young audiences are far more interested in a performer 'being' in their clown world, than playing at clown. What is most alive in us are our feelings. To play them with humor, to fill an imaginary world with absurdity, levity, actions gestures and logic based on those feelings is indeed the challenge of clown. To share this world with an audience, to offer a sense of complicity and emotional connection, is what touches audiences, and, perhaps, for performers, puts us closer on our pathways of purpose.
About the word "Clown" and the Investigation of One's Clown World.
It seems, after numerous years of investigation, that here is no Stanislavski, or Meyerhold, or Grotowski in clown. There are teachers, there are styles. The word 'clown' itself causes much consternation amongst performers in the modern western world (at least North American) wherein the word is primarily associated with a Ronald Mc...party clown archetype. One that has mostly to do with putting on (make-up, wig, costume) an identity, inhabiting a form. Richard Pochinko (my first clown teacher) worked (he has passed) more in the opposite direction: generating a 'clown world' from within. His work demanded one to develop humor, and performance, from personal impulses, from the archetypal energies within.
What emerges is the capacity to embody one's sense of humor through a universe of expressions embibed with one's sense of humor. Some call this land of exploration, development and performance, "personal Clown".
What's in a name? Many have searched for ways to define their lineage as on a different pathway than Ronald's, using adjectives such as Contemporary, Modern, European....I have used terms such as Butohclown, postmodern clown, ClownZen, in an attempt to define something deeper than the superficial viewpoint; they are not meant as statements of dogma....
“... Your teaching is very warmhearted, playful and sensitive. I always had the feeling that I could let myself fall, can fail in a very protecting, trustful atmosphere"
“So your work is still working. Very powerful stuff. Thank you!”
"As a result of Clowning My Zen, I have had the sweetest lingering clown inspiration tickling my daily experience this week. Thank you! Backwards gassho!"